Two weeks ago we held our Annual Meeting in Verona, NY. It was certainly one chock full of great memories. Many thanks to Allene Tartaglia and the CFA staff who worked so hard to make it the success it was. Thanks are also owed to Sharon Roy and the many members of the North Atlantic Region who helped out in so many ways. The Friday night hospitality hosted by the Region was outstanding. Congratulations to those who were honored with various awards on Saturday night.
The next big event on CFA’s calendar is the CFA international Cat Show presented by Royal Canin. The show is returning to the IX Center in Cleveland, Ohio and is scheduled for October 12-13, 2019. There again will be two shows. While the initial show flyer indicated Household Pets could choose to enter either show, a number of HHP exhibitors asked to have all the HHPs entered in one show. We chose the Teal Show. Check out
the blog for a copy of the show flyer and lots more information about the show. We had the best gate in the show’s history last year and there are plans to exceed it this year. It is an exciting show you will not want to miss.
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Are you a member of your Breed Council? If you are qualified, be sure to join or rejoin by August 1st. It can all be done
online
As spelled out in the CFA Constitution, the clubs in the International Division elect two representatives for a two-year term. Both of the representatives elected in 2018 resigned. With board ratification, I appointed Allen Shi and Mathew Wong to fill the vacancies until the next regularly scheduled election in 2020. Thanks to both of them for agreeing to serve.
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Central Office Report
Allene Tartaglia
Executive Director
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The Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet held at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino the last week in June seems like a distant memory, yet it’s only been about three weeks when we were all together! A big thank you to the North Atlantic Region for their help, the great delegate bags and for hosting the spectacular Friday night hospitality.
Unclaimed Trophies/Rosettes: Contact the Central Office
Amber Goodnight
, if you weren’t able to pick up your trophy and/or rosette at the Annual. The postage cost and payment link will be provided to you. Once the payment is received the trophy/rosette will be shipped to you.
Registration processing is delayed due to vacations, personnel changes and training of new personnel. We expect to be back on track by mid-August if not sooner. In the meantime, please plan for approximately a 7+ business day processing time for eCat registrations and a little longer for snail mailed registrations. Your patience during this time is appreciated.
A reminder of the August 1 deadline to submit your Breed Council membership. Only individuals who qualified for Rapid Renewal membership in 2018 are eligible to submit their rapid renewal applications online. All others, regular renewal and new memberships, will need to complete a form.
Here is a link
to the Breed Council page, membership information is midway down the page. Please note the August 1 deadline is mandated by CFA’s Constitution and no exceptions can be made.
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Meet the Central Office Staff
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Geri Fellerman
Jo Ann began life in the cat fancy in the early ‘80’s when she attended her first cat show in Akron, OH, with her then-husband who raised Alaskan Malamutes. Up until that point, her feline household consisted of rescues, but he suggested that she get a pedigreed cat. Looking over the different breeds at the show, Jo Ann pronounced them all ugly and left only to return a year later and again, while taking a like to British Shorthairs, still didn’t care for the look of most of the pedigreed cats and left empty handed. Come Christmas, her husband decided to gift her with a shaded silver Persian who she took to a show. An experienced and successful breeder, Joan Benson, took her under her wing and showed her various grooming techniques and made the suggestion that she breed tabbies. So, Kikicat cattery was born and became quite successful – Jo Ann’s first grand was also her first regional winner. Her first national winner was a lovely silver tabby and white – Kikicat’s Answered Prayer.
At about that time, her mom suggested that she join the judging program – the rest is history and she became a judge in 1999.
Holding an A.S. in Graphic Design, a B.S. in Business Administration, and later an M.A. in Entrepreneurship, Jo Ann was quite prepared for her first endeavor as the owner of an upscale clothing boutique.
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Thereafter, while homeschooling her two children, she worked for a number of non-profits for some 25 years. Her understanding of how they worked was great preparation for her current position with CFA. Her teams would call her the “Pathfinder” due to her strength in navigating difficult terrains.
Joining the Central Office team in 2018, JoAnn enjoys traveling to various CFA events and promoting CFA with the public.
Her personal life includes her two now grown children, three grandchildren and, last but not least, her 14 year old blue point Exotic, Puss Miksa
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Melanie Morgan
CFA Judging Program Committee Chair
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Judging Program News From the CFA Annual M
eeting
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The following service awards were given:
5 Years
John Adelhoch
Amanda Cheng
Marilee Griswold
Suki Man Lee
Toshihiko Tsuchiya
10 Years
Pamela J. Bassett
Hope M. Gonano
Melanie Morgan
Michael Hans Schleissner
Russell Webb
15 Years
Marsha Ammons
Barbara A. Jaeger
Sharon Powell
John Webster
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20 Years
Jo Ann Miksa-Blackwell
Aki Tamura
Tracy Petty
Beverly A. Wood
Ayumi Ueda
Jan B. Stevens
Yoshiko Sada
25 Years
John Colilla
Rachel Anger
Douglas Myers
Jeri Zottoli
30 Years
Charles Gradowski
Sharon McKeehen-Bounds
Pam Moser
Sharon Roy
Gary Veach
35 Years
Patricia Jacobberger
Yaeko Takano
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Change of status:
Retired CFA Allbreed Judge, Diane Dunn judge passed away peacefully April 9, 2019 at the age of 79. Diane became a CFA judge in 1980 and retired 2009. She traveled the world during her 28 years as a CFA judge and was known for her smile and wicked sense of humor. She was also on the CU Artist Series Advisory Board for 25 years and it became her passion.
Congratulations to our newest judge emeritus - Pat Jacobberger!
Marriages
Toshiko Tsuchiya and Mihoko Yabumoto were recently married – congratulations to both!
Retirements/Resignations:
CFA Allbreed Judge Koji Kanise retired
CFA Allbreed Judge Megumi Yamashita resigned
The following judges were accepted
as trainees:
Michele Beaudry (LH – 1st Specialty)
Bethany Colilla (SH – 2nd Specialty)
Jennifer Redding (LH – 2nd Specialty)
As apprentice double specialty :
Jurgen Trautman (guest judge from another association)
Advancements:
Amanda Cheng to Approved Shorthair, Approval Pending Allbreed
Bethany Colilla to Approved Longhair
Pam DeGolyer to Approval Pending Longhair, first specialty
Lyn Knight to Apprentice Longhair, first specialty
Oscar Silva-Sanchez to Apprentice Longhair, first specialty
Teo Vargas to Apprentice Shorthair, second specialty
Congratulations to our new and advancing judges on a job well done!
Other
News From the Board Meeting
The Judges Workshop on Thursday June 27 was a huge success. Many thanks to Pat Jacobberger and her committee for all the hard work. Breeds discussed were Siberian, Lykoi and Khao Manee. Other topics covered included the age old favorite – importance of properly identifying color and pattern. Mechanical errors and social media were also discussed. Our next workshop will be in Spokane Washington and featured breeds will be Ragdoll, Chartreux and Singapura.
