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Part 3: The role and function of the PNW regional director

Part 3: The role and function of the PNW regional director's position within the UScA is both mandated and to a lesser degree prerogative. Below are three guiding principles containing elements of both:

1. The office will issue event authorizations for sanctioned events (trials, conformation shows and helper seminars) to regional clubs in keeping with the stated objectives of USCA.
2. The office will actively promote the use of USCA's breed registry program for the German Shepherd Dog.
3. The office recognizes and supports that many participate in these sanctioned events not for the purpose of entering a German Shepherd Dog in to the breed registry but as a sport.
4. The office is fully supportive of all other breeds and their respective organizations in their schutzhund endeavors where it does not conflict with our primary purpose.

The regional director will further report to the President of the UScA regarding the state of the region as well as avail themselves as a voting member of the UScA executive board.

It should lastly be emphasized that the regional director's office supports and will communicate with every UScA member within the region whether they choose to participate as an individual, organized training group, or a club member who retains enhanced influence through their clubs voting rights. It is among the highest of priorities for the regional director's office to encourage the formation of clubs in the hopes of maximum member participation; this forms the core of our existence. However, any member who intentionally infringes upon or hinders another's right to choose between individual, organized training group, or club participation within the existing framework of UScA rules, will, in the opinion of this office, be acting in a manner "prejudicial to the interests of UScA."

Beyond the aforementioned, all additional UScA requirements, and these few interpretive prerogatives, there is very little that the director's office should or will involve itself.

Best regards,

Kevin L. Nance
PNW Regional Director

From the Regional Director: Part 2

Part 2: Regional Events and Regional Fund Sustainability

The 2011 regional meeting participants had two primary priorities before them which the delegates present tackled deliberately, decisively, and with absolutely no self serving agendas present. It was without rancor and absolutely refreshing in it's tenor.

It was noted that despite the best efforts of well-intended, highly capable clubs and individuals to host and indeed pull off first class regional events, these events were entirely underrepresented by other clubs in the region.

Twin County Schutzhund Club sponsored this year's Regional Helper Seminar featuring Dennis Vander Linde the Director of the UScA Helper Committee. By all accounts it was an excellent event both in its preparation and Dennis' work with the various helpers. However, no UScA club helpers aside from TCSC's own attended although Karen noted the participation of several non affiliated helpers who later obtained UScA membership. Karen would further like it noted that although the event itself was in the red, it most certainly generated "income" from participant dues and to UScA itself through new membership.

Tri State Schutzhund Association sponsored this year's Regional Championship putting together an excellent venue with gorgeous tracking, a World respected judge, and National level helpers. Gail, Sue, Lynne and many others put on the kind of event that you know represented many, many months of hard work and preparation as it was pulled off without a hitch and seemingly effortlessly. Unfortunately, only one UScA club handler team chose to participate in the schutzhund portion, Lynne Lewis with Galina. But through the concerted efforts of Warren and the organizers many friends and independent UScA members showed to support the event with a myriad of TRs, OBs, and last minute entries. Gail was proud to report the event will not be requiring reimbursement by the region.

In lieu of the limited participation at these two regionally mandated events, the delegates began earnest consideration on two main issues. The first, how to stem the regional funds' recent outflow that we may support these events and remain viable; and second, what steps may be taken to "hopefully" increase participation at next year's regional venues.

The Regional Fund

It was proposed by Lynne Lewis that the region adopt funding for the Regional Championship similar to the Canadians in their respective regions. Every club will "sponsor" two schutzhund entry fees for the Regional Championship. They would then have the option to either send two members to fill those pre-paid spots or the money would default toward support of the event. This motion was passed and, to the credit of the delegates present and an excellent idea, both our solvency and ability to continue hosting quality events was assured.

The Regional Championships, Conformation Show/Breed Survey and Helper Seminar

After lengthy discussion, considerations of precedents, and the regional bylaws, the delegates voted on and made the following changes for 2012. As an overview, it was sincerely hoped by all present that these changes would encourage growth in participation from all in the region.

1. The Regional Championship and Helper Seminar will be held on the same weekend to help defray overall costs. They will be held at a neutral venue to be determined and coordinated by the regional director's office. It will be absolutely essential for this concept to work that clubs with "boots on the ground" and local knowledge volunteer lending the necessary guidance and support.
2. The Regional Conformation Show and breed survey would remain a stand alone event as it has historically been revenue positive for the hosting club. Since no bid was received, it was left as unfinished business and bids will be solicited going forward.

