The HRC annual meeting was held June 10 – 12 and was by all accounts a very successful weekend. It was again hosted in downtown Memphis. The only order of business on Thursday was the start of the Field Rep meeting. When they adjourned for the evening, a good sized group of us dodged rain drops and headed across the street for a AAA minor league baseball game between the Cardinals and Cubs affiliates. What a beautiful ball park they have in Memphis. A must do activity for anyone visiting that area in the future. Cards won.

Friday was a busy day for everyone. The Field Rep meeting reconvened, the Executive Committee meeting got underway, the Public Relations Committee met all day and at the same time, Field Representative Mike Botts conducted a handlers and judges seminar. In all fairness to Mike I did hear that he did an excellent job with the seminar despite the fact that the term “controlled break” was continually being poked at him for the rest of the weekend. The UKC staff that attended included UKC President Wayne Cavanaugh, Loretta Wylie and myself. We dropped in on each of the above meetings and had some very productive and positive discussions.

Later in the afternoon UKC took part in a forums discussion where HRC members are welcome to attend and address any questions or concerns to a panel that included the UKC staff, HRC Public Relations Director Barb Newsome, Purina Representatives Ann Viklund and Dean Reinke and Avery Representative David Carrington. The forums discussions have not been very well attended in the past but it seemed as though this year our group was larger and had more questions.

Last on the agenda for Friday was the General Membership Meeting. HRC President Jim Reichman welcomed all in attendance and invited UKC President Wayne Cavanaugh to address the group. Next to speak was Brian Zanghi, a nutritionist from Nestle Purina that did a very informative presentation on the feeding of senior aged performance dogs.

The better part of the day on Saturday was spent with the board of directors meeting. After reports were given and approved, the floor was open for old and new business. The only motion to pass the approval of the board was one which would put a term limit on the length of time an HRC Secretary could serve. A two term limit will go into affect.

The meeting officially concluded Saturday evening with the banquet and auction. The food was good and the membership generous. All and all it was a very positive and upbeat National Meeting weekend.

Todd Kellam
V.P. Hunting Programs
UNITED KENNEL CLUB, INC.