Our next Breed Awareness and Orientation School will be in Cleveland, Ohio October 12-13. Instructors will be Pat Jacobberger, Barbara Jaeger, Anne Mathis, Tracy Petty and Vicki Nye.
The JPC Education sub-Committee welcomes three new members to the team:
Barbara Jaeger - BAOS Coordinator
Anne Mathis – Continuing Education Coordinator
Tracy Petty – Education Librarian
Judging Program Rule Changes
1. Apprentice judges from any region and the ID may judge in any region.
2. Accelerated Application Process – The Board approved a new concept that provides alternative methods for applying to the Judging Program. The existing procedures stay exactly the same, but we are adding a new option for those who have made a significant impact in their breed/CFA and have extensive experience to test out of the regular requirements. We hope to have the plan up and running for next season. More details as they develop…
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Tips For Working With CFA Judges
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compiled by Wendy Heidt
(note: The CFA Judges’ Association will be putting together helpful articles on topics that impact clubs and judges. We are starting this series with a show rule that came into effect May 1 of this year – Show Rule 3.04. This rule deals with the process for inviting a judge and the sequence for completing a contract.)
Beginning in May 2019 there was an update to show rules about the invitations for CFA judges to your shows.
Show Rule 3.04 now reads:
"An invitation from any CFA club to a judge in the form of a signed contract from the club must be answered, affirmatively or negatively, within 15 days from the date of receipt by the judge. If affirmative, the answer will be in the form of a completed signed contract, which will be returned to the club. An assignment is not considered in effect until both the club and judge have a signed contract by both. "
What does this mean for the club? Your invitation to the judge is NOT official until that judge receives from the club a completed contract signed by the club officers. Your email, telephone or in person contact with the judge is informal only. You must provide a contract to the judge detailing the show information. This can be done after the judge verifies his/her availability or at the same time you make the invitation. The form can be snail mailed to the judge or sent electronically. If using snail mail, it might be a good idea to email judges first and let them know you will mail the contract to them so they will be expecting the contracts and can get them back to you in a timely manner.
If you are having problems filling out the form, and need help, the invited judge can provide help. An invited judge can use the information you discussed to fill in the judge information on an unsigned contract and send it to you. You then verify that all show and club information is accurate, sign the contract, and send back to the judge for signature.
So the process is:
- Club verifies availability, then officially invites judge, and provides completed, signed contract reflecting all pertinent show information and type of ring to be judged. Judge may assist in filling out the form. Receipt of the contract by the judge starts a 15 day time limit.
- Judge has 15 days from receipt of contract to accept or reject assignment.
- Judge accepts by signing contract and sending a signed copy to the club for inclusion with show license.
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Please remember that your invitation technically does not exist if the judge does not have from you a filled in contract for the show. Judges have 15 days in which let you know whether or not they accept the commitment to judge at the show. Once you receive back the signed contract from the judge you have a commitment from the judge. You are then ready to sign for the club and forward the contract with the show license application.
This process is designed to clarify responsibilities of all parties involved. The club is responsible for providing all pertinent information, including a signature, on a contract as a formal invitation. The judge is responsible for accepting or declining the invitation within 15 days and finalizing the contract, signing and returning it to the club as an official acceptance of the assignment.
There are multiple purposes behind this change in process: First and foremost, it should minimize the situations where there are open contracts signed by judges, but not finalized with club signature. Second the hope is that contracts will include more of the required information if the club initiates. Too often now, a judge is blindly signing a contract that is missing day, ring type, format and even location. We also hope that since the contracts will be complete with the judge’s signature they will no longer be waiting for the contact to be returned to them. As a result, it will be easier for judges to utilize the pre-notice form more consistently. This will result in a far more useful show schedule for clubs looking for available judges.
There are many tools available online to assist you in electronically sending and receiving the judge’s contracts. Here are a couple choices:
- Adobe has products that are helpful including Adobe Fill and Sign Mobile App. Start by downloading the app to your smartphone or tablet. Go to the digital copy on the CFA website and upload it to Fill and Sign. You can fill in the blanks, check the appropriate boxes, and then send it to the judges you would like to invite.
- If you are looking for some freeware or shareware options you can check out Tucows.com. Darrell Newkirk reports using the PDF Studio 2019 for Mac that works well for filling out the PDF CFA forms and sharing them via email.
(thanks to Laurie Coughlan for her assistance with this piece)
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Diana Rothermel Honored with JA Spotlight Award
At the recent CFA Annual, JA President Ellyn Honey awarded Diana Rothermel the organization's 2019 Spotlight award.
in her speach, Honey noted that Rothermel "began her association with the cat fancy in 1969. She registered her cattery, Confection, under her maiden name, Lagerwall. At first she bred Himalayans and then went on to breed bicolor and solid Persians. After she was accepted into the judging program in 1986, she also bred ebony Orientals and many, many Abyssinians.
Diana Lagerwall-Rothermel was a founding member of Finicky Felines in the 1980s, as well as their secretary. It was during that time that she married Craig Rothermel and could be found, along with several of us, at the board meetings listening to all that was going on. She was actually my BOD buddy at many Annuals.
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After Craig passed away on March 4, 2001, Diana was alone until she began a relationship with Dick Kallmeyer. They met through the cat fancy and now reside in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Diana is one of our unsung heroes in the fancy. She has served as a mentor, as well as a training judge, to many of our up and coming judges. She is a calm, quiet handler, with that practiced elusive “natural eye” that we all aspire to have. She is a classy, elegant lady, who personifies what CFA is all about. No matter what the situation, she handles it with grace and dignity."
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Twenty-seven individuals were awarded a CFA Star Award at the CFA Awards Banquet on June 29. CFA presents these awards in recognition of a significant service to CFA over the past year. It may include humanitarian or rescue work, promotion of CFA and the cat fancy, or other forms of (unpaid) service to CFA.
Congratulations to this years recipients:
Betsy Arnold, Norm Auspitz, Joel Chaney (2nd star) and Dick Kallmeyer (4th star) - for their work with the protest committee.
Jonathan and Linda Bartley - for their promotion of CFA through the A-Cat program and Easter for Eli.
Alexander Bogomolov and Elena Kalinina - for assisting CFA judges in a time of crisis during an international assignment.
Gavin Cao, Allen Shi - for Assisting CFA judges in a time of crisis during an international assignment.
Wendy Carson and Lorna Friemoth (2nd star) - for assisting clubs with show promotion through social media.
Lynn Cochran and Dale Thompson - for their work with breed rescue.
Diana Doernberg, Pat Jacobberger (3rd star), Becky Orlando, Jan Stevens - for their work with the CFA judging program.