As it stands today, these events will be scheduled late summer and south of Tacoma.

It was with high optimism that the meeting was adjourned in that it very well addressed our fiscal needs and hopefully some incentive for more of our members' return to regional participation.

However, it should lastly be noted that the results of this meeting may very well be challenged in reference to specific bylaw compliance or their meaning and intent. These concerns may well be legitimate, so it is hoped that any who were not in attendance who may have these concerns bring them forward in a timely manner that they may be appropriately redressed.

Best regards,
Kevin Nance

From the Regional Director

This is the first of a four part message to expand upon discussions and the near unanimous consensus from our regional meeting regarding the state of our region. Proposals to "turn the tide" of nonparticipation at regionally mandated events, and the resultant dwindling of our regional fund will be discussed in depth beyond the scope of the meeting's minutes. Should we fail in these endeavors, it was generally agreed that in two years we will again be meeting, not just to elect new officers, but also to discuss the future viability of the PNW Region.

Part 1:  Apathy, Antipathy, and Elections

The combined apathy and antipathy displayed by too many key individuals within our region has deteriorated to the point where UScA mandated events are not being supported. This is too often because of de facto boycotts due to who is "hosting" a respective event. The multi-year shrinkage of the regional fund to subsidize the clubs hosting these events thus becomes the litmus of our ability to be self-sustaining. To not be self-supporting would necessarily require our eventual  dissolution and absorption into another region.
The regional meeting clearly displayed this apathy and the overall consensus that "things will never change". The very fact that I was being considered for the regional director's position over the half dozen people in the room with 25 to 30 years in the sport was testimony enough. Asked individually if each clubs representative would consider the position was met with a resounding no; asked what each representative knew about me could cumulatively be described as "not much". My paraphrased reply:

"That is absolutely pathetic. We care so little about the state of our region and who runs it that we're willing to 'settle for some schmuck from Alaska' with far less legitimacy in the sport than most in this room, and whom you know little to nothing about. And, there are three other representatives in the region who know me at least in passing, expressed unsolicited support, and yet are not present. We were absolutely in need of their presence as well if hope for an unassailable consensus was to be achieved."

It was further clearly established that interpersonal antipathy among multiple protagonists within the region was irreconcilable and detrimental to the business of the region.  Our overall region is no different than the microcosm example in Alaska where the three entities unfortunately "don't play well together," many of our Canadian friends, or multiple other UScA Regions.  The only difference between us and "them" is their ability to put differences aside to support in a sustainable way their mandated events. We, like the now defunct UScA Rocky Mountain Region, are in the process of failing as evidenced by the continued diminishment of our regional fund.
Following the aforementioned discussions, I queried those in attendance:

"What's in this for me to leave a contented time in my life with a retired wife, empty nest, ability to travel, train and trial, and de facto part time job leading to near full time dog training to accept working for you all? I have 'no proverbial dogs' in any of these fights so why should I care?"

The resounding silence that followed prompted an answer to what had become my own rhetorical question:

"I will accept this position and give it my absolute all IF the clubs in this region provide the consensus, tools, and support necessary to 'have a chance' for us to cumulatively succeed. I do not wish to be the next in a continuing line of well-intentioned good people who continue status quo into a deteriorating, unsustainable situation."

We unanimously agreed: the status quo was not going to cut it...
Best regards to all,

Kevin Nance

Sportsfriends,

As you hopefully are now aware, the Regional Meeting will take place on the evening of Sept 24, starting at 5:00 pm at the Host Hotel (The Best Western Plus Coeur d’ Alene Inn 506 West Appleway in Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho). You received prior notification of this event on or before August 16. While my prior message in July (see below) intimated that there were a few bylaws changes that would be good to implement, I don’t believe that this message was sufficiently detailed to count as official notification of a bylaws amendment proposal (“…a copy of the proposed amendment…”). Since such a proposal is due 30 days prior to the Regional meeting, I’m afraid our bylaws will have to stand for another year, barring a regional meeting before the 2012 Regional Championships. That 30-day deadline passed yesterday.

Below please find an agenda for the meeting for comment. The main headings below are specified by the bylaws, and I have added information in some sections about what I propose to be part of the discussion in those sections. As always, constructive feedback is welcome!

