Northern Michigan Chapter
North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association

Newsletter Archives - July 2000

Random Ramblings - Lance Vernam

It has gone by quickly but we are now half way through the training season! I try to train my dogs at Norm's property both on Wednesdays and Saturdays as my schedule permits. This year, I have seen fewer members using Norm's property for training than in previous years. I hope that all of you take advantage of using our training grounds for fieldwork and obedience. With the August test and fall hunting season quickly closing in, now is the time to work with your dog. I hope to see more of you participating in the training days over the next few weeks. Your dogs deserve it.

Speaking of training, we just finished the Clyde Vetter Training Clinic a few weeks ago where twenty-one local members worked with Clyde on training techniques. For those of you who did not attend, you missed a golden opportunity to learn some new methods of training and how to read your dog. Clyde was amazing on how he could read a dog and modify his training method accordingly. We were very fortunate to have him here. This training clinic was one of our fund-raisers for the year. All of Clyde's expenses were picked-up by Purina (another reason why all of us should support ProPlan dog food). With this, covering the expenses of the birds, lunches and other items, our chapter made about $800 for the weekend! A great big thanks to all of those who attended!

Several of us (John MacNeal, Sr. Apprentice Ron Boehme, Dave Nordquist and myself) will be traveling to Milwaukee for the Judges Workshop July 21 - 23. If you have any items that you would like to have discussed as far as judging rules or a scenario on judgement, please let one of us know and we will discuss it at the meeting. Also, don't forget about the Family Sporting Clays Picnic in August. This will be our third year for this event and the turn out in the past has always been very good. It has always been a wonderful time.

Finally, I would like to send out a special thank you to Ron Boehme. Ron went out of his way to bring birds to our Clyde Vetter Training Clinic, all the way from Twin Lakes. Without Ron's help, we would have been up that infamous creek without a paddle. Ron, you went above and beyond the call of duty here. Thanks from all of us and best of luck in the fall testing season in obtaining that elusive utility prize..

2000 Spring Test Results - Judy Balog

Please take the time to congratulate all those members who tested at our spring test on 19, 20 & 21 May. The time and effort they put into their dogs was well rewarded; please click here for the results of the runnings.

Sporting Clays Shoot - Chris Raymond

Similar to last year, we will once again have our sporting clays shoot at Denny Norman’s Action Shooting Sports (click for directions) in Manton. This event will be held on Sunday, 6 August 2000.

The shooting will start at 12:00 noon with the cook-out following at approximately 3:30 p.m. As a reminder, all individuals on the course or shooting fields, spectators and shooters alike, will be required to wear both eye and hearing protection. Denny will have shells available for purchase if needed. The price will be $25.00 per shooter and $5.00 for all non-shooters just attending the cook-out. For shooters, the $25.00 fee will provide: one round of Sporting Clays (50 targets), one round of Five Stand (25 targets), and one round of Skeet (25 targets), plus your meal and beverages. Trapper tips are extra and the responsibility of each shooter. The charge for non-shooters is to cover the cost of the cook-out.

The picnic will probably again consist of hot dogs, hamburgers, potato salad, baked beans, chips, cake and beverage. If you plan on attending, please inform Chris Raymond, 231.929.7537, no later than Wednesday, 2 August 2000.

Looking for Water....... - Kurt Bard

in all the wrong places. As everybody knows, this year hasn’t been as wet as those in the past. Add that on top of the reduced rainfall we saw last year, and we find that our current water testing areas are precariously shallow. As a result, our chapter needs to identify possible alternative locations in which to conduct the water portion of our fall test (19 & 20 August). In your travels around the area, please keep an eye out for bodies of water that:

are two (2) acres in size or larger,
has at least seventy-five percent (75%) of its water of a swimmable depth,
are not completely open and has at least a minimal amount of cover (i.e. reeds, bulrushes, lily pads, etc.),
are on either state or private land but preferably located on private where we can obtain permission from the land owner.

If you have a suggested site, please contact either Kurt Bard at 231.267.9376 or Judy Balog at 231.938.4426.

Want to Provide Input to the Chapter?

We would like to remind everyone that issues of chapter interest or concern can be presented to any of the board members for discussion at the next board meeting. They can be contacted as follows: Lance Vernam, 231.938.1324, Judy Balog, 231.938.4426, John MacNeal, 231.929.0929, and Chris Raymond, 231.929.7537.

Welcome

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

Member Dog & Breed Member Dog & Breed

Brian Donaldson Jager - GRS
Piper - GRS
Caccia - GRS Derrick Garnett Leupold - WEI

Paul Hittle Heidi - WPG David Laing Fleck - GSP

David Lieber Chief - GSP David Lint Hannah - Clumber Spaniel

Dan Matthies Nick - EGS Brandon McCord Fletcher - WPG

Nels Nichols Lady Muff - BSP Michael Parrott Maggie - GSP

Cheryl Potter Randy - WEI
Ricky - WEI John Sanborn Andy - BSP

Mark Strange Eileen Weiser Duke - SPI

Scott Wojciechowski Georgie - BSP

Volunteer Spotlight

In goes without saying how much the chapter depends upon and appreciates the volunteer efforts of its members. As such, we think it especially important that all members know the time and effort their fellow members are making on behalf of the organization. In that regard, we will be making this a regular and on-going section of our newsletter. While some of you may be somewhat media shy and resist inclusion in this column, please understand that everyone’s contributions are greatly appreciated and should be acknowledged by all members.

Member Event

Kurt Bard Coordinated the 2000 Annual Dinner earlier this past Spring.

Rick McPhall Volunteered as Test Chairman for the 2000 Spring Test.

Judy Balog Served as Test Secretary for the 2000 Spring Test

Lance Vernam Coordinated the Clyde Vetter Training Clinic in June.

We're still looking for volunteers for Test Chair for the 2001 testing year. If you are interested, please contact Lance Vernam at 231.938.1324.

Club Clothing

The chapter will once again prepare a clothing order of interest warrants. Individuals interested in ordering clothing should contact Chris Raymond at 231.929.7537.

Classifieds

If chapter members have dog training or hunting related items they would like listed for sale in newsletter and web site, please submit a short description with contact information to Chris Raymond at 231.946.4070 (fax).

The following items are available:

Wire-framed Kennel (Extra, Extra Large) - Stores completely flat, as new condition, if interested, please contact Chris Raymond at 231.929.7537.

Dogloo (Extra Large) Dog House - Nitrogen filled, no door panel, no pad. If interest, please contact Chris Raymond at 231.929.7537.

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