Suki Lee - for her incredible assistance with the International Division.
Edward Maeda, Anne Mathis, Darrell Newkirk (2nd star), Liz Watson - for their exemplary representation of CFA during a time of crisis while on an international judging assignment.
Steve McCullough - for his work with Breeders Assistance.
Linda Murphy and Teresa Sweeney (2nd star) - for their work on the CFA International Show.
Sande Willen - for her work with the website's CFA Hotline.
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Monte Phillips
CFA Show Rules Chair
Show rules are changed two ways, and this past month saw both of those ways occur. Either the Board can change them at one of its meetings, or the delegates to an annual meeting can change them by a 2/3 vote on a pre-noticed proposal. Here are the rules that were changed, and which way it occurred:
At its board meeting on Thursday, June 27th, the board revised show rule 6.12, retroactive to May 1, 2019, and amended Article XXXVI on counts, effective July 1, 2019 (that's right, both are already in effect, but they only relate to Chinese shows/exhibitors). Show rule 6.12 was revised to include the new two-letter designators for the three divisions of China - East, West, and North. They are EC, WC, and NC. The old rule only had the one designator, which needed to be changed when Article XXXVI was amended effective May 1, 2019 to split China into three divisions. Article XXXVI, Official Show Counts, Item 2 was amended to require that for shows in China, a kitten was required to have either a permanent or temporary registration number to be included in the official show count. Again, this only applies to shows in China, not the rest of the International Division or any of the regions. This change was made effective July 1, 2019, so it is now in effect.
At the Friday meeting of the delegates, 11 show rule proposals were passed by greater than 2/3 vote of the delegates, and will go into effect on May 1, 2020. For those in attendance, they were proposals 12, 14, 18, 21, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31, and 32. In addition, several other pre-noticed, and some floor resolutions were also passed, but I'm not going to discuss those here as they will go to the Board's October meeting for discussion and a vote. If they then pass, I will discuss those in my October newsletter input. Now for the ones that passed by the delegates and will be ratified in October:
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Carol Krzanowski
CFA Director-At-Large
Chair, CFA Club Membership Committee
The following clubs were accepted at the June 27, 2019 CFA Board meeting:
- Cat Bahrain Club; International Division - ROW, Al Fateh, Kingdom of Bahrain
- China Feline Fanciers Alliance; International Division - Asia, Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province, China
- Dear Meow; International Division - Asia, Tai Po, N.T., Hong Kong
- Manila Cat Fanciers Society; International Division - Asia, Caloocan City, Metro Manila, Philippines
- Pharaonic Cat Fanciers; International Division - ROW, Giza, Egypt
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Tim Schreck
IT Committee Chair
Our new programing provider is now completing the projects which have continued to cause duplicate entry work at Central Office. However, not all the applications have moved from CFA's old HP system, and we have some concerns as to its sustainability. This migration will be the main focus of IT in the coming year. We also have the massive project of adding programing to only allow registering cats with genetically possible colors, improving CFA's pedigree authenticity.
Items still remaining to be moved from the HP include:
- Breed Council module
- White pages conversion
- Clerking module
- Cattery of Distinction
- Any new requests added from the Annual
So, we still have a lot of work to do and we will keep you posted on our progress.
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The CFA Marketing Team
Desiree Bobby, Kathy Black, Mike Altschul
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It was great to see everyone at the Annual! Our Committee was all there and we had the pleasure to share the status of some of our current marketing projects, collaborate with passionate peers and hold an educational session for a large group of club members involved in show promotional activities.
In case you missed it, here are some highlights:
Companion Cat World (CCW) Project
While CFA is known for preserving and promoting the uniqueness and glory of pedigree breeds, there is no doubt that the majority of cat lovers in the world share their lives with random-bred cats. CCW’s goal is to make CFA a household name, and equated with all cats as AKC is to the dog world.
Companion Cat World (CCW) is basically our HHP program “rebranded.” Through CCW, we will share the news to the world that cats from all walks of life are welcome into CFA. Companion Cat World cats will be recorded in the same manner as they are now, and if they so desire and also qualify, can compete in the HHP Class. We envision in the future holding CCW “fun” shows for all CCW recorded cats.
The Marketing Committee will begin a soft launch of the program at Meow Meetup, a pop culture cat event in Chicago, on July 20-21. Although our main goal for this event is to promote CCW with the pet community and possibly enroll some new cats, we of course will have 6 of our glamourous pedigree breeds in attendance. An advertised CFA Meet the Breeds event will be held and these cats will be presented and adored each day.
If anyone in the area is interested in attending, please email Desiree at dbobby@cfa.org. We have some free tickets available and maybe even an opportunity to join in the Meet the Breeds fun with your cats!
CFA Cats App Project
We are bringing the celebration of cats to the fingertips of cat lovers around the world with the CFA CATS Smartphone App.
With a free download and no in-app charges, cat lovers across the globe can research their favorite breed, make plans to attend a CFA Cat Show as an exhibitor or spectator, and learn about CFA and the art of showing. Exhibitors and judges will find the app to be the most convenient way to view show rules and breed standards.
We are currently in the beta testing stage and expect to roll out in the App Store and Google Play in the upcoming months.
Invent.tv TV Series Project
Invent TV, the Producers of Animal Planet’s “Into Alaska” is searching for CFA exhibitors and breeders to be featured on a TV series about our hobby! They are looking for a potential cast members that:
- Are immersed in the world of CFA competitions; whether winning or losing
- Are extremely knowledgeable about the fancy
- Socialize with an amazing group of feline-loving peers at and outside of shows
- Have an infectious love for cats
- Are willing to share their cat loving lifestyle in and out of the home on camera.
To be considered or nominate someone, please email casting@invent.tv with your name, phone number, attach a few photos of yourself, and briefly tell us about yourself and involvement with the cat community.
Marketing Educational Session - “How To Have a More Profitable Show”
During the 2019 Annual the Marketing Team held a meeting to share ideas on how to make your show more profitable. 75 people crowded into a room for 35. So many great ideas were shared and because of the interest shown we have created a
Facebook page to continue the discussions.
We will hold another similar meeting at the 2020 Annual.
Missed this meeting, or want better notes from it? A pdf of the presentation is available
here.
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The August issue of Cat Talk is in production! It's our annual "Year in Review" issue, featuring news from the recent CFA Annual. And many thanks to those of you who took advantage of the great pricing on the Cat Talk/Yearbook ad special!
Remember that we would love to have your suggestions for upcoming articles. Some of our best pieces have come from our readers' ideas. And often, directly from our readers! We are always seeking article submissions. Want to share and idea or an article? Contact
Teresa Keiger with details.
