Conversations with Heath Stencel

Today we’d like to introduce you to Heath Stencel.

Hi Heath, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
https://longmeadoweventcenter.com/about-us/

Continue: Sense opening the clays club in 2016, we have quickly become one of the top sporting clays in all of Colorado, especially in the world of competitive shooting (NSCA) which we have hosted 6 State Championships with a 7th coming in 2026 and a National Western Regional. Our club now has two sporting courses, a super sport course, 5 practice/sub-guage stations and a 5 Stand. Furthermore, we now have 27 RV spots, ample parking and dry camping. The home property is about 1,000 acres and we have over 100,000 acres of leased property for hunting.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not at all. Building a business from scratch with little to no experience in hospitality or sporting clays. Spent countless hours doing research, traveling to other venues and clubs as well as learning on the job – school of hard knocks. To this day, the owners of the business work along side all employees to insure out continued growth and success. 2020 COVID was another challenge as most events were cancelled. Had to cut costs, apply for SBA funds and reinvent ourselves to survive…increased outdoor events and hunting experiences, and change the way we structured and hosted competitive shooting events to minimize personal contact. Now inflation is the issue and disposable income is way down and our business is all based on people disposable income. So, again, we have to find ways to cut costs, raise prices responsibly and come up with new ways to generate business and find new business segments we can tap into. For example: we are now hosting a significant amount of public events such as comedy shows, dueling pianos, bands, and cosmic clay events. The cosmic clay events have been especially popular.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We are a hunting resort for pheasant, chukar, dove, coyote and prairie dog. Lodge and Event Center – you name it we have probably hosted it and Sporting Clays Club. We specialize in upland hunting, small to very large events such as weddings, business meetings, fundraisers and all sizes of sporting clays events, especially competitive shooting events. We are known for hosting some the largest sporting clays events in Colorado, both private and public. We are probably most proud of being selected to host the 2023 National Western Regional for sporting clays. We tied the record that year for the most shooters in Western Regional history. We successfully organized and ran a very successful shoot for nearly 570 shooters for 5 days and employed over 100 people for the event. To my knowledge, we are the only club in Colorado to ever host a Western Regional. Hospitality is what sets us apart. We strive to provide the highest level of customer service in all of our business segments. We truly try to treat all of our clients like family.

What are your plans for the future?
We are planning some big changes to our sporting clays courses for the 2026 Colorado State Sporting Clays Championships with the intent of creating a fresh experience for all shooters. Our goal is to draw a record number of out-of-state shooters and break the 300 competitor mark for the event, which has never been done. Our current record is 283 participants which is also the record for the state.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.longmeadoweventcenter.com
• Instagram: @longmeadow_eventcenter
• Facebook: Longmeadow Event Center Wiggins CO
• Youtube: LongmeadowResort