SHOW CHAIRS NEVER SIT: CARMA EWER
6. How are judging panels decided? Who stewards at your show(s)/cluster? Who stewards? Club Members and the Group Clubs submit prospec- tive judges, and the Show Committee works to put together a panel that is agreeable to everyone. Who stewards? Anyone we can find: club members, friends, other exhibitors, husbands, and children of club mem- bers. We do provide lunch and pay $50/day for Stew- ards. This year, we offered free, premium RV parking to anyone who would provide a Steward for the three all-breed shows. Finding Stewards is a huge problem. We don't have many shows in our area, so members and exhibitors are unwilling to give up one of only four weekends in the state to steward. We have learned to use only one steward per ring, and this has been helpful. 7. Are Breed Seminars and Judges Education offered? No. 8. How are your show(s)/cluster promoted? TV? Radio? Print Media? Social Media? Our shows are promoted mostly on social media and with flyers, and by word-of-mouth. 9. What are some of the challenges that you’ve had to face as show/cluster chair? Our biggest challenge is the competition for exhibitors. Because we are in the Mountain West, our exhibitors travel farther distances to shows than on the coasts. It is not unusual for an exhibitor to travel 400-600 miles on a weekend to attend an all-breed show. With AKC continuing to approve new clubs in surrounding states, we are forced to compete with multiple clubs for a small number of exhibitors. Shows in Colorado, New Mexico, California, and Washington mostly draw on the same exhibitor pool. 10. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, what have you and your club members learned about put- ting on a dog show? What, if any, are the differences from previous years and how are you planning for the future? I loved the entrance and exits to the rings, and I am sad to see those disappear. Also, we have learned to eas- ily run a ring with one Steward. We had shows during COVID, but moved most everything outdoors. The AKC Reps were helpful and important to keep things running smoothly. Larry Cornelius was our Rep and he really helped, answering questions, and helping exhibitors and the show committee. We really appreciated him. “We try our best to not double up on vendors and make sure that we have a variety of vendors attending, including local vendors.”
provided a continental breakfast, coffee, and juice in the morn- ings and afternoons. The area was close to the restrooms and also close to the superintendent’s tables to make things easier for our judges. We also provide hospitality to our superinten- dents, photographers, and anyone else helping with our show. Vendors: Our Vendor Chair/Grounds Chairman works with the vendors. This year, we tried to put them close together to encourage our exhibitors to support them and make shopping as easy as possible. We try our best to not double up on ven- dors and make sure that we have a variety of vendors attend- ing, including local vendors. Public Education: Probably not our best feature, but we do offer a dog show tour conducted by a club member, and our Facebook page and Web Page had a number of inquiries, which myself and other club members monitored and answered as best we could. We also had two Meet the Breed booths put on by local exhibitors. 5. Does your show/cluster offer the National Owner-Handled Series? Junior Showmanship? 4-6 Month Beginner Puppy? Best Bred-By? Specialties? The Group Shows offer NOHS as do the all-breed shows. The all-breed show has made a commitment to NOHS and has equal value trophies for Regular BIS & Groups and NOHS BIS & Groups. Most of the Group Clubs offer Junior Show- manship, plus the three days of all-breed shows. We also offer a special Junior Showcase Specialty show one evening, usually on Saturday evening. This is a stand-alone event. We offer great prizes, a huge armband raffle where every Junior receives a significant prize, pizza, a Q&A with the AKC Rep, and even photos for every Junior. It is really a special “feel good” event for everyone. We have two days of 4-6 Month Beginner Puppy competition, plus four Open Shows; two on Saturday and two on Sunday. We offer Best Bred-By, along with Best Puppy and Best Veteran. Specialties? Two days of Group Shows are held for Toys, Terriers, Working, and Non-Sporting Groups. “Finding Stewards is a huge problem. We don't have many shows in our area, so members and exhibitors are unwilling to give up one of only four weekends in the state to steward. We have learned to use only one steward per ring, and this has been helpful.”
196 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, NOVEMBER 2022
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