• Roll Call


• Reading of the Minutes


• Formal reading may be waived by vote, minutes do need approval. Draft minutes attached. These have been available on the website through a link on the home page for some time.


• Report of the Regional Director


• I will attempt to provide a written report prior to the meeting to shorten this step


• Report of the Treasurer
• Report of the Committees


• Election of Members of the Board


• Regional director
• Asst. Regional Director
• Regional Training Director
• Regional Breed Warden
• Secretary
• Treasurer


• Unfinished Business


• New Business


• Proposals to limit the rate of decimation of the Regional Fund.


• Selection of host clubs for the Regional championship, regional breed show and regional helper seminar, 2012


• For Good of the Region



• Adjournment

Yours in the Sport,

Warren L Jones
PNW Regional Director

Big Sky Trial

Hi all –

Big Sky Working Dogs (formerly Big Sky Schutzhund Club) is pleased to announce our fall trial Sept. 17 and 18, 2011, with USCA Al Govednik. The schedule for the trial is to do “stadium” work on Saturday afternoon and evening, and tracking Sunday morning, as we have a very short window of Al’s time. Tracking will be on plowed agricultural soil, with practice tracking on nearly identical conditions available on request. Field layout is permanent blinds with #1 to the left. Entry fees will be $75 for SchH/IPO and/or FH titles, $60 for BH and $35 each for TR/OB. We are forced to add an additional charge of $15 per entry to handlers who are not members of USCA, but all breeds and handlers from all member organizations within AWDF are welcome. Entry fees include dinner at the clubhouse at the training field – a traditional “potluck” by the members of BSWD. Camping is available on site by prior arrangement, no hookups, but shower available. Hotels available within 5 minutes of field.

We are aware of the proximity of our trial to the Regional Championships (the following weekend). We discussed this potential conflict with Tri-state Schutzhund Association prior to issuing the EA, and they graciously gave us the thumbs up for these dates. While we desire to be hospitable to visitors from all over the region, I want to personally encourage anyone aiming for a trial in this time window to please consider supporting the Regional Championship. This will be a challenge for me personally, as well, as I will be trying for a 2 at our own trial and a 3 at the regionals, if everything holds together. I sure would have liked a little more prep time between….

Entry forms are available on the club’s web site at Big Sky Schutzhund.com

Yours in the Sport,

Warren Jones
Pres, BSWD

Regional Helper Seminar & Regional Meeting

Hi sportsfriends,

I hope everyone is enjoying the summer training season – we’ve been pretty fortunate in Montana, with highs rarely out of the 80s this summer. I just wanted to put one more plug in for the Regional Helper Seminar this coming weekend. Dennis van der Linde is an excellent teaching helper, excellent communicator and generally a pretty good guy, so I know it will be a worthwhile event. I know we have a number of talented helpers in our region, particularly in the Oregon and Washington corridor, and there aren’t a ton of opportunities for those folks to get certified and to brush up on their technique. Twin County will take good care of everyone, and if you bring a dog to work the student helpers, you even get in free! For more information, please contact Karen at kadamiGSD@aol.com .

The regional meeting is just over a month away, and I am preparing an agenda for the meeting that includes a slate of officer candidates. I covered the rest of the issues with my last email (in which I also included the current bylaws and suggested revisions). If you didn’t get that message, or want it sent again, please don’t hesitate to contact me. And of course, if you’re interested in any officer position within the region (including mine) don’t hesitate to let me know.

Happy training!

WJ

Regional Elections

I am pleased to announce the candidacy of Kevin Nance for the position of Assistant Regional Director. For those of you who don’t know him, Kevin and Vandal represented us at the Universal Sieger competition in Europe and were the only viable candidates for Universal Sieger in the US until a gaffe in his protection routine at the USCA nationals took him out. The best part is that Kevin and I don’t even agree on everything but we both support the breed and the sport, and Kevin hasn’t pissed off as many people in the region as I have (as far as I know, he hasn’t annoyed anyone yet).


Cheers…

wj

FCI World Team Donation solicitation

USCA Members:

This year’s FCI team is headed to Rheine Germany to compete in the 2011 AWDF/FCI IPO Championship September 8-11, 2011.

www.fci2011.de/

Our team members this year are:

1. Sean O’Kane with Max
2. Dan Cox with Chuck
3. Katie Gillies with Maya
4. Sean Rivera with Iron
5. Kevin Lanouette with Wum
6. John Horan with Cholo


Team Captain – Dave Kroyer

Many of you may not be aware that funding for the trip comes primarily from the competitors themselves. Flight, airfare, hotel, rental car, etc. can easily run in excess of $5000 per competitor. THE TEAM NEEDS YOUR HELP!

