Easter is that sacred season when the heart of each devout Christian turns in humble gratitude to our beloved Savior. It is a season that should bring peace and joy to all who love Him and show it by obeying His commandments. Easter brings thoughts of Jesus, His life, His Atonement, His Resurrection, His love. He has risen from the dead “with healing in his wings” (Malachi 4:2). Oh, how we all need that healing the Redeemer can provide…

Jesus Christ lives. He is our Savior, our Redeemer. He is a glorious, resurrected being. He has the capacity to communicate love that is so powerful, so overwhelming as to surpass the capacity of the human tongue to express adequately. He gave His life to break the bonds of death. His Atonement made fully active the plan of happiness of His Father in Heaven…

My reverence and gratitude for the Atonement of the Holy One of Israel, the Prince of Peace and our Redeemer, continually expand as I strive to understand more about it. I realize that no mortal mind can adequately conceive, nor can human tongue appropriately express, the full significance of all that Jesus Christ has done for our Heavenly Father’s children through His Atonement. Yet it is vital that we each learn what we can about it. The Atonement is that essential ingredient of our Father in Heaven’s plan of happiness without which that plan could not have been activated.

I try to imagine what an intensely poignant moment it must have been for our Father in Heaven when the Savior cried out from the cross, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34). I don’t believe Father in Heaven forsook His Son on the cross. I do believe the cry was motivated when that Son felt removed the sustaining support He had always enjoyed from His Father. His Father recognized that the Savior needed to accomplish the Atonement totally and completely on His own, without external support. The Father did not abandon His Son. He made it possible for His perfect Son to win the eternal fruits of the Atonement.

There is an imperative need for each of us to strengthen our understanding of the significance of the Atonement of Jesus Christ so that it will become an unshakable foundation upon which to build our lives. As the world becomes more devoid of foundational standards and as honor, virtue, and purity are increasingly cast aside in the pursuit of appetite, our understanding of and faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ will provide strength and capacity needed for a successful life. It will also bring confidence in times of trial and peace in moments of turmoil.

Richard G. Scott
Sections of original article quoted above with permission. Read the full text here.

All of us here at Ashbury International Group wish you and yours a blessed Easter.

We pause this Memorial Day weekend to reflect upon the meaning of this special holiday.  We think it is important to remind ourselves that this day of remembrance has nothing to do with furniture sales, picnics, swimming pools and barbecue cookouts. It is a holiday that was originally started in the 1800’s by former slaves after the Civil War to honor the unknown Union dead.  It was first called Decoration Day.  It is now a day we honor great American men and women who’ve lost their lives in wars and conflicts the world over. Freedom was not born nor is it maintained in the quagmire of politics.  In every instance of true freedom, birth comes and longevity is assured because of the courageous and honorable men and women who have fought and continue to fight around the globe.

We offer our solemn gratitude to those valiant soldiers who paid the ultimate price to ensure freedom continues to ring loud and true in the United States of America.  We extend our heart-felt appreciation to those courageous soldiers and their dear families who continue to pay great sacrifice every day of their lives that we may be free to exercise our rights and privileges in this magnificent country.

God bless them all.  God bless America.

Ashbury was pleased to host a visit Thursday from Congressman Robert Hurt of Virginia’s 5th District. Congressman Hurt and his professional staff were briefed by Ashbury’s management team and employee’s on a variety of company programs ranging from emergency preparedness and disaster response, to current deliveries of combat equipment to the US Army and our expanding engineering Rapid Product Development Center.

The Congressman showed sincere interest and concern about the critical role that small business plays in providing quality jobs and healthcare in today’s challenging economy. Further, we were able to highlight our company’s contributions to our nations defense and on-going support of America’s Warfighters. Our sincerest appreciation is extended to Congressman Hurt for his visit. May God Bless Our Great Nation!

Information being presented to Congressman Hurt on emergency preparedness and disaster response water purification.

