Page 100 - ShowSight - April 2020

Sherry and I agree that we could not suc- ceed by micro-managing, and we had to let each group and individual event contribute and staff as needed. We, as leaders, would be there to assist and coordinate with them to make it all work as one event with each group as a sub-event.
Sherry was a very valuable assistant chairman who served the event well for several years before family health mat- ters would force her to move over to the sidelines. The contributions she made to the project, especially in the beginning, were tremendous.
GETTING THE WORD OUT
The committee wanted to put some type of name to the event and the title “St. Jude Wonderful World of Dogs” was selected, and Sherry created a wonderful logo of a child and dog to represent the project. Iron- ically just a few weeks before the event, we would learn the “wonderful world of dogs” had been copyrighted and we were in viola- tion of copyright law putting our event in jeopardy. Fortunately, an agreement was reached along with a donation from the copyright holder and we could proceed, but the following year we would change our name to the St. Jude Showcase of Dogs.
Also, we needed a way to share our event with potential groups and sponsors. I cre- ated a script for a video and Sherry (with the cooperation of ALSCA and the AKC) secured video material that Pro-Video in Memphis built into a four-minute promo- tional video on our project.
After the creation of the video, Sherry and I started to attend meetings with many kennel clubs and groups in the general area. Our goal was to generate a diverse group with an interest in the project. We also sent the video out to every major dog food brand at the time looking for a title sponsor with some sort of financial support.
THE GENERAL PUBLIC
Everyone on the committee felt that not only getting the general public to attend was essential, but we needed to get them excited about it. We decided to allow the public to bring their dogs with them to the event so they could participate in some activities as well as learn about their breeds and their dogs from breeders and veterinarians and trainers that were participating.
FINDING A SITE AND A DATE
Securing a suitable site and date was next on our agenda. We researched avail- able dates with little or no competition from other shows, knowing that this large undertaking would take a special site to
“WE DECIDED TO ALLOW THE PUBLIC TO BRING THEIR DOGS WITH THEM TO THE EVENT SO THEY COULD PARTICIPATE IN SOME ACTIVITIES AS WELL AS LEARN ABOUT THEIR BREEDS AND THEIR DOGS FROM BREEDERS AND VETERINARIANS AND TRAINERS THAT WERE PARTICIPATING.”
FOR THE LOVE OF CHILDREN AND MAN’S BEST FRIEND
98 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, APRIL 2020
accommodate it. We also researched the weather from the data available over the past 50 years.
The Agricenter International in subur- ban Germantown, Tennessee was selected as the site and the weekend of October 7 and 8 was selected for the date, as history had shown it had only rained twice in 50 years on that weekend. The Agricenter was also adjacent to the Duck’s Unlimited head- quarters and some aspects of that property would fit with our project.
We still did not have a sponsor, but I signed the contracts to secure the site and I was now “all in” for sure as I did not want to lose everything if we failed.
The Agricenter was a unique property. The indoor set-up was difficult to utilize efficiently, but the outside had 300 full RV hook-ups, a wonderful pond and numerous large and small grassy areas where many events could be staged.
TITLE SPONSOR NAMED
In January of 1995, Kal-Kan Pedigree dog food company stepped up and agreed to become the first sponsor of our event. It was a big relief to all of us and a sign that we were on our way toward success
A TRUE DOG COMMUNITY PROJECT
In our meetings and outreach, various groups started to come on board. One of particular significance was the Memphis and Shelby County Veterinary Associa- tion. This group, with no less than 50 local veterinarians and their clinics, committed to designing and staffing a “Noah’s Ark” exhibit in which they created a mini-hos- pital to share with the public information and demonstrations on various veterinary practices regarding surgery, dentistry, ultra- sound, physical exams, laboratory practices, preventive medicine radiology/X-rays and all things veterinary related. The Ark would become a great success as the general public had a real opportunity to get a behind the scenes look at the veterinary profession and how they treat their dogs.
The Memphis Obedience Club under the direction of AKC judge Howard Glad- stein stepped up and agreed to sponsor the obedience side of the project. They would host a limited obedience trial as well as do numerous demonstrations to introduce Obedience to the spectators.
The Greater Shelby Kennel Club—of which Carol, Sherry and I were charter members—was hesitant to join on as a spon- sor and move their show to the event, but they did agree to hold sanctioned matches on the weekend to present the conformation side of the sport.
The American Kennel Club, The Ameri- can Field, The Bird Dog Museum and the National Field Trial Championship all agreed to participate. They would not only have a booth, they would do bird dog dem- onstrations on the adjacent Duck’s Unlim- ited properties.
Agility and Lure coursing were not yet AKC events, but they were being held by other sanctioned organizations and they agreed to hold a full trial at the event.
Numerous groups agreed to do dem- onstrations during the event some of them were, Pointing dogs, Retrievers, search and rescue, Schutzhund, herding, Guide Dogs for the Blind, therapy, freestyle and dancing dogs, drug and law enforcement dogs, fox hunting, Beagle field trials, coon hounds and go to ground.
Many of those that attended the event can remember our herding demonstration person using his Border Collies to herd a group of sheep throughout the grounds dur- ing the event.
THE STARS CAME OUT
One member of our committee worked hard with a trainer in Hollywood to bring Gus, the white Siberian Husky from the film Iron Will, The St. Bernard from the film Beethoven and the Golden Retriever, Shadow, from the film The Incredible Jour- ney to Memphis. She created a show using the dogs that was presented on stage several times a day to entertain the public. >