UPDATES/ANNOUNCEMENTS
Arctic Bird Dog Association
The club has several calendars still available and for $10.00 ea. Email stillskennelsak@yahoo.com to arrange pick-up.
October 15th 2009
Hello Everyone,
First of all I want to remind you that October 31st is the end of our fiscal year! That means all dues are due November 1st! The membership is $35.00 per year. You can join as an individual or a family.
Please send a check to:
ABDA : Attn Treasurer
PO Box 90914
Anchorage AK 99509
Our final General Membership meeting was held Thursday Oct 15th. At the meeting, as President I tried to acknowledge the accomplishments of our members in the field (AKC & NAVDA), the show ring and other arenas. I was not very successful in getting information regarding those who participated and earned certificates/awards for agility, obedience etc etc. In the future I would like to see the club recognize members who are successful in other endeavors outside of the Hunt Tests, so please share any information you might have.
As far as the show ring, I saw several members were successful this past year. I am not a show dog person so I was not fluent in the language of awards there, yet I saw Pam & Gareth Stillman, Linda Cordle, Susan Petry, Julianna Christensen, Robin Farrage, Joy Bryan all mentioned several times for wins and or titles. Congratulations to all of you!
ABDA had five members participate in NAVDA tests; Dan Brandvold (UPT), John Sarvis(Prize III, UPT), Don Holum(Prize II, NA), Jeff Daigneau(Prize I, NA), and Jay Parker(Prize II, UT). Ask these guys about NAVDA, it is an inclusive test and exciting test. Congratulations guys!
In the AKC Hunt Tests we had numerous dogs qualify and a few actually complete their titles. Gareth Stillman and Julianna Christensen received Junior Titles in the pointers group, Tim Bloom received his Senior Title in the spaniel group.
The first ever Spaniel Working dog Test (thanks to Maggie Lindsey) had Jim McConnell, Don Stewart, Dave Campbell and Jack Anderson qualify for Working Dog Titles and Derek & Sherry Tomlinson received a Working Dog Excellent Title.
Please forgive me if I missed anyone, I know there are a lot of folks out there working their dogs and accomplishing wonderful things. Keep up the good work!
Finally, we held the annual election of officers on Thursday. We had a low turn out for the meeting but were able to meet the requirement for a quorum.
The new Board is:
President-Gareth Stillman
VP Spaniels-Mike Kasterin
VP-Pointers-Jon Marcott
Treasurer-Chris Christensen
Secretary-Julianna Christensen
At Large-Tim Bloom
Past President-Dale Sweetser
Thanks for a good season.
Have a safe and fun hunting season!
Don't forget, send in your dues now!
Dale
September 15th 2009 President's message:
ABDA 2009 Hunt Test Season Wrap Up
Well the Hunt Test season has wrapped up. Over all we had a good season. Top on the list would be no serious safety violations; thanks gunners and gun captain. As always there were a few glitches, yet with the help of all those who where contributing their time and efforts we over came the obstacles. The board is already thinking about how to improve for next year.
The Pointing Dog Hunt Test on August 15th and 16th had a brace at each level. We, unfortunately, had no qualifiers at Senior and Master levels. At Junior though, we had two dogs qualify twice. Toby with Gareth Stillman and Chile with Julianna Christensen. Both dogs have completed there final legs for Junior Hunter Title. Congratulations!
The Spaniels had better luck at Master and Senior. Merry Rose with Derek Tomlinson and Buddy with Maggie Lindsey qualified at Master. The Senior dog of the weekend was Boeing, he qualified with Tim Bloom twice for his Senior Hunter Title. Congratulations Tim and Boeing! Two dogs qualified at Junior, Sara with Patrick Fraser and Ziggy with Jim McConnell.
Maggie Lindsey organized our first Spaniel Working Dog Test and it was a success. There were 4 ESS, 2 English Cockers, and 1 Welsh Springer participating. Awards were as followes;
Working Dog titles Ziggy (ESS) owned by Jim McConnel, Parker (ESS) owned by Don Stewart, Orvie (ESS) owned by Dave Campbell, Lynch (ECS) owned by Jack Anderson
Working Dog Excellent Title Merry Rose (ESS), owned by Derek and Sherry Tomlinson
Thanks to all those who volunteered to plant birds, shoot, shag birds etc. at these events. Please continue to step up. Also, please recognize each other for your efforts.
The Pheasant Hunt was held and we sold around 150 birds. Not our highest turnout, but it was good nonetheless. Thanks Jim, Derek and Mike for running the show. Being at the pheasant hunt this year was very moving for me. I feel compelled to share my experience�.. On Saturday morning I worked with a gentleman, his young dog and two young sons. What a thrill for the boys and dad to be together with man�s best friend in the outdoors. The boys and the pup had boundless energy. The next day I ran my Britt for an older gentleman who used to have pointing dogs years ago. At the end he was so excited by the memories of being in the field with bird dogs, I could see the emotion in his eyes. I had witnessed between the two hunting parties the reason we all do what we do with our dogs; a passion for the outdoors, the companionship of a dog and the relationship those two components are capable of building between family, friends and generations. I have pictures of the dad with his boys and the elder gentleman with dog and birds. I am contemplating where to put those two special photos so that I will have a constant reminder of what bird dogs and the great outdoors mean to me. I am extremely lucky to have been in the field to experience the wonder of those two hunting parties.
