Membership

It goes without saying that we encourage each of you to renew your membership in both the Northern Michigan chapter and NAVHDA International. While the reasons for membership are many, some of the more popular ones include:

• being able to utilize training resources and areas which would not otherwise be available or open,
• being able to network with a group of other like minded, dog and hunting oriented individuals,
• broadening one’s hunting pleasure through greater canine performance and increased camaraderie between man and dog,
• participating in a non-competitive, hunting oriented testing format that objectively evaluates canine performance and the success of an individual’s training program.

For me at least, membership costs have been returned many times over if for no other reason than for the friendships that I have formed and the experiences I have gained since joining both the local and international organizations.

Please click here for a membership form to renew your affiliations. While local membership is kept on a calendar year basis, your membership with international may be on a different twelve month cycle. It would be appreciated if you could return your completed form no later than Monday, 4 March 2002. Again, all chapter members will be required to maintain international affiliation. International membership expiration can be verified by contacting:

If international affiliation is not kept current we will have no choice but to drop an individual from the chapter rolls and discontinue their chapter privileges. Thank you in advance for your timely assistance in preventing this from becoming an issue.

2002 Testing

Please click appropriately for testing applications and 2002 test information for the Northern Michigan chapter. During the last couple of years, our chapter has received ever increasing interest in its tests. As such, the tests tend to fill to capacity quite quickly. If you are in the least bit interested in running your dog(s) in either of these two tests, it is highly recommended that you complete and submit your respective registration as quickly as possible. If you should have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Judy Balog, test secretary for both tests, at 231.938.4426.

Spring Meeting

Please join us on Saturday, 9 March 2002 at the Traverse City Elks. This event is a get to know everybody dinner that we hold annually. It provides an opportunity to ask questions and make comments that you might have about the organization--suggestions for improving the club are always welcomed and appreciated. Also, the club's officers present brief reports on the items and events within their respective areas of responsibility. The Spring meeting really is a fun time and is a good kick off to a new training year. More information on this event is provided later in this newsletter.

Welcome

We would like to provide and warm and hearty welcome to the following new members and their dogs:

Name	Dog& Breed
Mike Balog	Mia - VIZ
William Truscott	Tek - WEI

2002 Test Volunteers and Chapter Governance

As always seems to be the case, we are in need of a few volunteers for this coming Spring and Fall Test. While Kurt Bard and Tony Griffore have volunteered for Spring and Fall text chair positions and Judy Balog will step up again and be test secretary for both tests, we need others to help out where they can. If you are interested in doing so, please contact Kurt Bard at 231.267.9376. or Tony Griffore at 231.922.9230.

If in the past you have enjoyed participating in chapter activities but have yet to assume some of the event responsibilities, this is an excellent opportunity to begin paying a little back to the club. These are not difficult roles and there are others who will help guide volunteers in performing these responsibilities.

Along different lines, the Northern Michigan chapter board for 2002 will be:

Name	Position	Phone Number
Kurt Bard	President	231.267.9376
Judy Balog	Vice-President	231.938.4426
John MacNeal	Treasurer	231.929.0929
Chris Raymond	Secretary	231.929.7537

Also, we would encourage anybody who is interested in attending the chapter's board meetings to please do so. Meetings are kept fairly informal and infrequent. Rarely will there be more than four in an entire year. Our next board meeting will probably be sometime in March. An announcement will be circulated once it has been set, but do not expect more than a couple of days notice.

A Tribute to the Dog

The best friend a man has in this world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son or daughter, that he has reared with loving care, may prove ungrateful.

Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name, may become traitors to their faith.

The money that a man has, he may lose. It flies away from him, perhaps when he needs it the most.

A man's reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action.

The people who are prone to fall on their knees to do us honor, when success is with us, may be the first to throw the stone of malice when failure settles its cloud upon our heads.

The one absolutely unselfish friend that a man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, and the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous, is his dog.

A man's dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow
and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master's side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer. He will lick the wounds and sores that come from encounters with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master, as if he were a prince.

When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wings and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens. If fortune drives the master forth, an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him to guard against danger, to fight against his enemies, and...

When the last scene of all comes, and death takes the master in its embrace, and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by his grave side will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad, but open in alert watchfulness…..faithful and true, even to death.

Classifieds

If you would like to place items for sale in future newsletters please contact Chris Raymond by e-mail or telephonically at 231.929.7537.