I’m asking each of you, if possible, to contribute to this year’s FCI team. Donations can be sent directly to the AWDF or to USCA.

To make a donation:

1. Write the check made payable to either USCA or AWDF
2. Write “2011 FCI TEAM” on the check
3. Send to either USCA or AWDF

NOTES:

* All donations will be equally split among the competitors
* All of the collected donations will pass directly through to the competitors – no administrative costs


United Schutzhund Clubs of America
3810 Paule Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63125-1718

AWDF
308 E. Autumn Drive
Oakwood, IL 61858


THANKS SO VERY MUCH FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION AND SUPPORT


Jim Alloway
LuckyDogDayCamp.com
614.793.1234

E-Ballot 19-11(FEE FOR NON USCA APPRENTICE JUDGES)

E-Ballot 19-11(FEE FOR NON USCA APPRENTICE JUDGES)

Motion made by Nathaniel Roque and seconded by Al Govednik to add a fee for Non USCA Apprentice Judges in the amount of $ 100.00 per Trial to apprentice either at a USCA Trial or under a USCA Judge..

Background:

In the past USCA has always provided at no charge to all AWDF Member Clubs, Judges and training by way of approving apprenticeships and teaching judges to all AWDF Member Clubs, with the increase of clubs starting their own judges programs we are doing more and more apprenticeships for other organizations. This uses USCA Judges resources at the expense of USCA Funds to directly benefit non USCA Clubs.

The reasons that our judges are requested is because we are world recognized, this is due to USCA membership in the WUSV. The WUSV recognizes our judges College because we meet their requirements IE proper apprenticeship, paperwork, an active authorization process. active DOJ as well as yearly meetings (Judges College). Currently the cost to maintain our Judges College is at or above $ 20,000 a year due to the high cost of travel and that we now have 21 judges and apprentices. This cost should not be the sole burden of dues paying USCA members if our judges resources are being used for other organizations benefits, training their judges or allowing our judges to judge their trials. USCA members will not receive much benefit in the near future from the licensing of these other organizations judges since these judges can not be used to judge at a USCA Trial (USCA bylaws require all judges at USCA Event to be USCA, SV or FCI Judges

from WUSV Member Clubs). Our members will benefit from additional judges in other organizations by having potential availability to enter a trial and earn a title at another AWDF Club but this title will be accepted the same as we currently accept DVG earned titles it will only count towards a sport title, not valid for Sports Medal Points, SchH 3 Club or Breed Survey.

I believe that the fees being introduced for USCA Services to non USCA members and Clubs are very fair both for the other clubs and for our members. Their is no reason to support USCA as a member if you can get all of the benefits for free. In order for USCA to continue to provide support to our membership and to our AWDF Member Clubs services must be compensated. USCA has long been supporting all AWDF member clubs through supporting the lions share of the dues to support AWDF Activities and by providing access to USCA Events, providing judges and training and will continue to do so.

Submitted 07/26/11, closes 08/02/11.

Hi Sportsfriends,

I realize we are a few months away from our regional championship and meeting, but I wanted to hit a few things….

1) Regional Helper seminar. Dennis Van der Linde is a great teaching helper, and Twin County promises to provide good hospitality for all comers. Note that the spectator fee is waived if you bring a dog for the young helpers to work. This is a great opportunity to get all your young helpers certified and trained – way cheaper than trying to host your own, esp. for all the Washington/Oregon clubs.

2) Regional Championship. Frank Mensing is coming down from Canada to judge, Tri-State Schutzhund Club (with a little help from Big Sky, we hope!) will be looking to host a great event! Let’s get our regional championship entries up into the 20’s where they belong! Sept 24-25, 2011 in Spokane.

3) Regional Conformation show and trial. Treasure Valley Working Dog Association promises a great show with USA/SV Johannes Grewe. Boise, ID area, Oct. 7-9, 2011 (includes working trial on Friday).

4) Regional meeting, elections, bylaws, etc…. Held in conjunction with the Regional Championship, the regional meeting is our opportunity to clarify and rectify issues in our bylaws, take a look at how we do business, and elect the regional officers. It’s also an important opportunity to begin discussing the position the Regional Director should take at the General Board meeting in November.

