07/15/01

REGIONAL DIRECTORS COMMENTS:

I want to thank the members of the Alamo City Cat Club especially Betty Haden, Fran Eiserloh, and Pam DelaBar, for all the work they did to organize the Regional Awards Show and Banquet.  The Show was a huge success and we made a profit of $2,145.00. The Banquet came off with only a few hitches; my left hand did not know what my right one was going to do next.  But we all survived. I can not say enough about the On-The-Road-Again presentation that was put together by Sue Riley and Mark Henrichs.  It was a class presentation that showed that a lot of preparation went into it.  The photos were computer scanned and captions were added that kept everyone laughing.  Sue and Mark have volunteered for a repeat performance next year, so send them your photos early. James and Paula Watson prepared the Awards Booklet and the presentation of the Color Awards, Breed Awards, and Winner presentation.  As always they also did a terrific job. 

• SPECIAL AWARDS:

The following special awards were presented at the Awards Banquet: 

Janis Walkingstick, the daughter of the recipient, drafted the George Summerville Lifetime Achievement Award:

We are here tonight to honor a very classy lady.  She registered Grayfire Cattery, number 5708 in the mid 1960’s.

Her love affair with cats began as a little girl in North Carolina; she had seen a lady with two Persian cats and decided to save up some money to purchase a Persian kitten.

She and her three children went to their first cat show in Oklahoma City in 1965, a silver Persian kitten she had bred came home with a rosette, and her passion for the cat fancy grew.

She bred the first Exotic Shorthair in the world.  Chinchilla Silver in color, Grand Champion Grayfire’s Cheyenne.  As a novice in Tulsa, the first judge who made Cheyenne best in show was George Summerville.

Cheyenne was a one show grand at the show in Dallas. 

She was an active member of the Oklahoma City Cat Club and in the 1980’s helped found the Indian Territory Cat Club.

The breeder of the first Exotic was diagnosed with Lung Cancer and died April 22, 2001.

Tonight we are proud to honor Doris Absher Walkingstick with the George Summerville Lifetime Achievement Award.

• The Oldest Active Cattery Award nomination read:

These exhibitors attended shows through out the region and had three Grand Champions this season, as well as Regional Wins with the 9^th Best Cat and 3^rd Best Kitten.This years oldest cattery award goes to a couple who registered their cattery in Aug 1966.

The Gulf Shore Region Oldest Active Cattery Award goes to Barbara and Richard Levitan.

• The Gulf Shore Region 2000/2001 Achievement Award nominations read:

What makes the first cattery stand out from all the others is that it was registered with CFA in Sept 1991?  It is a small cattery with only four queens and two studs at the present, which produced 9 Gulf Shore Region Grands this past show season. Four cats received their DM status during the 2000/2001 show season, including a male with 15 Grands.  This is a great accomplishment.

The first Gulf Shore Region 2000/2001 Achievement Award goes to Paul Solem and Larry Knight of “Catzilla Cattery”.

 What makes the next Cattery different is that they work with a minority breed.  It was registered with CFA in Nov 1993.  It has produced National Winners in the past but this show season it produced 13 Gulf Shore Regional Grands and 3 cats received their DM status during the 2000/2001 show season.  What makes this feat so remarkable is that this couple works with the Chartreux Breed of Cats.

The Second Gulf Shore Region 2000/2001 Achievement Award goes to Donald & Mary Ann Sweeters of “Janvier Cattery”.

• JUNIOR SHOWMANSHIP:

Last year we started the Junior Showmanship program in the Gulf Shore Region.  We had 13 different juniors who participated in the program.  They were:

•   Lucia Amezquita

•   Jesseye Edwards

•   Heather Henslee

•   Hillary Henslee

•   Heather Joubert

•   Paul Kirby

•   Morgan Carl Lingsweiler

•   Eathan Long

•   Caitlin Majewski

•   Michele Moore

•   Teale Peck

•   Kristina Sutton

•   Emily Swedlund

 Juniors from the age of 8 to 15 are encouraged to participate.  The Junior Showmanship Program is the CFA of tomorrow.