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Karen Lawrence
The CFA Foundation was delighted to have a History Project display at a recent show held in Hamilton, New Zealand. Organized by Foundation Board Member, John Smithson, the display of “Feline Faces of the Past” attracted a large number of visitors.
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A fund-raising sale will be held at the Feline Historical Museum in Alliance, Ohio on Saturday, August 10th from 10am until 3pm. Hundreds of figurines will be available – cats, some dogs, some elephants, and a lot of wild cats. Over 350 books will also be on sale, with subjects ranging from cats to dogs to wild animals … and including a lot of novels. We have will have estate jewelry, too .. brooches, pins, necklaces, rings, earrings, and costume jewelry. Nothing will be priced over $20!
PHOTO: In-museum Sale.jpg (please use as large as possible)
The Feline Historical Museum is located at 260 East Main Street, in Alliance, Ohio.
Normal hours are Tuesday-Friday 10am-4pm, and Saturday 9am-noon.
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Carmen Johnson-Lawrence - Committee Chair
Now that we are past most all Regional Awards Banquets and the CFA Annual, the season truly gets under way! Shows coming up all over for our youth to take part in! We are anxious to watch all our participants continue to grow and develop into our future exhibitors, breeders and leaders in CFA!
If you were unable to attend the CFA Annual in Verona, NY last month, you missed out on meeting our overall winners for the 2018-2019 season. This month we will show case those members.
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Our 3rd Best Overall Winner is Heather Wilde from the North Atlantic Region. Heather joined the program at the Atlanta Annual. Long before she joined the program she was active showing her household pets and if you ever visit the North Atlantic, Southern or Great Lakes Region shows you’ve seen her walking one of her cats around the show hall. She also actively participates in the costume contests at various shows, and assisted with hospitality at the International Show last year. In addition to cats, she also loves horses!
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Our 2nd Best Overall Winner is Payton Gomez from the Southwest Region. Payton is from the Southwest Region and has been an active member of the program since 2012. She is always making toys for judges and exhibitors and showing her cats. She also made numerous favors for the Southwest Region and the CFA Annual last June. Gary, who was last years and CFA’s first ever BEST HHP Nationally is a national winner again this year. She also has enjoyed participating in cage decorating contests.
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Our Best Overall Winner this year is Edward Goatseay. Edward went into this season knowing it would be the final year for this recognition and set a goal to earn it. He hit the road running on May 1
st assisting with Regional awards notifications and presentations. From there it was to the annual serving as a delegate for two clubs and then another 20 shows participating in various ways from showing cats, clerking, and assisting with set ups and tear downs with local clubs. When he wasn’t clerking, he was acting as photographer. He mentored a new HHP exhibitor in the Great Lakes Region as well as trained a classmate for stewarding. He also assisted with the International Show by selling pins and working hospitality. Edward been on local TV promoting club shows, and helps with Facebook promotion.
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The Youth Feline Education Program is proud of all our youth who participated in various ways throughout the last season.
If you know a youth that is interested in the Youth Feline Education Program, you may contact Carmen at
carmenlawrence.yfep@gmail; or reach out directly to your Regional Coordinator!
- North Atlantic Region – Lynda Smith or Sandra Polcaro
- Northwest Region – Sande Kay
- Gulf Shore Region – Anne Paul
- Great Lakes Region – Lorna Friemoth or Bethany Colilla
- Southwest Region – Kelsey Friemoth
- Midwest Region – Emily Conaway or Jill Sullivan
- Southern Region – Chandler Bussey or Karen Thomas
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Legislation – What’s Hot . . . . . . .
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Kelly S. Crouch, CFA Legislative Information Liaison
Using the New Hampshire Budget Bill as a Backdoor to the Governor’s Desk for Tabled Licensing Bills
New Hampshire legislators introduced three bills this session that would increase the number of fanciers subject to regulation as pet vendors or hobby breeders if any of the bills had been enacted. Senate Bill 161, House Bill 688, and House Bill 371 were all retained or tabled by the committee in the originating house. To circumvent the stalling of these bills, legislators amended the Conference Committee budget bill, H.B. 2 (
H.B. 2 FN-A-LOCAL-FINAL VERSION ), to include Sections 320 - 322 that would expand the existing Pet Vendor provisions. Section 320 defined Pet Vendor as anyone who transferred 25 or more dogs, 25 or more cats, 30 or more ferrets, or 50 or more birds customarily used as household pets, with or without a fee or donation required, between July 1 and June 30 of any year. The Pet Vendor need not own a physical facility in the state when the transfer to the final owner occurs within New Hampshire. In Section 321, there is an exception for dog breeders only who do not meet the definition of Pet Vendor. Section 322 would expand the requirements for health certificates for dogs, cats, and ferrets transferred in the state. Overall, H.B. 2 would classify many non-commercial hobby breeders as a Pet Vendor business forcing those breeders to give up their hobby under local zoning ordinances while increasing the regulatory burden on the state. Instituting such a major change in animal regulations without the benefit of a hearing on the issues leads to unintended consequences and denies fanciers a voice.
Of the three bills contributing to this evasive maneuver, the H.B. 2 amendment most resembles the amended S.B. 161. The only significant difference between H.B. 2 and S.B. 161 versions of Pet Vendor is the lower threshold of 20 for dogs and 20 for cats. In S.B. 161 there also remained an exception for dog breeders only who did not meet the definition of Pet Vendor and an expansion of existing health certificate requirements. Although not included in H.B. 2, Senate Bill 161 also established a position at the department of agriculture, markets and food for implementing the new Pet Vendor requirements.
House Bill 688 took a different approach to increase regulated breeders and reduce the threshold for Pet Vendors. This bill introduced the definition of Hobby Breeder as anyone who transferred 30 or fewer live animals or birds for a fee per year. Hobby Breeders of all categories of animals would be subject to regulation and a ten dollar annual registration. Also, dog breeders selling 31 or more puppies would be classified as a commercial breeding kennel. The bill did not, however, change the statutory definition of Pet Vendor (RSA Chapter 437.1). House Bill 688 would have also created a new companion animal welfare division in the department of agriculture, markets, and food to maintain a database of every transferor of dogs, cats, and ferrets, investigate, inspect, license, register and perform other duties.
Finally, H.B. 371 would have added catteries to the existing Commercial Kennel definition and would have added cat breeders not meeting the Commercial Kennel threshold to the Pet Vendor exception. The threshold for a Commercial kennel of dogs or cats would have been 10 or more litters or 50 or more puppies, cats or kittens.
