I think this is a wonderful idea! There are so many of us that can use a refresher and others who would volunteer if they felt like they knew more about the being a Show Secretary. I have done it once and I was scared to death. People are not forgiving of being a newbie at a job and making errors. Was not a good experience. This can do nothing but build confidence! I would attend. Terry & Larry Rock FaithRock German Shepherds 58877 Ward Drive St. Helens, OR 97051 503.397.1325 Home 314.494.4110 Cell Home of Newest CH FaithRock Caralonqed "Ruby" Queen, TC, CHIC Folks, Just a suggestion, recently I (along with two other members of my regional club)attended a seminar "Building a Better Dog Show" given by the AKC at the Raleigh All Breed Shows. To say that this seminar was an eye opener is an understatement. I wrote to Lew Bunch and suggested that the AKC be invited to do this seminar at the National and encourage anyone that is a show secretary or considering being a show secretary attend this seminar. I believe he is working on this. Not only will they go over the rules, one at a time, they will answer questions, give examples, etc. They too are concerned about the drop in show entries, and the decline of the shows. They want the sport of purebred dogs to be a family event. Now, stop and take a look at the shows like this is the first time you have ever attended one, and any behavior you observe by people that have been attending dog shows most of their lives, we overlook things. We hear words we have all heard before, but what about the family that has come there with their 5 year old and 7 year old children, to observe what the German Shepherd is all about, and do they want to add one to their family, if they do add one to their family, what would their expectations be if they might be interested in participating in the sport of purebred dogs. There are many venues to attend with a pure bred dog. So they are sitting ringside, and a double handler runs down one of the kids, a handler in the ring mouths a foul word or two to put the double handler to be in the correct corner or to go in the same direction as their dog is running, maybe fido hasn't had a stool recently and needs assistance to go, and out comes a match................how would this look to a first time family. We have heard, seen and probably some of us are guilty of doing some of these things. AKC sees these types of things as a detriment to encouraging new folks getting involved with the sport of purebred dogs. People come with grand children, all of a sudden the language they have heard for 40 years is not ok, because they are now listening with different ears. All AKC wants us to do is be good sportsmen, we should be dedicated to that, look at all we can do with our wonderful breed, we can participate in virtually any venue with our breed! WOW! Just how cool is that, enjoy your dogs, enjoy the sport of purebred dogs, and best of all make new friends and enjoy each other. Ok, now back to my little cave, peeking out cautiously............. Laura Gilbert Chesapeake VA ************************************** See what's free at http://www.aol.com. ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2007. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - www.showgsd.org ============================================================================