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Barker Newsletter for March/April 2009
President: Mark Kawalek President@BigDHRC.com
Vice President: Matt Underwood VicePres@BigDHRC.com
Treasurer: Amy Pyeatt Treasurer@BigDHRC.com
Secretary: Boone Pyeatt Secretary@BigDHRC.com
By: Wade Duay
BIG D goes BIG again! Our AKC hunt test had the highest number of
dog entries of any hunt test ever held in the state of Texas! There
were a total of 578 entries. It was a lot of hard work and our members
really stepped up when the pressure was on. On behalf of club
executives, the board of directors, and the hunt test committee, thanks
to you all! Also a special thanks goes out to those non-members that
stepped up and helped as well. It’s great to know that when push comes
to shove dog people are always willing to pitch in to make it work.
Well done! Lastly a big round of applause goes to our hunt test
chairman, Orie Mathews. His tireless effort and dedication was key to
making this test a success. Well done, Orie!
As most of you probably already know, Jimmy Fischer has stepped down
from his position of club president. Unfortunately the working hours of
his new job will not allow him the time needed to carry out his duties
as club president. On the one hand we extend him congratulations and
wish him luck in his new job, and on the other we are saddened to lose
his leadership within the club. Best of luck to you Jimmy! We hope to
see you at meetings and special events.
With that being said, I’d like to extend a warm welcome to Mark
Kawalek as our new club president. Mark, we know that you’ll do a great
job. While filling the position of president, Mark is vacating the
position of vice president. The club executives and the board of
directors are looking to announce a back-fill to Mark’s old office
within the next few weeks.
I’d like to send out a BIG (D) congratulations to Dave Benton and
Ria for reaching the 1000-point milestone. Although I didn’t see it, I
hear tell that Dave scored style points for his pond dive. I did get to
see the video of Ria sharing her cake with him. I think Ria was a
little aghast at Dave’s table manners but what the heck, as they say
when in Rome…. Great fun, thanks for sharing Patti.
Monthly Meetings
If you haven’t been to a club meeting in awhile I encourage you to
attend. We’ve changed the format somewhat, the first half of each
meeting is dedicated to club business and the second half is allotted
for club & guest speakers to cover a wide range of topics. At our
March meeting Mark Kawalek held a great training session on the ins and
outs of being a Hunt Test Marshal. This paid big dividends for our
recent AKC test. At our April meeting Tim Slattery held a great review
of marking and teaching marking concepts. Thanks Tim! To follow-up on
Tim’s work we will extend this topic to our monthly training day on
April 11th. In the future we look forward to having a guest speaker,
Dr. Ed Aycock, to update us on the latest genetic research effecting
retrievers. Dr. Aycock is a local veterinarian who specializes in the
retriever breeds and he’s also a successful field trialer.
Upcoming Events
Now for something really exciting -- the club is planning a fun hunt in May 2010. Look for upcoming emails detailing the event. It’ll be a good time with dogs and BBQ! This
event is free to club members. We will set up a mock test with approved
judges and real birds. We’ll have Junior/Started, Senior/Seasoned and
Master/Finished test scenarios. You can run your dog with or without
e-collar and we are giving a name plate on a plaque for the best dogs in each series. The
event is still in the planning stages for 2010, so look for further information
to follow.
HRC Events
Texas Panhandle -- TBA
Colorado River -- TBA
Alamo Retriever -- TBA
AKC Events
* Big D HRC will not hold an AKC Hunt Test in the Spring of 2010
DFWLRC -- TBA
Tejas HRC -- TBA
Heart of Texas -- TBA
Be sure to check out our new Calendar Page for dates of upcoming events
Training
Remember we hold monthly training days on the second Saturday of
each month until the start of the fall hunting season. Locations vary
and are announced monthly at the club meetings. As I said earlier our
next training day is on Saturday, March 13th. It’s going to be held at a location TBA each month. Look for emails if are not at the month's meeting. We usually start around 8:00am.
Look for the email with directions to the location.
Also to restate, sometimes it’s hard to find others to train with on
a regular basis. I encourage members to reach out to other members
within their general area of the DFW metroplex to help each other
train. I know as an amateur trainer just helping throw marks and having
someone to help you with throwing marks is a tremendous benefit. Trust
me -- you don’t need to be an expert. Just the ability to throw a
bumper and the willingness to help is all that’s needed. The rest comes
in time. If you would like to volunteer to be a group coordinator in
your area (just to get things started) please let Boone Pyeatt know and
he’ll get the word out to the general membership.
Group Emails and the rules
When sending out a group email to BigD@listserv.tamu.edu please use the following rules.
- The
conclusion of your message put your email address after your
salutation, this way if someone wants to respond to your message they
will know the correct email address to use.
- Do not use the group email list as a chat room. Use the email list for exchange of information not casual banter.
- Keep the comments positive and polite. You thoughts and ideas may not always agree with the author.
- The group email now has the option of a Reply to the send
or Reply All to the group. Please keep this in mind when sending a
response.
Meetings
The club meets at 6:30 PM on the first Tuesday of each month at Golden Corral, Forest Lane, just south of 635, south on Webb Chapel, left at Forest Lane. See location under "Membership" link. The next
meeting is March 2, 2010.
Miscellaneous
Litters, if you know of any pups on the ground or upcoming litters please send an email to Boone.
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