We are a small organization and the work force can become burned out. If you are new to our club, don�t be afraid, you can�t make a mistake and any efforts you make will be appreciated. We can never have too much help. This goes for judging too. Becoming a judge takes some time and effort, but without that we do not have Hunt Tests. AKC requires certain amounts of experience (points) in the field as judges for each event. We as a club need to continually accumulate points by getting new judges in the field in order to meet their requirements. If you are interested in judging events, please talk to a board member.
The quarterly meeting is scheduled for October 15th at the usual Carrs on Muldoon. We will be electing officers at that time so please plan to attend and vote. We will be sending the nominees list soon.
Thanks for a great summer of events.
Dale
June 8th 2009
It is official�summer is here! How do I know? Well, the Novice Class is finished and Fun Day is in the history books.
The Fun Day was last Saturday and it seemed to me that there were a good number of people in attendance. I want to say thank you to those folks who helped make it a fun day.
*First of all thanks to Cheryl Eldridge for putting together a fine meal and thanks to Sherry Tomlinson and Kathy Bromley for helping Cheryl.
*At the pointer field we had bird planters and gunners who made things run smoothly; thanks Trigg Davis, Maggie Lindsey and Barb soon to be Brandvold. Thanks Dan for helping those folks with drills and skills.
*Keith Lindsey did a fantastic job of gunner training and Derek Tomlinson set up the tents (I am sure he had help, but not sure who).
*The spaniel group was efficient and demonstrated great teamwork, cooperation and willingness to get things done.
* Thanks to Don Stewart for handling the thankless job of money police.
*I saw quite a few people sporting new ABDA merchandise thanks to Tim Bloom.
*And of course, thanks to Gary and the great birds!
* I am sure I missed some folks, Thanks to everyone.
The Novice class was completed the week before the Fun Day and we had a good group of people. Nine dogs joined the pointer group and three were in the spaniel group. The class was arduous and the participants were attentive. They all demonstrated patience and persistence throughout. I know the pointer group received lots of instruction that required �homework� or yard work and everyone followed up. Seven out of nine from the pointer novice class attended the Fun Day. I believe we had all the spaniels at the fun day (Mike Kasterin and Don Stewart Facilitated the Spaniel Class).
A note for everyone to consider�The Novice Class and it�s culminating event, the Fun Day, were successful because people volunteered their time, wisdom and experience to those who are less experienced as well as to those peers who are equally experienced. Those members of ABDA that are out there sharing and coaching do not do it for themselves; they do it because they love dogs and the process of training dogs. There will always be a new group or individuals joining the ranks of bird dog training/handling. If you appreciated the efforts of support, a heart felt thanks is great, as Dan Brandvold suggests it would be even more powerful if you remember the support and someday, you be the one to pass on your experience to someone else.
Dale
PS- Check your calendars for upcoming events in July;
*Chukar Challenge July 11th
*General Meeting July 16th- location TBA
* Pointer Hunt Test July 18 & 19 / Spaniel Hunt Test July 25 & 26
PSS- I have two ABDA calendars left if anyone would like them for a large discount!
Dear Arctic Bird Dog Association Members,
As newly elected president of the Arctic Bird Dog Association (ABDA), I would like to introduce myself. I have been in Alaska five years now. I work in the Mat-Su School District as a Resource Specialist. (Who knows what that is?) I have a wife and six dogs; three bird dogs and three companion dogs. My bird dogs are Buck (Weimaraner), Willy (Chesapeake), and Pie (Brittany) and in the past I have had a lab, another Weimaraner and another Brittany. They were not all trained to the level of my current dogs, but each of them has taught me a thing or two about dogs and training. I am not an expert, but I do love training and hunting birds with dogs.
Prior to moving here I lived in Montana for twelve years. While in Montana I joined a gun dog club Missouri Headwaters Gun Dog Club(MHGDC) and discovered the �competitive� dog events; National Shoot to Retrieve Assoc. (NSTRA), AKC Hunt Tests (for retrievers). Willy earned his Senior Hunter in Montana and Pie earned her Senior Hunter here in Alaska. Pie is just a few points short of a NSTRA Championship, she still is mad about leaving before earning that title. I served on the MHGDC board for five years and enjoyed most of it. Although I never intended to participate in these events, I found the training was pretty much the same and it made setting goals for my self and dogs a little easier. I do have better dogs because I trained for these events.
Any organization takes hard work and commitment. There is rarely an easy path to any objective. I understand that ABDA has obstacles to overcome on the path to maintaining its membership, finances and sponsoring events. The obstacles are not insurmountable. I have met a number of hard working, intelligent and creative folks in our club. As the president of the club, I hope to work with those whom I have met and others that I know are out there to organize and present events that will help keep the club and its members moving in a positive direction.
The club relies on volunteers for all the events. I do understand that our lives are very busy, yet I hope I can rely on everyone to step forward and share a little of their time for the benefit of the club and the dogs (and their owners). I look forward to meeting new folks, learning more about dog training and enjoying the outdoors with you and your dogs.
Dale Sweetser
President
Arctic Bird Dog Association
President's messages 2009