These bills would change existing state law requiring the licensing of commercial kennels transferring 10 or more litters or 50 or more puppies in any 12-month period. Pet vendor licenses as currently issued by the Department of Agriculture, Markets, and Food, Division of Animal Industry are “to house, harbor, or display live animals and birds intended for transfer to the public” and cost $200.00 per year. The Pet Vendor license is not limited to pet stores or shelters. However, cat breeders have not been subject to state licensing or regulation. Nor is there a compelling reason to start if the real purpose of the legislation is animal welfare. Fewer than 1% of cats handled by animal agencies are identified as pedigreed; thus, regulating pedigreed cat breeders will do little to improve the welfare of cats in New Hampshire. It will, however, reduce the ability of pedigreed cat seekers to find a well socialized and healthy pet of their choice.
Fortunately, Governor Sununu vetoed H.B. 2 on June 28, 2019. His rationale for the veto was the budget bills would leave the state with a “massive fiscal deficit” reversing the recent fiscal success credited for returning jobs and a thriving economy. It is impossible to know if the Pet Vendor language contributed to the veto from
Governor Sununu’s message, leaving open the possibility the Pet Vendor language may turn up in future budget efforts. Legislation that could not successfully traverse the normal process should not be railroaded through an alternate route in this manner as it allows too many important issues to be overlooked. If Pet Vendor licensing is not included in future budget bills, the stalled licensing bills could see new life in the second year of the legislative session.
Recent CFA Legislative Group Blog Posts:
1. What’s Hot: Massachusetts House Bill 1444, Guardian Bill – Muddying the Waters for Pet Owners 6/18/2019
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Julie Legred - Executive Director, Winn Feline Foundation
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A list of our donors contributing $100 or more in June 2019 is available
here
Winn Feline Foundation
was very busy in June. We participated in these events:
- ACVIM Forum – June 6 - 8, 2019 in Phoenix, AZ; Booth and CE track
- TICA, CFA & WFF – WINNing Cats Feline Education and Cat Show – June 21 – 23, 2019, Baltimore, MD; Booth and CE Track
- 41st Annual WFF Symposium – June 27, 2019, Verona, NY; CE track and reception
- CatCon – June 28 – 30, 2019, Pasadena, CA; Cats2Vets dinner and booth help
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We love to meet new friends and catch up with existing ones at these events. We hear many great things about what we are doing right, but it also allows for us to hear new ideas and ways we can improve. Attending these events to interact with all of you is very important to us. If there are any words of advice, ideas, etc., please let us know at any time. We appreciate all you helping grow and improve Winn and all we can do in our efforts.
Winn Feline Foundation Board of Directors
held a strategic plan review meeting in Baltimore June 20
th
. It gave Winn the opportunity to review our plan from 2016 and adjust accordingly to grow Winn in our efforts and as an organization.
The Winn Board of Directors also met in Baltimore June 21
st
for their annual June meeting welcoming two new board members, as well as a new President. Please help in welcoming Vicki Thayer, Kelly Bischoff and our President – Drew Weigner. Thank you to Lorraine Shelton and Susan Gingrich for their continued support and dedication to Winn over the years. They are leaving Winn as Board members, but Susan will continue helping with the Bria Fund and the fight against FIP and there is no doubt that Lorraine will continue in her efforts with improving cat health and research.
Cats2Vets –
Winn is thrilled to be participating in this initiative in 2019 with Royal Canin, AAFP, TiCA, CFA and CATalyst Council. It is so important for all cats to get the preventive care they need by seeing their veterinary healthcare team at least annually. The hope is to build awareness of this importance and need, so that every cat, every day benefits. The launch of this initiative was done at CatCon June 29
th
and continued efforts will be made thru August More information will be coming soon on the details pertaining to this initiative.
WFF’s Annual Spring Appeal
was sent out via mail and email. If you have questions pertaining to this or you did not receive notice and would like to, please call or email. The Winn office is happy to help. Contace us at
info@winnfelinefoundation.org
or 20
1-275-0624
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Please save the date for Winn Feline Foundation FIP Symposium: PURRsuing FIP and WINNing an interactive presentation and panel discussion concerning topics and updates on FIP. This event will be help November 16
th and 17
th, 2019 at UC Davis. Watch for more details soon and thank you to all of the sponsors supporting this event.
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Planned Giving by George Eigenhauser:
Have you filed your 2018 federal tax return but need to make a correction? IRS Tax Tip 2019-51 can assist taxpayers who need to amend a prior tax return. The IRS advises that an amended return should be filed if there's a change in your filing status, income, deductions or credits. In summary the IRS recommends these simple tips:
- Use the Interactive Tax Assistant. Click the link “Should I file an Amended Return?”
- Taxpayers who are due refunds from their original 2018 tax return should wait to get it before filing an amended return to claim an additional refund.
- File on paper. Taxpayers can’t file amended returns electronically.
- Amend to correct errors such as income, deductions and credits.
- Don’t amend for math errors. The IRS can automatically correct these.
- Don’t amend for missing forms. The IRS will mail a request for missing forms.
- File within the three-year time limit.
- Pay any additional tax as soon as possible to avoid potential penalties and interest.
- Track your amended return here
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Our friends at Motel 6 would like CFA to continue to receive the 10% discount at participating locations by using the new updated reservation code of CPOAPHHT. There is a dedicated reservation site for CFA at
www.motel6.com/en/cp/cfa.html
or you may call 800-466-8356.
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Code: 1000026977
or call 877-999-3223 and ask for the discount code CFA CAT FANCIERS ASSOCIATION
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Sharon Roy - Regional Director
Our Annual is over. Special thanks to all who contributed and to the CFA Central Office for all the work they did.
Our Regional featured some special awards.
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Our Clerk of the year was Bob Zinck
Right: This year for the first time, we gave an award for New Exhibitor of the year. The recipient was Richard Zens and family
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Our Spotlight exhibitor was Omar Gonzalez
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Owners of Best Kitten, Gary Veach, Joy Day, Omar Gonzalez
They, along with Barbara and David Sliker were owners of the region's (and CFA's) Best Cat in Premiership (below)
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Owners of our region's Best Cat, Kristin Nowell and Carolyn Jimenez.
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We have some important upcoming shows.
July 20 and 21 is Garden State Cat Club, in Edison NJ. A premier show for CFA. They have one of the best Vendor Selections anywhere. Hope many of you will choose to come.
In August, the 24&25
th, we have NEMO in Sturbridge Ma. Always a fun show and a hotel show. This year, they are featuring a costume contest. It is for the cat and the owner. As an example, if you dress up as Batman, than your cat can be Robin. There will be prizes. First prize is a free entry to the 2020 show and 2
nd prize is 25.00 of your entry to the 2020 show. Show will be judged by one of the officiating judges and remotely by Coco Hellqvist from Sweden. Coco is a club member from NE who moved to Sweden a couple of years ago. The club also features a Saturday night buffet at the hotel. This year’s buffet will be Italian. More details can be found on CatShows.us.