Congressman Hurt in Ashbury's Engineering Services Group Rapid Product Development Center with a poly carbonate 3D model of a human femur bone.

Gary Vance Manager of Engineering Services demonstrating Ashbury Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) capabilities.

Gary Vance showing the Congressman examples of the rapid product development process going from plastic 3D models to finished aerospace alloy parts.

Gary Vance showing the Congressman examples of the rapid product development process going from plastic 3D models to finished aerospace alloy parts.

Ashbury CEO Morris Peterson briefing Congressman Hurt on TACT3 Tactical Tripod Kit deliveries to the US Army.

Manufacturing Technician and CNC Machinist David Breeden showing parts production using Ashbury's Haas CNC Lathe and Vertical Mill.

James Slaughter Ordnance Assembly Technician showing Congressman Hurt the SABER®-FORSST® modular rifle chassis manufactured by Ashbury.

Gary Gregory Ashbury's Firearms Production Manager and Morris Peterson showing Congressman Hurt ordnance products built our Ruckersville, VA. facility.

Matthew Peterson, Product Development Coordinator and Pamela Bergeret Ashbury's Executive Vice President briefs Congressman Hurt on the APO ASW50 Precision Tactical Rifle.

We’ve just got our heads above water from attending our most successful SHOT Show ever! We had the opportunity to see many old friends, and make a few new ones! We would like to especially thank members of the media and press that visited our shooting point at Media Day at the Range and our booth. We really appreciate your interest in our products! We appreciated all the nice folks who took the time to visit with us at the Show.

For those of you that did not get the opportunity to attend the SHOT Show, or might like to check out some of the APO media coverage here’s a consolidated media list. Pictures and individual video’s from the 2012 SHOT Show can be found on our homepage in the image and video galleries. Please enjoy the 2012 SHOT Show Wrap-Up Video!

Every year we meet some great new people at the SHOT Show, this year one of the standouts was Barbara Eldredge. Barbara attended Media Day at the Range as a member of the Press and struck up a conversation with us about product engineering and design. We discovered during our conversation and interview that she had no experience shooting a rifle, so we remedied that most quick by getting her up to the shooting bench on the firing line. The lady has some skills, and we hope she’s able to get out to the shooting range more in the future.

We’ve re-printed her blog post from Core77.com with permission. Copyright 2012 Core77.com – Barbra Eldredge. Keep an eye out for our APO SHOT Show Wrap-Up next week. NSSF did a great job on this years exhibition.

SHOT Show 2012: APO’s Custom Firearms

Gear heads love to mod their cars and shooting sports aficionados love to mod their guns. It makes sense then that Ashbury Precision Ordnance (APO) developed a unique modular firearm that enables user customization and changeability. Their SABER-FORSST Modular Rifle Chassis System lets one choose between interchangeable options for the gun’s shoulder stock, center, and barrel/forend while sporting rails that accommodate non-proprietary accessories like sights.

I had the opportunity to fire one of the newest incarnations of the system, the ASW50. “ASW” stands for Asymmetric Warrior—asymmetric war is the kind of conflict where the combatants are not equal in resources and military power. Think guerrilla warfare. Think insurgency. The ASW50 is a long-range “precision tactical rifle” with manageable recoil and an easy trigger. It may look a little imposing, but with this rifle I was able to hit a spade-shaped target 300 yards away (and I’m no crack shot).

More interestingly, APO’s parent company Ashbury International runs a Rapid Product Development Center that helps users bring customization to a whole new level. Firearm components, just like many other industrial products, are CAD drawn and CNC produced. If I had a brilliant idea for a new trigger mechanism or a maybe bump-firing butt-stock, I can send my sketch and concept to Ashbury’s RPDC and have it made into a reality. I spotted several companies at SHOT that performed CNC machining or metal injection molding but Ashbury’s was the only one that offered to manufacture products without pre-made CAD renderings.