• STATISTICALLY SPEAKING:

If figures do not lie, we had a banner show season in 2000/2001.  We had a good show season in the Gulf Shore Region and the numbers prove it.

We had 8 National Winners (7 last season).

  3 National Winners in Championship

  5 National Winners in Premiership

25% of the National Award Winning Premiers came from the Gulf Shore Region.  The Regional breakdown for National Winners was:

•   Region 1. 13

•   Region 2.   7

•   Region 3.   8

•   Region 4.   4

•   Region 5.   5

•   Region 6.   7

•   Region 7.  20

•   Region 8.    1

What is wrong with this picture.  Thirty-three (33), or over 50% of the National Winners came from the East Coast.

The 65 clubs in the Gulf Shore Region held a total of 38 shows last show season.  The average entry for those shows was up last season to 225 cats per show.  That is the highest average we have had since the 1996 show season.

Shows were held on 34 different weekends.  There were 18 weekends when no shows were held.  The Gulf Shore Region held:

• 3 shows in May 2000

• 1 show in June 2000

• 2 shows in July 2000

• 2 shows in August 2000

• 6 shows in September 2000

• 3 shows in October 2000

• 2 shows in November 2000

• 3 shows in December 2000

• 4 shows in January 2001

• 4 shows in February 2001

• 4 shows in March 2001

• 4 shows in April 2001

The largest shows in the Gulf Shore Region last show season were:

• 1.      363 Gulf Shore Regional Qualifier

• 2.      327 Foot of the Rockies

• 3.      327 Ozark Cat Fanciers

• 4.      299 National Birman

• 5.      295 Ft Worth Cat Club

• 6.      295 Silver Rebels

• 7.      281 National Maine Coon

• 8.      278 Oil Capital

• 9.      Oklahoma City Cat Club

• 10.  Brazos Valley Cat Club

The Shows with the Largest Championship count:

• 1.      131 Oil Capital

• 2.      124 Ozark Cat Fanciers

• 3.      120 National Birman

• 4.      116 Ft Worth Cat Club

• 5.      111 Gulf Shore Regional Qualifier

• 6.      109 Silver Rebels

• 7.      106 Foot of the Rockies

• 8.      104 National Maine Coon

• 9.      103 North Texas

• 10.  103 Bougalie Rebels

The Shows with the largest Kitten class:

• 1.      102 Gulf Shore Regional Qualifier

• 2.      93 Ft Worth Cat Club

• 3.      91 Oklahoma City Cat Club 

• 4.      90 Silver Rebels

• 5.      87 Stars and Stripes

• 6.      86 Ozark Cat Fanciers

• 7.      84 National Maine Coon

• 8.      82 Gulf Shore Regional Awards

• 9.      79 Brazos Valley

• 10.  74 National Birman

The shows with the largest Premiership class:

• 1.      95 Foot of the Rockies

• 2.      67 Silver Rebels

• 3.      66 Gulf Shore Regional Qualifier

• 4.      57 National Maine Coon

• 5.      56 Brazos Valley

• 6.      55 Ozark Cat Fanciers

• 7.      54 Gulf Shore Regional Awards

• 8.      54 National Birman

• 9.      53 Ft Worth Cat Club

• 10.  52 Oklahoma City Cat Club

Well this is enough statistical information concerning the Gulf Shore Regions 2000/2001 show season.

If your club has any questions regarding show dates, contact the regions show scheduler:

Vicky Edwards
Eagle Park Lane
Arlington, TX 76011
E-Mail: Pavlova3@aol.com
1-817-795-1540

• 2001 GULF SHORE REGION QUALIFIER:

The 2001 Regional Qualifier will be held 13-14 October at the Big Town Center in Mesquite, TX.  This will be the regions largest moneymaker, and we need your support.  Marsha Ammons has graciously accepted the task of showmanager.  She needs your help to make the show a success. 