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Terri Zittel - Region 2 Secretary
We had a fabulous NW Regional Show and Banquet on June 22nd in Longview, WA at the Cowlitz County Regional Conference & Special Events Center. We have had many shows at this venue but this is the first time that we had the Regional Banquet there. Wow! It was totally awesome with wonderful food and staging. Hopefully, we will do it there again.
This year we had multiple National Winners:
Championship:
GC, NW Maradan Despacito of Bella Mia, owned by Noelle Giddings & Heather Ann Colbert
GC, BWR, NW Traipse Mr. Moustache of Marimac, bred by Teresa Seling & owned by Teresa Seling & Caitlyn McKenna. Kittens:
GC, NW Cinema’s Justify, bred & owned by Blake Mayes & Dennis Adler
GC, NW Cottontop Ringmater! of Purrcasso, owned by Noelle Giddings
Premiership:
GP, NW Kasanovakatz Ira, bred by Stephanie J Mohr & owned by Stephanie Mohr & Lori Hollister
Household Pets
GH, HNW Starblue’s Triple Dream Diamond, owned by Shelly Perkins & Jaspar Perkins
Agility:
AW Lutece Ozma, Owner Orca Starbuck & Handler Matilda Starbuck
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Special mention is GC, BWR NW Traipse Mr. Moustache of Marimac. This is the first year that Bengals have been recognized in CFA. He was Region 2’s SecondBest Cat and CFA’s 15th Best. Pam Moser, our regional director, presented Teresa Seling with a beautiful picture in honor of being the first Bengal National Winner. The picture was given by Kim Everett Hirsch in honor of Fred Hirsch. At right is a photo of Teresa and the gorgeous picture.
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On August 17th the Northwest Region Fundraiser Picnic will be held in Rainier, Oregon at Hudson-Parcher Park. This is an annual event and always a lot of fun! Flyer for the picnic can be found on the
Northwest Region Website
Seattle Cat Club/Grandview Cat Fanciers will have their annual one day show on 09/28/2019 in Longview, WA.
Emerald Cat Club will host their two day back to back show in St. Helens, OR on 10/19-20/2019.
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Leesa Altschul
What a great time we all had in Mesquite, Texas, at our 2018-2019 Regional banquet and show on June 15th and 16th. We appreciate everyone attending and celebrating with us. The hotel apologized for the loud music both during the cat show and especially the banquet. We have no control over what other parties are scheduled in the hotel, and it was a wild time. Next time they are going to have an empty room next to our banquet room so we will have a buffer room to prevent this from happening again. We like to keep things interesting by having fire alarms, thunderstorms and possible tornadoes! Other than that, it was a wonderful weekend were we could spend time with our cat friends and celebrate each other’s’ wins.
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We started the weekend with a hospitality party Friday night hosted by Doug and Beth Grant-Field, who brought the wine, cheese, and snacks. We had very close quarters in the hotel suite, but everyone had a fun time. We had Cyndi Gutierrez, Christine Fuge, Leesa and Mike Altschul, and others bring snacks and more alcohol, for which we were grateful. David and Wanda Grass’ pralines were a huge hit. If you missed the hospitality party, they were generous enough to give everyone at the banquet a taste of their pralines!
Hospitality Party with Lucy Appel and Leesa Altschul
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We advertised Agility and then worked to find available setup. Gulf Coast Feline Foundation came to our rescue for the main agility setup along with Houston Cat Club with the stairs. Beth and Pete Deal drove all the way here, from Virginia, to run the Agility ring! The agility was a huge hit and a big draw for the spectators.
(at left)
Cheryl Dorrell and Carol Booth manned the raffle and a lot of people brought items for the raffle. We did not have a raffle at last year’s Regional and we made about $1,500 in this year’s raffle. Thanks to everyone’s generosity in donating items and purchasing tickets.
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We had great vendors who attended the show, who are popular with our exhibitors as well as with the gate. Crystal Wood’s rosettes were a smashing success, and with all the new grands, people were excited to get one of those special rosettes she makes. We had a couple of one-show grands too! Those from our Region will be recognized at our next Regional banquet. We celebrated with a wonderful grand party hosted by Carol Booth and Eileen Cochran.
(right)
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We also had a blast with the costume contest for the cats on both Saturday and Sunday. We had many cats participating in it with some outstanding outfits. It was hard to pick a winner!
Traci Whittenberg and Brian Pearson brought the fun and energy to the banquet with their dance of the wands. Traci is a wonderful MC to get the party started. Brian is our adopted regional judge. Donna Waskiewicz made our beautiful banquet centerpieces. Those who won one from the raffle got to enjoy it at home too!
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Recipients of the Special Awards this year went to:
- Willa Hawke Service Award – Crystal Wood
- Special Recognition Award – Cheryl McKay-Dorrell
- New Exhibitor of the Year – Mike and Terri Cassidy
- Exhibitor of the Year – Spotlight Award – Dwight and Leah Dow
- Anna Sadler Humanitarian Award – Anne Paul
All of the awards may be found
here
The "walk up" videos for our region's best cat each group, presented at the Gulf Shore Region awards banquet, and are listed below:
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Best Cat in Championship:
GC, BWR, RW NOOSA HEADS LIGHT FOOT
Br: Aline Garel, Ow: Wendy Klamm
Best Cat in Premiership:
CH, GP, NW RI-KAR KATTS AHARON OF ANGELFOREST
Br: Karla and Richard Fox, Ow: Leah and Dwight Dow
Best Kitten:
GC, NW ASTECH'S INDIA SAVAGE
Br/Ow: Sue Truesdell
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Best Household Pet:
GH, HRW MOTO MOTO OF ALORACATS
Ow: Jennifer Simper and Marlon Azada
On The Road Again video:
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Even with the fire alarm, the banquet ended on time at 10:15 pm, which was good as the parties next door were really starting to get loud. However, people were saying it was a great weekend and all went smoothly. That is not by accident. It is due to all the wonderful people behind the scenes working their butts off. Thank you!!
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On July 6-7 was the Conroe, TX, show by Stars & Stripes Tabby & Tortie CC and was sponsored by Magnolia State CC. The show had wonderful weather and it was cool inside the building. We had beautiful cats from the region and out of the region too.
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We had awesome vendors and a great raffle too. There was also a steady stream of spectators coming in the door both Saturday and Sunday. We also had a record amount of new exhibitors entered in the show who marked the entry box for new exhibitor and two other new exhibitors who did not check the new exhibitor box on their entry form. Leesa Altschul had a great time helping the Newbees and thanks to everyone else who helped them out. We hope to see them back at another CFA show soon!
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Returning Newbee Melissa with her Bengal
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The costume contest is such a huge hit with the spectators and exhibitors that we have started doing contests for each day – Saturday and Sunday. Many cats had different outfits for each day and a lot had 4th of July themed outfits. The crowd loved it!
at left: Maddie dressed as “Red, White, and Blue Eyes
We celebrated with a New Grand Party for a 1-show Grand Champion hosted by Terri and Mike Connelly.
