Tornado Alli, also known as Allison Black in real life has been involved in Cowboy Action Shooting since 1999. Her first glimpse of the Cowboy Way was in Cheyenne Wyoming at the Hell on Wheels Match. Originally out to visit family she wound up hanging out at the range for the whole match. And then on Saturday night, when she saw all the ball gowns, she was ready to join up!  Alli signed up, found an alias that suited her to a T, and the rest is history.  Alli enjoys shooting, and was the South Carolina Ladies State Champion for two years in a row in 2001 and 2002.  She shoots Ladies’ Traditional style and generally enjoys a “middle of the pack” finish at most shoots. But Alli’s real passion in this sport is the costuming!  

In 2000, Alli decided that she would have a new ball gown for Mule Camp that year. But when she began pricing gowns, she realized it was time to dust off her old sewing machine. So she bought three Truly Victorian patterns and some material and took her first Best Dressed Award! That inspired her to keep sewing and pretty soon she had turned out a fair wardrobe and another Best Dressed Award at Mule Camp 2001.  

It was that year that she met the rest of the Carolina Belles. Pretty soon, they were sewing together and sharing ideas. Together they created quite a stir when they decided to make gowns for the Mule Camp Ball and forever set the bar for costuming in SASS.  It was for that occasion that Alli decided to recreate the red Shameful Dress from Gone with the Wind. Although it was the most difficult dress she had ever made, it turned out great. It garnered another Best Dressed Award at Mule Camp that year and best of all, Alli took First Place in the Ladies’ Evening Dress category at the first Annual SASS Convention in Vegas in 2002! 

It was after winning the Convention that Alli decided that it was time to share her costuming ideas and leave the contests to others. She offered to run the contest at Mule Camp and expanded it to include multiple categories and places, a format that was later incorporated into the national costume contest protocol which she also helped to formulate. She also began teaching seminars at both the 2^nd Annual Convention and SASS Family Reunion, instructing both beginning and experienced costumers on techniques to make a better bodice and to develop their SASS character. She and the other Belles also started the website to reach out to SASS shooters, both men and women from all over the world.   

Alli’s life in reality has taken a number of turns over the years, but Alli has finally found happiness in Chicago, IL with the love of her life, Jeff! Although Jeff is not a cowboy shooter, Alli is encouraging him to learn the shooting sports and they are enjoying target and skeet shooting on their farm in Michigan. Alli is still very involved in SASS costuming with her best friends, the Carolina Belles! Look for more and more involvement over the next few years as she enjoys retirement from the legal profession and more sewing time! The best is yet to come!