I loved A.O.E. but I believed in A.O.M. There are so many breeders and exhibitors that are unable to attend a Nationals, unable to afford a handler, have to remain at work, and the like. In addition, not ALL of our Intersex judges do a great job....some do, some don't. There are great dogs that "got away." Limiting the number of selects will further permit some worthy animals from getting recognition. So in my humble opinion (which is often not humble) Award of Merit could be the most meaningful award in a decade....We want to promote all of these accomplishments being obtained by our top show animals. We want to reward the breeders and owners. I will instigate this program again if the Board wants. Helen Franlin ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2005. 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 - http://www.showgsd.org ============================================================================