This last item (the regional meeting) is worth fleshing out a bit as we get closer. First, bylaws…. I’ve downloaded and cleaned up the bylaws as posted on our regional website (to remove all the shown amendments, etc). Furthermore, I noticed while I was doing this that the amendments passed in 2009 were never included in the version posted on the web. Those of you with the energy to do so are welcome to go through and make sure I got it right. There are a few things that need (in my opinion only) some attention:

• Change all the “USA” ‘s to “USCA”.



• Either adopt directly by reference the duties of the Regional Training Director or cut and paste them in from USCA Regional Policy. [sidebar: I know that National bylaws provisions trump regional, and regional trumps club, etc., but what about national policy? Does it trump Regional Bylaws? I’m thinking it probably does. In which case, ALL of the material in the Regional Policy ought to be referenced somehow in our bylaws].
  There is no Article X… probably ought to renumber.



• The cap on the “checking account balance” imposed by Article XIII paragraph B hasn’t been observed for some time. If it had been, we would have been required to pay administration fees by the bank; the relationship between our regional treasurer and the bank is all that has prevented its adoption as it is. I don’t understand the reason for the cap; our expenses have exceeded our income for several years, so it may be moot sooner than we’d like!
  

Next… how we do business. How do we keep the draining of the regional fund from continuing? Our regional events have been under-enrolled for some time. This is a big factor, and it appears to me that if we get our participation in these events up to the level they should experience, the problem will resolve itself. But if it doesn’t? We may need to curtail our support of regional events from the regional fund. And if we do that, we may get no volunteers at all for regional event hosting. Not a good spiral. What are your thoughts on how we can deal with this?

Finally, regional officers. The positions of RD, ARD, Secretary, Treasurer, Breed Warden and Training Director are elected this cycle. As of this writing, I am planning on running again for RD. Others within the officer ranks may be looking to remain in their current posts or to depart. If you are interested in trying your hand at serving the region in one of these capacities, I encourage you to contact Emily Carte, the Regional Secretary, so that your name can be included on the ballot. Nominations from the floor are also welcome at the regional meeting, but I thought we should start folks thinking early.

Thanks for staying with me through such a long message and multiple topics. I look forward to hearing from you and to seeing you at one of the upcoming regional events.

Yours in the Sport,


Warren L Jones
PNW Regional Director

TRIAL HELPER SEMINAR & CLASSIFICATION

Plan now to attend the Trial Helper Seminar & Classification with USA Teaching Helper Committee Member Dennis Vander Linde!

AUGUST 13 & 14, 2011

Twin County Schutzhund Club @ Southern Training Center
Helpers: $30 Spectator: $10
Spectators who bring dogs to work are free.

Click for a copy of the flyer with registration forms and more information.

Regional Helper Seminar

It's time for all clubs to begin making a commitment to the Regional Trial Helper Seminar and to send new helpers and those needing upgrading to the classification.We need to be supporting the regional event and to develop our helpers by getting their helper books and study the rules for classification.

Also the event is a perfect place to network all of our helpers and the clubs. Introductions to the region's helpers and helpers to be as we pass into a period where our known helpers begin to retire or to limit their activities. The fees are low and all helpers from various organizations are welcome. This increases the learning experience and benefits the Region.

Please contact me as soon as possible with your club's commitment. We need to know how many helpers we will be serving.

Karen Bostwick

Dear Sportsfriends,

I am sorry to inform you that our friend Jim Lempner has passed away. Jim competed in the Working Dog Championships last weekend, and was apparently feeling under the weather, but then suffered a major heart attack on the airplane on the way home from Iowa. He was in unstable condition all week and finally succumbed today. 

Jim was the Pacific Northwest Regional Champion in 2010 with his dog Pax, and those of you who were there I’m sure remember how much of a good sport and gentleman he was. Jim has been a stalwart sportsfriend to many many people for decades, from competing on national and world championship teams to working with brand new handlers in his club. My heart goes out to his friends and especially his family. Jim will certainly be missed. 

wj

Hello members of the PNW Region,

As your Regional Breed Warden, I would like to encourage members of our Region to enter our USA Sieger Show to be held in Dallas this year April 29-May 1, 2011. Our National Breed Warden has advised the BAC that entries for the Sieger Show this year are low and we’d like to see our membership sponsor this National event through entries. For further information please review the Sieger Show website: http://www.usasiegershow.com

If there are any questions that I can help with, please let me know. If I cannot help, perhaps not everyone is aware that the Sieger Show Secretary is our very own regional member, Mary Dygert. I am sure she can help answer any questions as well. In years’ past, we have had some very nice showings from dogs of the PNW Region in our USA Sieger Show. Let’s see if some of our PNW members can make some good placements this year as well.