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We are selling the 2021 Annual pins for $20. See Traci Whittenberg for one. Pin sales is our largest fundraiser for the Annual, and everyone should own one!
Theme of 2021 Annual – Houston 2021 – “A Feline Odyssey.” Winning theme submitted by Jacqueline Loehline, who wins a free T-shirt with the theme logo.
Be a part of the Region by becoming involved. Don’t know what to do? Just ask!
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UPCOMING SHOWS:
•
July 27: OK, NORMAN.
Cleveland City Fairgrounds, 615 EAST ROBINSON. Cow Hill Cat Club. 4AB, 2SP, HHP Judges: Ammons(AB), Janzen(AB), Black(AB), Rogers(AB), Bassett(LH/SH), Bennett(LH/SH).
•
August 31: LA, ALEXANDRIA
. Best Western Hotel and Conference Center, 2720 North Macarthur Drive. Cenla Cat Fanciers. 6AB, 4SP, HHP. (Back-to-Back)
Judges: Watson(AB), Black(AB), Godwin(AB), Owen(AB), Williams(AB), Ammons(AB), Rogers(LH/SH), Bassett(LH/SH), Jaeger(LH/SH), Pearson(LH/SH)
• September 7-8: TX, Deer Park. Jimmy Burke Activity Center, 500 West 13th Street. Coastal Cat Club. 6AB, 2SP, HHP, AGILITY. (Back-to-Back)
Judges: Black(AB), Ammons(AB), Mare(AB), Newkirk(AB), Griswold(AB), Heidt(AB), Bennett(LH/SH), Godwin(LH/SH).
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John Colilla - Regional Director
Our region is very active in social media with a Facebook page as well being a member of Pinterest. Please stop by and check out what is going on in our region on our
Facebook and
Pinterest pages.
The Great Lakes Region Fundraising Committee is busy producing the 2020 CATS OF CFA CATENDAR which will be available late summer. The proceeds from the sale of the Catendar and other fundraisers helps offset expenses for things such as hospitality, entertainment, etc at the CFA Annual.
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Many thanks to Judy Bemis, a former GLR resident for donation 2 pieces of Waterford Crystal for us to raffle for the 2022 Annual. Tickets are $5 each and we will sell only 200 tickets. Winner announced after the sale of 200.
The 2022 CFA Annual will be held in Louisville, KY and the Great Lakes Region is looking forward to many of you joining us for this event!!
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Be sure to mark your calendar with our upcoming shows:
- July 27 – Motor City Jazz Club – Taylor MI, 4AB 2SP 6HHP
- July 28 – Midwest Persian Tabby Fanciers – Taylor MI, 4AB 2SP 6HHP
- Aug 03 - Butler Cat Fanciers – Pittsburgh PA - 5AB 1SP.
- Aug 18 - Monroe Shorthair Club – Brockport NY- 5AB 1SP HHP.
- Aug 24-25 - Sacred Cat of Burma Fanciers – Medina OH - 7AB, 3SP
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Howard Webster - Regional Director
The San Diego Cat Fanciers put on a “Pet Me - Meet and Greet” event on June 20th through the 24th at the San Diego County fairgrounds.They brought all different breeds of cats and Household Pets for children and adults alike to handle, pet, and admire their beauty. Candy Kalman, Nancy Gott, Cherylee DeYoung, Shelby Friemonth and daughter, Tracy Dalton, Debi Gomez, Karen Wilkins and husband, Thomas Rowley, and myself were there over the four days
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We handed out the CFA literature, breed brochures, coloring books, and Winn Foundation materials to everyone who came by our area.
We were in a barn next to cattle, goats, and sheep but the cats didn't seem to mind. The blow dryer for the goats did startle a couple of cats but all in all they handled it with the grace that a good show cat would.
On Thursday and Friday there were school children and teachers that came through out booth playing and learning about pedigreed cats. Saturday and Sunday were filled with families in attendance.
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This was a great opportunity for the general public to meet registered cats and learn more out them. Up close and personal in a real way.
Staffing the pet me event at the Del Mar fairgrounds was wonderfully rewarding. Watching the children’s eyes light up when they were told they could touch the cats was really gratifying
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Many people expressed interest in learning how to show their household pets, maybe next year we were thing of schedule a grooming exhibition and advertise it in advance, and notifing it on social media that would be doing it at certain times.
If we as a hobby wish to be here in 10 yrs we have to excite the public about them, bring new interest and new people or we will go the way of the dodo !
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Mary Auth - Regional Director
The Midwest Region invites you to join us for a few upcoming shows.
- July 20 in Lawrenceburg Indiana – 4 rings one day.
- August 3-4 in Gray Summit Missouri (west of St. Louis). This is a six by six show – TGIF on Saturday and Birman show on Sunday.
- August 10-11 in Gardner Kansas with a number of co-sponsors – the usual suspects, adding Lincoln Cat Club and Creative Cat Club. This is a four x four show.
- August 17 in Noblesville Indiana – a new show for the schedule – six-ring one-day show.
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Kenny Currle - Regional Director
Southern Region Awards Banquet
The Southern Stars shown brightly in Timonium Saturday night during the regional awards banquet! The wall was filled with the posters of our 28 national-winning cats from all five classes of competition. Kudos to Banquet Manager Claire Dubit for keeping things organized and running smoothly, especially with the late in the game challenges that she faced!
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Above: Leslie Carr with Kenny Currle
Right: Melody Boyd
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Special Honors
Congratulations to the recipients of this year’s special awards!
Exhibitor of the Year – Leslie Carr
Clerk of the Year – Krista Schmitt
New Exhibitor of the Year – Melody Boyd
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The regional website will be updated soon with photos of all of our winning cats
Our show and banquet photographer, Larry Johnson, has posted photos from the banquet
here
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Jane Lamas receives first
Richard Gebhardt Award
at the CFA Awards Banquet
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Darrell Newkirk and Mark Hannon presented the inaugural Richard H. Gebhardt Memorial National Award. This award is sponsored by the Kim Everett-Hirsch estate in perpetuity, and will be presented to the Best Cat in Regions 1-9.
Gebhardt joined the Garden State Cat Club at the age of 16 and by the time he was 22, he was the youngest president of the club and remained president for 14 years. His accomplishments were overwhelming. He became president of CFA and held that position 12 years. He was president of the CFA Judges Association for 6 years, first international AB judge and first American to ever judge a show in Europe. Mr. Gebhardt also was owner/co-owner of two CFA COTY's in 1959 and 1969, both black Persians.
