I just returned from a visit to my daughter and her family who live near Raleigh, NC. Before going there I contacted AKC and arranged a tour. My daughter Rose and I were greeted by Betty Nightengale from Special Services and given a whole tour of the building, from the 1st floor thru the 4th floor where all the executive offices are. It was on Thursday, the day before the holiday so a lot of people were all ready gone. It is a very impressive operation, from the way all paperwork is processed, the printing operation, show services, DNA services. The building itself is beautiful and so is the statue of Dog NY, the German Shepherd that represents the rescue dogs that serviced the site on Sept. 11, the first thing you see when you go in the door. There are 350 people that work there but just a few that run a few operations like new judges and special services. They do a lot of work. Security is very tight also. I am glad I went. Bobbie Kindy ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2006. 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 - URL temporarily deleted due to AOL issues ============================================================================