Thank you, Heidi Theis

From the Regional Director

Hi everyone – hope the winter doldrums haven’t gotten to you too much. It’s below zero here and the wind just quit – been howling all day. Probably worse in AK, but I know Seattle got snow, too.

We have a date and most of the critical arrangements for the Regional Championships, to be hosted by Tri-State SchH Club. The date was moved from the previous proposed date (the second weekend in September) to the last weekend in September – Sept. 24&25, 2011. The judge is Frank Mensing, titles offered will be SchH A, 1,2,3, FH1,2, BH, and OB/TR. I realize that there may be some close dates with other clubs (I’m judging at Twin County the weekend after) and that there is a conflict with the WDA regional conformation show, but after much discussion and examinations of all the relevant calendars, this was the best option we could arrange. In fact, it is likely I won’t be at the regionals myself, as I have a standing engagement for the last weekend in Sept.

Which brings up the next order of business. This year, we have elections of regional officers. I would like to hear from two groups of people:

1. Current regional officers (ARD, Secretary, Treasurer, Breed Warden, and TD). Do you wish to run for re-election (i.e., would you be willing to continue in your position?)?
2. Anyone interested in a regional officer position, including RD.
3. Finally, it always seems that we find ourselves right on top of the deadline when we remember that we wanted to fix something in the bylaws. So, if you have an issue in the bylaws you want addressed, please contact me and we can draft some language to propose for the Regional Meeting.

Everybody stay warm.

WJ

Seeking the class of 2011 scholarship candidates!

The Schutzhund USA Youth Scholarship is intended to be recognition in the form of an educational grant to those well-rounded student scholars. Winning a scholarship is beneficial to any student, even several years following their receipt of the award. The Schutzhund USA Youth Scholarship Committee believes that it is very important for students to recognize their own potential early in their academic careers in order for them to foster its growth—receiving recognition from an organization or company helps the students take this step.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

1. Must maintain a good standing with the United Schutzhund Clubs of America (or any AWDF affiliated club)
2. Must be a United States citizen or classified as a permanent resident attending any high school within the United States
3. Must demonstrate involvement in the dog sport with an AWDF organization and involvement with school or community activities
4. Must show a sound interest and positive attitude toward higher education.
5. Must intend to enroll in a full time degree program at any college, university, business or technical school within the United States

INFORMATION FOR SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION: www.SchutzhundYouth.com

Michele Scarberry
michelescarberry@neo.rr.com

From the Regional Director

Hi Everyone,

I am happy to report that Tri-State Schutzhund Association has confirmed that they will host this year’s (2011) Regional Championships. Big Sky Schutzhund Club will assist to the best of our abilities. The trial date has tentatively been proposed for Sept. 17-18, and they have some leads on judge(s) and venue, but aren’t ready to share yet until they get them more formalized.

Thus, this email is primarily to ask you to save the date, and ask that you let me know of any conflicts I should make them aware of. I look forward to a chance to see everyone there. I would also like to warmly thank Hundesport Alaska who, with help from the Alaska Schutzhund Club, submitted a preliminary bid and held several discussions with an eye toward bidding for the Regionals should Tri-State have been unable to step up this year. I anticipate a bid from them for the 2012 Regionals, and I urge you to do what you can to support them next year.

Finally, thanks to everyone who sent good wishes our way—Harley is recovering nicely from the surgery, and we are waiting to hear the results from the pathology.

Yours,
Warren

Message to the Region

Dear Members of the Pacific Northwest Region,

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving to all, I hope the coming week gives you a chance to renew contacts with loved ones, recharge your batteries, and get your cholesterol levels back up. If low cholesterol is a problem for you, I would be happy to provide suggestions…

The General Board meeting has been widely reported on a number of different email and discussion boards, so I won’t provide a detailed recap here. As soon as minutes are available for the meeting, I will send them, post them on the regional website or otherwise let you know where to find them. Big Sky, Cascade, Willamette, Tri-State, and BOTH Alaska clubs were represented at the meeting. In fact, there were (depending on the counter) 17-23 people there from Alaska, far outnumbering the rest of the representatives of all the other clubs in the region. GO ALASKA!!!! (too bad they didn’t all get to vote in the GBM!??!!). If you need more information on the results of the GBM, let me know & I’ll see if I can’t fill you in.