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How fitting that the first recipient was GC, NW I-Catchers iCloud, a solid white Persian! And the Southern Region is proud to call both iCloud and Jane one of our own!
above:
Jane Lamas with her husband Anthony Albertini holding the Richard Gebhardt award
left: Jane and Cyndi Lewis pose with the 2019 banner of the region's best cats
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Southern Region Awards Show
The National Alliance of Birman Breeders hosted the 2019 Regional Awards Show in Timonium, Maryland the weekend of June 22-23. This show was also the first North American in-conjunction show that was run concurrently within the same show hall. The CFA show and its exhibitors were on one side of the hall, and the TICA show (hosted by Capital Cats) was on the other side. A few exhibitors did show in both shows. The clubs shared show hall expenses. More information about this show, and about how in-conjunction shows are produced, will be in the August issue of Cat Talk.
Winn Feline Foundation Symposium
On Friday afternoon prior to the show, the Winn Feline Foundation held a symposium on a variety of feline topics at the Red Lion Hotel. The event was also sponsored by CFA, TICA, and Dr. Elsey’s. The symposium featured six different speakers, and topics included cerebral disgenesis, diarrhea in kittens, and several topics on genetic tests as related to treating disease.
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We’ll be celebrating our cats and our people this upcoming weekend in Timonium, MD with our regional awards banquet and show. It’s not to late to enter this show – remember though that it closes TODAY
As a part of this exciting weekend, the Winn Feline Foundation will be presenting a day long symposium on Friday at the show hall. You can find out more information about it
here
Upcoming Shows
Please join us for one (or more!) of these upcoming shows!
- July 27 - Richmond, VA - GEMS
- July 28 - Richmond, VA - International Egyptian Mau Society
- August 3-4 – Ft. Myers – Platinum Coast Cat Fanciers
- August 11-12 – Timonium, MD – Hidden Peak Cat Club
- August 17-18 – Rebel Rousers Cat Club
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Michael Hans Schleissner
Regional Director
Region 9 Europe celebrates the spotlight award winner and the the clerk of the year for 2019. As I pointed out at the regional banquet in Legano / Italy, this show season is the season of the silent people. Our two awards go to such people and I'm very happy that we have them in our region.
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Spotlight award winner 2019 is
Marika Lahti from Finland
I personally know Marika because of her perfectly groomed Persian cats in our shows in Europe. But there is more behind this lady. Marika is a cat person from almost the beginning of her life. At an age of 15 she got her first Persian cat, a blue cream. Her first litter was born in 1990. In the beginning she started with showing in Fife, as most of us in Europe. The surprising thing is, that her first show cats were household pets, which were later on registered as novices in the European Shorthair breed. At this time, while showing in Fife, Marika was very successful and did several best cat wins at the Fife shows. Here I don't want to forget to say, that this shows sometimes had 1.200 entries on a weekend.
After I got this Fife information from her my question was " When did you decide to go with CFA? ". Yes, all went back to this CFA information shows Samu Mollberg and his team held in 2007 and her first real CFA show was in May 2008. Marika said, that she was hooked by the atmosphere in this show and this is exactly what many other people over here in Europe say when you ask this question. Actually Marika shows exclusively in CFA and mainly in Finland.
Let talk about the reasons Marika deserves the spotlight award 2019 for Region 9 Europe. Did most of you know that Marika does our booklet for the regional awards banquet since 2013? She is the one who works on this not easy thing to get everything in order.
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She feels very honored to do this and, of course, she loves to do it. I know she will go on with this job and her wishes for the future are having the material in time, so that she can do this one whole week job in one piece, because its always the last missing photo making the problems.
Another question was "What do you like most on this job? " and it was no surprise to get this answer: I like to create something pretty and more professional-looking publications for CFA Europe. I think that visually is important.
Thank you Marika, I think I can say this for most of the European CFA people, you are exactly the right person to do this and we all are honored having you.
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Clerk of the year 2019 winner is
Mireille Gobel from Belgium
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Another very silent person in our fancy is Mireille and at this point I want to make clear that not the one who did the most clerking during the season (this is also important and necessary, so that my strongest thanks go with these clerks ), this time its the one who did extra homework.
Can you imagine that Mireille started with breeding Siamese cats? The change came in August 2007, at that time she got her first Abyssinian and started a new breeding program and, no surprise to me, she carries on some old 0380 Aby lines.
Mireille is a certified chief ring clerk in CFA, the treasurer of Felinus International Cat Club in Belgium and did the entry clerk job for the last couple of shows of her club. But the main reason for being clerk of the year is her work behind the curtains. Mireille developed a new scoring program on the computer for CFA shows and shares this and the information with exhibitors, so that everybody can have the information on how many points her / his cat made in this particular show.
She also developed a breed summary sheet for the use of our chief ring clerks and made it available for her colleges.
Thank you Mireille, for working for our region, always loyal and reliable with friends and colleges.
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Regional Awards Banquet and Regional Show 2019 in Italy
submitted by Giulia Di Natale
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Our event this seasont was the final result of two month hard work. I tried to go on with my ideas also to stay faithful to myself. I cannot say it was easy as it was my first experience as banquet planner, but many people looked enthusiastic so this made me very happy. I must thank you for all support, Doerte Haendel for their incredible dedication to galleries and videos, Marika Lahti for the lovely booklet and of course Carlo for the help he gave me in the last 2 months. I cannot forget Annarita and Florida for the beautiful performance they made as a gift to the club and the Region. I hope to arrange other banquets in future avoiding some mistakes I made this time, making this event greater and greater to make our region shines!
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Regarding the show it was small but perfect for the season. We had several new Italian exhibitors, the atmosphere was very friendly and calm and everyone, of course, loved the ice cream party we made in the afternoon.
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In January we are going back to Legnano, same beautiful hotel, but this time in a show hall just 100 meters away from the hotel. It will be a 6 rings 1 day show and we hope many visitors and exhibitors will join us.
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Upcoming shows in the region:
Aug/11/2019 - Cat Fanciers of Finland
Lempäälä, Finland
3 AB rings
Sept/14+15/2019 - Cat - H - Art
Court Saint Etienne, Belgium
4 SSP rings, 2 LH / SH SP rings
Sept/21+22/2019 - Jardin De Korat
Narbonne, France
6 SSP rings
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Dick Kallemyer
Congratulations to all the International Division NW and DW winners as well as Breed and Color winners, and Grand of Distinction, DMs, Grands and Catteries of Distinction!
We are still looking for
On the Road
and award winning cat photos.
The CFA International Division Awards Banquet 2019 will be held in Sentosa, Singapore on August 17, 2019 at the S.E.A. Aquarium. The host is the Feline Fanciers’ Society of Singapore cat club. For more information, see the “CFA International Division” Facebook page or send an email to
idbanquet2019@gmail.com.
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2019 Banquet venue at the
S.E.A. Aquarium Ocean Gallery Room with a display of cat food
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