Wisconsin State Titles
12 Gauge (3 times) – 1990, 1992, 1994
20 Gauge (3 times) – 1984, 1985, 1995
.410 Bore (1 times) – 1999
HOA (3 times) – 1985, 1992, 1999
HAA (1 times) – 1999
John Celebre, the cigar smoking fireman from Kenosha, took up skeet with the hope that his hunting skills would improve and he could bag more ducks. He shot a few registered targets in 1972 but took the sport seriously beginning in 1976. Shooting must have come easily to him because he quickly attained a HOA average over ninety six percent in 1977, and the ducks began to fall regularly.
John claims the rare distinction of having a shoot named after him and not having to die to achieve fame. The famous “Celebre Fly-In” held at Faskell’s club was dedicated to John because of his ineptness at the controls of a plane. The story, according to John, was that Bernie Faskell assured him that a place could land at his club, but that the landing should be toward the south; i.e. toward the highway. As it turned out, the wind was from the north (behind the plane), and as John approached the “landing strip” he recalls, I cut the power (but) the airplane would not stop flying. It just kept floating and eating up ground.” As he (and eventual wife Laurie) raced past a couple of Bernie’s trucks and assorted cars parked along the field, he shouted, “We’re going to crash!” They skidded through the front parking lot and onto the highway where the front wheel came to rest on the white line. John and Laurie looked out the window into the astonished face of a motor home driver who was now cross-wise in the road. John calmly motioned him around, taxied the plane into the parking lot, and proceeded to break a hundred in the 20 gauge. John was named to the All-State First Team 6 times. Over the years John won eleven state championships. As recently as 1999, he won the .410 and the HOA events at the State Shoot while carrying a .9825 four gun average for the shooting year.
Wisconsin Skeet Shooting Association 