The North Carolina and NSSA skeet shooting community lost a great competitor and friend on March 21. Harold Powell from Goldsboro, North Carolina, passed away at the age of 82. Harold was a member of Seymour Johnson A.F.B. Gun Club for over 50 years and Ft. Bragg Gun Club for over 15 years.
Harold began shooting skeet in the early 1960s and went on to achieve many accomplishments as a strong and well-respected competitor. He was a 27-time All-American Team member. Harold attended 24 World Skeet Shoots, 26 Zone 4 Shoots and won many Texas and North Carolina Championships to include Texas State first team from 1984-1997. In 1997, after 40 years of government service as an Air Force Technical Engineer on the B-1 Bomber, Harold retired and returned to his home in North Carolina, continuing to shoot and win many North Carolina State and local championships. Harold also won the Krieghoff Masters .410 gun championship in 2005 as one of his many highlighted accomplishments to include his standing 1987 2-Man Team Sub-Senior world record score in the .410 with his teammate Jack Johnson with a 197×200. Harold was inducted into the North Carolina State Hall of Fame in 2010 for his many career championships that spanned over 40 years and his 248,949 lifetime targets shot.
Stuart Brown remembers Harold Powell as one of the smartest, kindest, humble and most generous men he’s ever known. “His strong conservative values, larger-than-life personality, dedication to his family and friends, and his love for shooting skeet were the foundation of the respect I have for him,” said Brown. “He taught and shared with me so many things I don’t have enough space to write about them all. I am a better man in many ways on the skeet field and, more importantly, off the skeet field with life’s challenges because of his influence in my life. I know that God now has strong addition to his leadership team in heaven. I will miss Harold, my friend.”
Harold was known as a fine gentleman of our sport and true ambassador of skeet throughout his years of competing. He loved his wife Doris and his family who proudly supported him throughout his shooting career. NSSA extends its sympathies to Harold’s friends and family.