Congratulations go to Martina Wilson for winning the FH2 championship with her dog Orin! Tanna Ragan and Xuko were putting up a great protection routine until Xuko caught Patrick Wilson’s knee with his shoulder and was taken out of the competition. Kevin Nance and Vandal were on their way to a possible Universal Sieger title when a slip during the transition to the setup for the long bite made Kevin have to yell “PLATZ”, thereby eliminating him from the competition. Shade and Reiki of course put together a great routine. We’ve decided I can’t be anywhere within a mile from him when he’s tracking and he does just fine (98 at the Nationals)!

In other regional business, I know you would love to see the minutes from the Regional Meeting, but our secretary is buried in School, and probably won’t have the chance to get the minutes together until the semester is over. I want to thank her for her work on behalf of the region, and hope we can get this up on the web site soon. From a “decision” standpoint, there were not any earth-shaking items on the agenda. Twin County has offered to host next year’s helper seminar, Treasure Valley has offered to host next year’s Regional Conformation Show, and we were only able to get a very tentative offer for the Regional Championship. Since that date, I have also received inquiries from another club in the region about the Regional Championships, so I am in the process of trying to help both clubs work out which one would really like to bid, and trying to get their bids together. Stay tuned for more on this in the next few weeks.

One item that was not really on the agenda, but that took a lot of time at the meeting, was the resolution of the longstanding grumbling and animosities among some of the clubs in the region. I was very heartened to hear at that meeting that all of the club representatives at the meeting pledged to do their best on behalf of the clubs to support the other clubs in the region. If you were not at the meeting, I wanted to make you aware of this commitment, and if you were at the meeting I wanted to remind you of that discussion. The other item that became clear at that meeting was the number of clubs that have both brand new and green helpers and young dogs in training and not yet ready for trialing. It is my hope that the coming year will see a flurry of new dogs and helpers in the sport in our region, and a lot of travel to each others’ trials when the dogs are ready the the opportunity arises. As you will see on the regional calendar or on the USCA web site, we have two trials scheduled for 2011 with the same judge two weeks apart and about 100 miles apart. I encourage those handlers who have dogs ready to go this spring to do their best to support these two trials. Both clubs have years of experience, and the judge is a long standing friend to the region and USCA’s newest judge Andrea Duggan.

A final couple of items of business: the first is to say farewell to Boise Working Dog Association. The club mostly disbanded this summer, leaving only two members, and they have not been successful in recruiting enough new members to bring the club up to full charge. The second is to grant a waiver for a USCA event to the German Shepherd Schutzhund Club for 2010. I look forward to their successful trial in 2011.

There are some proposals coming up in front of the Executive Board that I will try and solicit input on when they are appropriately formulated. Sorry to be cryptic, but I don’t want to phrase it wrong and start rumors.

Yours in the sport,

Warren Jones
PNW Regional Director

Rudy Mietzner

My name is Taylor Hack and I am a member of the Alberta Schutzhund Association in Edmonton, Alberta Canada and have been training under Rudolf Mietzner. I understand that until he retired, Rudy was a judge that worked in the US and I am hopefully contacting the right organization with my regrettable news.

It is with a heavy heart that I inform you that Rudy Mietzner passed away on Saturday. After several months with a clear bill of health Rudy's cancer recurred early this year and was unresponsive to treatment. The Friday night that David and I attended the trial in Calgary we were notified that Rudy had been taken to hospital with complications involving his liver. After two weeks in hospital he returned home where he would be more comfortable and, according to his wishes, spend his final days with his family.

Rudy was a well loved mentor and will be well remembered by those whom he brought together through schutzhund. With adjudicating well over 200 trials and rising to become a Canadian national champion, Rudy's substantial contribution to the sport he loved for almost 60 years was the long term resonance of his daily generosity; just as his broad list of accomplishments was a reflection of his daily work ethic and inability to accept anything less than excellence from himself.

Please advise if this was the correct organization, or if you know of another that I should notify, feel free to contact me for any additional information you may need, or a recent photograph.

Kind regards,

Taylor Hack
Alberta Schutzhund Association