JoAnna Anderson is a real estate developer in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area, who occasionally pops in and graces us with a guest post. She wanted to let us know what happened when she decided to introduce her sisters to the possibility of becoming their own personal protectors – through concealed carry. But first, it required that she lead the way, as her sisters’ keeper, and guide them to the gun range. We think you’ll warm to this story, too. We did! ~ The editors
I am blessed to have a huge family. I have nine sisters and 18 brothers. Out of all of my siblings, I am the youngest. That means that I was well protected, loved and supported. We grew up very poor and sharing was mandatory. If someone even thought about picking on me as a child, they had to reconsider because my family always had my back. As I became an adult, the same still applied. If I was struggling, my family would step in to fill in the gap. The beauty of always being on the receiving end of things as a child is that it was great training for me to one day return the favor. Fortunately, I’ve been able to give back in many ways to my siblings. It’s so interesting how we all have the same beginnings, but find our own paths in life that are all different and beautiful. We accept and share and our differences and that makes us better as a family.
Until recently I was the only sister that owned a gun. I always encourage others to protect themselves by owning a gun and being properly trained on its usage, if they have the mental capacity to do so. My Virginia concealed carry license expired after I had been living in North Carolina for three years. I had to attend a concealed carry class all over again, but this time in North Carolina. My sister told me that her employer, Ruger, was offering concealed carry classes, so we signed up to go together. She had never shot a gun before so I had to hype her up a bit about it. I brought my Remington RM 380 for her to use while I shot my Ruger SR9. She was a nervous wreck. I knew that I had to get her more practice to reduce her anxiety and get her comfortable enough to actually carry concealed and use the gun as protection.
I invited my sisters to come spend the weekend with me. I took them with me to the gun range where I have a membership. After disclosing my arsenal of guns, they were nervous so we started small with a .22 and worked our way up. We incorporated suppressors from SilencerCo on some of the guns, which put my sisters at ease.
Before we left the range, I required each of them to shoot with my AR at least once. To my surprise, my sister – the one that never owned a gun or had been to a shooting range before – fell in love with the AR! She replied, “Oh, I’m getting one of those!” After the range, we did what we always do – cook, eat good food and cackle loudly over drinks. It was a great day.
This was my way of giving back to my sisters by instilling confidence in them. They are now excited about owning guns, proper training and practice at the shooting range. This small event has also given them the correct path to protecting themselves and the ones they love. I’m very thankful to be able to share this bond with my sisters and be their keeper for once.
JoAnna Anderson is a successful real estate investor, realtor, speaker, coach and radio host. She excels at marketing, negotiations, team building and management, outsourcing and partnering with county officials to improve communities while creating real estate solutions for homeowners. Her business focuses on wholesales, rehabs, and buy and holds. Prior to becoming a real estate investor, she was a high school biology teacher for 14 years. She strongly believes that you can “give a man a fish, and feed him for a day, but if you teach a man to fish, you feed Him for a lifetime.” She enjoys making sure that generations of bellies are full for a lifetime as she shares her knowledge with others – especially her 2 daughters, 27 siblings, 63 nieces and nephews, and an immeasurable amount of greats. Educating others is both her passion and her gift. View all posts by JoAnna Anderson
