Rocky Mountain Chapter members…

The new year is on us and your NAVHDA Chapter is gearing up for another busy spring and summer. The Chapter’s annual meeting was Jan. 14 and I wanted to share the highlights with you.

• Membership renewals are now due. Dues and test fees remain the same for 2016.
• Our Spring Test will be May 21 and 22. Our Fall Test will be August 20 and 21.
• If you’re testing this year, don’t wait to sign up. You can download the test entry fee at http://www.navhda.org/sites/www.navhda.org/files/assets/Test_EntryFrm.pdf
• Training days are the first Saturday of the month from March through June, plus August. Early training days are subject to the weather – and we will reschedule if we can. Right now, we’ve scheduled training events for March 5, April 2, May 7, June 4 and August 6. Remember, you must be an active member ( 2016 dues paid) to participate.
• The Chapter’s financial health bears watching. We lost money on both tests last year. The Board will be looking at ways to raise funds and cut costs without reducing the quality of your training and testing experience.
• We’re considering holding a Handlers Clinic to help handlers better understand how their dogs are judged during a test so they can train to meet the standard. Handlers Clinics can draw interest from other states and may help with fundraising. Please let us know if you’d be interested in attending a Handler’s Clinic this year.
• Likewise, we will consider hosting a Snake Avoidance clinic. These are also very popular. Please let us know if you’d consider training your dog to avoid rattlesnakes.
• Our bird supplier is in flux, as Steve Secor of Field Trial Game Birds has sold his operation. We’re working to finalize a plan to provide birds for training and test days. Bird cost will be a consideration.
• Many thanks to outgoing Board members President Phil Booghier, Vice President Dave Shickle, Treasurer Liz Dyer, and Directors of Fundraising and Promotions Lowell and Buffy Kaufhold, for their selfless service to the Chapter. These are the folks who helped make things run the past two years.
• The Board welcomes several new members to our ranks this year. Please say thanks to Daniel Sprague, Sara Heesacker, Sherry Holt, Angela Fresquez for their willingness to volunteer their time in support of your Chapter.
• The Board adopted several revisions to our By-Laws. You can review them on our By-Laws page. If you’re testing a dog this year, please review our Standing Rules, which describes how test entries are handled.

Thanks and we look forward to working with you in the coming months!

Sincerely

Theo Stein

President