2015 NRC: Nov 7, 2015

Saturday, November 7, 2015

Cocktails and Dreams … Celebrating 75 Years!

Y U M M Y !!

Mikle Witt, Jerry Cacchio and Tera Lanczak

Laura and John Parrott

Jay and Raelene Phelps

Chris and Portia Hatch

Kenny Trott and Marcy Wright

… KISS CAM!!

Diane and Brad Clow

Newlyweds … Jeff and Lauren Hays

Wayne and Terri Curtiss

Becky and Bill Eckett

Jim Cope and Steve Karr

Mitch and Linda Patterson

Lynn and Michael Moore

Jerry Cacchio and Mike Witt of Purina

Fred Kampo, Kathy Folsom and Sue Kampo

Sue and Fred Kampo

Dan Partington and Richard Smith

Curt Showalter, Dennis Bath and Laura and John Parrott

Erin, Holly and Clint Avant

General Meeting

The meeting came to order at 2:08 pm

President - Gary Zellner opens the meeting.

Pledge of Allegiance

Gary Zellner mentioned that this event was dedicated to the memory of Bill Kolstad who died this past year, after which we observed a moment of silence for all those filed trialers and dogs that had passed.

Secretary/ Treasurer David Opseth gives the role call and established a quorum.

Minutes from 2014 meeting need to be passed. Minutes have been distributed,and there was a motion that was seconded to approve the minutes. David mentioned that the National Retriever Club had collected all the dues from all the clubs.

52 Clubs donated to the Workers Party – perhaps the largest amount ever.

Treasurer’s report has been distributed, do we have a motion to approve.

A statement from the PRTA was given by Paul Sletten.

Presentation of Portrait to last year’s winner Alan Pleasant – Donated by Purina and painted by Ross Young

Nominations for 2016 National Board President & Board Members

Steven Karr, President
Tommy Parrish, Vice President
Mitch Patterson, Director
Julie Cole, Director
David Opseth, Secretary/ Treasurer

Motion to close nomination, Approve the board as presented.

Announcement of 2016 NRC

Location: Bonham, TX

Date: Nov. 13-19, 2016

FT Chairman:

Judges: Jeff Talley, Ron Ainley and Rob Reuter

Corporate liaison Gwen Jones reported on the Sponsors who make this event possible and asked the participants to take the time to thank our Sponsors this week for all of their support.

Gwen handed out commemorative clocks to the follow:

Exclusive Major Sponsor: Purina – Representatives Mike Witt & Jerry Cacchio

Avery – Representative David Carrington

Dogtra – Representative Tellus Callhoun

Kent – Representative providing ALL of our ammunition

Julie Cole introduced Chris Hatch - Co-Chairman

Judges gifts were presented

Award of recognition to Gary Zellner for outgoing NRC President

Thanked landowners

FT Chairperson - Rob Reuter

Marshal introduction

*** Description of First series - Land/Water Triple with all Hen Mallards.

Rules from the marshals - Dog or Handler must be on the mat.

1. Every 20 dogs ran will be a gun change.

2. Rotation for the first four tests run will be 12, 36, 60, 85

3. The first 25 dogs in rotation will be allowed to view the test from the line when first announced.

4. When the running dog is returning with the last bird in the test the Handler in the holding blind will be asked to take their dog off-lead to begin judgement.

5. First no-bird: handler will come immediately back to the line.

6. Second no-bird: handler will go back six and run seventh.

7. Third no-bird: handler will run at the end of the rotation.

Test Dog will run at 6:30 am, First running dog will run at 7:00 am.

Mat instructions will be posted in the holding blinds.

Worker's Caravan to the test site will leave at 5 am from the headquarters parking lot. At 5:15 am the first 25 dogs will begin their caravan to the test site.

Test Dogs for 2015 are introduced and the rules for a split test were discussed.

FC AFC Ebb Tide's Ode To Irish Soul, "Otis," Labrador Male
Handler : Kirk Lilebo

Island Hopper, "Maui," Labrador Female
Handler: Larry Mike Smith

Selection of starting dog

Starting number is #12. FC AFC Indy Go Girl, "Indy," LF, Handler Chris Ledford.

The announcement regarding the bitch check was that it would occur in the parking lot outside the gymnasium directly after the meeting.

Adjournment

Retriever Advisory Committee Meeting

The meeting came to order at 1:20 pm

John Russell – addressed the concerns of "Honoring" in the Qualifying & All-Age Stakes & the lack there of. It was expressed by the Board, Honoring is a basic skill a retriever should perform & is a necessary skill to challenge in competition. It should be monitored by the clubs when they run their field trials. It was stated that if the problems persists the board will force the issue to be resolved.

Jerry Mann – AKC Field Director, talked about several complaints he has received about the use of Frozen Birds. It was discussed the problem needs to be addressed. It was also mentioned the Judges whom can request fresh and/or refuse to use the birds in poor condition presenting an unfair situation for the purpose of competition.

Julie Cole – came to the podium. In the June meeting, Julie opened further discussion for having the minor stakes utilize the DOW & a Rotation in order to prevent a handler from having to run their dog 1st in more than one series in the same weekend event. Much was expressed on the subject. Judy Pond made a great point in that the Marshals' have the ability mediate how the contestants line up and run if handlers are at other stakes. Good Marshaling is a key component to putting on a good field trail.

Some concern was raised about the future Judges Pool. It was posed "How do we start the process to have Pro's start to Judge." An extensive debate ensued, however it is not a quick fix and will take rule changes at least a year and a half to take effect. At the end of debate it was obvious that many in attendance where in favor of having Professional Trainers Judge Field Trials.

John Russell encouraged further discussion on any concerns the audience may have and none was expressed. The meeting was then adjourned.

All that are in attendance

Valerie & Bobby Lane, owners of "Ali"

People stood to show their interest in having field trial professionals judge.

The 2015 NRC Judges

We are anxiously awaiting the unveiling of tests these three Judges have devised. Thanks to their collaborative efforts we will hold 10 Series over a the course of the next week to challenge every facet of ability these canine athletes are capable of. Some will succeed and some will fail the week's tests. However, in the end all the Retriever Teams are WINNERS, having just qualified for the event is an accomplishment & an honor.

L to R: Wayne Bleazard, Laura Parrott, & Randy Whittaker

Photo - Shopping

As always, everyone wants to experience the National and all the amazing places it travels to. Our official photographers, Mark Atwater and Todd Norton, are no exception. The crowd slowed and a pair of hummingbirds provided good entertainment for us. Enjoy what they captured!

Mark Atwater getting UP CLOSE & Personal

A tag team effort to capture the perfect image - Standing, assistant photographer Todd Norton

Get Your "Red Hot" Merchandise

Hurry! Hurry! At the Headquarters, Rollings Hills Casino – The Inn get your commemorative National Retriever Championship Merchandise. Mark this momentous occasion, don't miss out, the merchandise going quickly as they have limited sizes & quantities.