The National Derby Club General Meeting was called to order at just after three o'clock pm by NRDC President Michael Robicheaux who welcomed everyone to the Fourth Annual National Derby Championship. The opening ceremonies started with the assembled group reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Mike called for a moment of silence for those people and dogs who passed away during the last year.
The 2020 National Derby Board of Directors were introduced:
President Michael Robicheaux from Breaux Bridge, LA
First Vice President Jeff Schuett from Oconomowoc, WI
Second Vice President Don Fregelette from Erie, CO
PRTA Director Becky Eckett from Centerview, MO
Secretary-Treasurer John Stracka from Verona, WI
Michael Robicheaux told the crowd that it was not an easy decision for the board to decide to put on this event. When the decision was made to move forward with the event, Bill Woodson was given the task of contacting each qualifier. He questioned them about their intentions of running the 2020 NRDC Championship. This gave the Board encouragement and the fortitude to carry on.
Dr. Jeff Schuett, DVM has been tasked with being the COVID Coordinator. He read aloud the provided COVID protocol so that it was clearly understood by all in assemblance. He cautioned that if anyone felt sick during any part of the event to come and see him.
NRDC President Robicheaux pointed out that everyone had received the minutes from last year, plus a financial statement. There were motions to approve which were seconded and that part of the proceedings was complete.
The announcement was made that Mike will be replaced by Rita Jones as the new Southern Regional board member.
The following positions for the next Championships are as follows:
The Judges will be Richard Dresser/Northern Region; Robby Bickley/Southern Region; and Missi Bell/Western Region Judge.
The Chairman will Betsy Broyd and the Chief Marshal will be Mike Lardy. The dates will be October 11th through the 15th and the event will be held at the same location on Bob and Barbara Hayden's Wood Dale Farm.
Don English, was presented with a beautiful painting of last year's winner, NDC Spark Your Enthusiasm, "Mona," courtesy of the Hayden's. He made a lovely speech telling the crowd how this win had impacted his life both professionally and personally over the last year.
Mike Robicheaux went on to acknowledge and thank the sponsors. He presented Ray Voigt from Purina with a token of their appreciation. We were asked to thank the sponsors as we see them during the week. The landowners for the pre-National training grounds were thanked.
Russ Reavis and Greg Lister were the AKC reps on hand for this event. Mike went on to acknowledge the Retriever News for their help before, during and after the event. The RN Team consists of Tina Styan, Gwen Jones and Becky Eckett. He also announced Richard Chavez as the Official Announcer and Deana Wolfe as the Official Photographer.
The Judges were announced and received their individual cooler bags, thermoses and other goodies:
Frank Purdy Northern Region from Dowling, MI
Robert Elias Southern Region from Baton Rouge, LA
John Robinson Western Region from Kalispell, MT
Special appreciation gifts were awarded to the following:
Bill Woodson as the Chairman of the 2020 Event
John Stracka for all his hard work for this club
Robert and Barbara Hayden for their support and generosity
Sue George received a special statue for recognition of her and Bobby George’s support of the organization.
A brief presentation was made by personnel from Retrieving Freedom describing their efforts in training and placing dogs with veterans and autistic children They have placed over 100 dogs in their nine years of existence. They placed 28 teams at no cost to their clients because of the generous support they receive, especially from the Hayden's.
It was announced that there would be no Cocktail or Workers' Parties due to social gathering restrictions.
Chief Marshal Mitch Patterson came up to give the policies and procedures for this year's event. He began by thanking the workers who helped during set-up week. The judges set-up 28 tests: 14 land and 14 water.
The First Series will consist of a land double with a Rooster Flyer and a Dead Rooster. The test dogs will come to the line at 7:45 am and the first running dog will be at 8:00 am.
It was recommended that you tune to channel 16 on your radio to stay apprised of the running order by Marshal Coordinator Sue Metka.
There are going to be special procedures on the line. You must wear a mask through all three holding blinds and can only take it off when it is your turn to run. When the dog brings back the first bird, you must place it on the bird rack. If the bird is not dispatched, you must hand it to a gloved steward.
Another note, from today going forward, the training grounds would be first-come first served.
The No-Bird policy will be:
The first no-bird; go back 6 birds and run seventh
The second no-bird; go back 6 birds and run seventh
The third no-bird; go to the end
FT Bill Woodson had spent Kent Cartidges stuffed with the dog numbers. He had Sue George select the shell and then the starting dog was revealed: This year's starting dog is #2! Owned and handled by Lawrence Ford: Ford's Take A Chance On Me. The NRDC presented Mr. Ford with a special basket of Cajun goodies for being the first dog to run
The rotation is determined as: 2, 10, 18 and 26. The catalog outlines the starting number after that. There will be a a gun change after the fifteenth running dog. Note: No dog will be first to run in two different series.
The meeting was then adjourned and folks met with their committee chairs. The bitch check was held down by the lake.