The Iams Company is helping to sponsor all the 2001 Regional Qualifiers with a donation of $2,500. 

At this time we are looking for additional ring sponsors (clubs, businesses, individuals, etc) who are willing to make a donation. 

• 2002 GULF SHORE REGION AWARDS BANQUET:

The 2002 Regional Awards Banquet will be held in...................  Okay, who is going to fill in the blank...  Where will we hold the 2002 Awards banquet?

• JUNIOR SHOWMANSHIP:

During the CFA board meeting in Feb, we were asked to remind all regional clubs that we need to sponsor junior showmanship (JS) rings.  The JS is a CFA program that provides the opportunity for young people aged 8 to 15 to be involved in the educational competition focusing on the pedigreed cat.  The program is designed to foster knowledge of CFA pedigreed cats and their written standard, general feline health considerations, grooming and care of the cat, as well as to develop qualities such as self-confidence and sportsmanship in young people.

I would like to encourage each club who has a show scheduled or is planning a future show to consider sponsoring a JS ring.  The judging can be held during the lunch break either Saturday or Sunday.  Most judges are anxious to participate or you may ask a judge who is entered as an exhibitor to work with the JS ring.  

The show season for JS is from Sept 1 through Aug 31.  I would like very much to have as many juniors as possible from the Gulf Shore region compete at the International Show this year.  The cost for JS entry is $5.00 and the central Office provides the ribbons of participation for each junior, making little or no cost to the club.

  The future of CFA lies with the young ones.

• GULF SHORE REGIONAL WEBSITE:

We have a new look on the Gulf Shore Region Website.  Check it out.  Gene Wright (e-mail address kisan@home,com) has taken over the website from Kathy Black.  Kathy has entered the judging program and does have the time to maintain the site.  Kathy did a great job, and we all thank her for the time and energy she put into the site in the past.

You can view the Gulf Shore Region Website by going to http://www.cfaregion3.org

Take a look and send your feedback to Gene.

• 2001 CFA ANNUAL MEETING:

      CFA SURCHARGE:

The CFA Board passed a $1.00 surcharge per entry beginning with entries from shows licensed after September 1, 2001.  CFA Treasurer Cathy Calhoun stated “This surcharge will help generate additional revenue and should be considered as a long-term initiative”.

CFA central office will return $.50 per entry to the appropriate region and this surcharge will replace all regional surcharges. 

This action was approved by a 16-3 vote.

The no’s were George Eigenhauser, Lorna Malinen and Lonnie Hoover.

          CFA ALMANAC & YEARBOOK:

At the CFA Board Meeting, we discussed several costs saving alternatives regarding the Almanac and Yearbook.

The board’s action became the number one topic on the net.  You would have thought we had voted to do away with both publications.

Enclosed is a copy of the Schedule of Media Gross Deficit (which includes the Almanac and Yearbook) taken from the Report of Independent Auditors Ernest & Young for the CFA Board of Directors and distributed to the delegates at the Annual Meeting.  Notice that because of the Yearbook and Almanac losses, the Media Schedule shows a negative $(85,793) for the year ending 30 April 2001.

The Budget and Finance Committee budgeted a negative $(87,000) loss for the upcoming year.  They figure the new $1.00 surcharge will bring in $28,000 to CFA per year, offsetting some of the Media loss.  My question is why is the exhibitor being forced to balance CFA’s budget?  The new CFA Budget passed by a vote of 18-1.  The only no vote being that of Lonnie Hoover.  The reason; we are charging the exhibitor for CFA’s lack of Financial Management skills.  I do not believe in negative budgeting...

• CFA INTERNATIONAL SHOW:

The International Show will be held November 16-18, 2001 in the George R Brown Convention Center, Houston, TX.  The show will be limited to the first 1000 entries.

The show hotels will be:

• Doubletree Allen Center
  400 Dallas Street
  Houston, TX 77002
  1-713-759-0202
  $95.00 single/double/triple

 

• Crowne Plaza
  1700 Smith Street
  Houston, TX 77099
  1-713-739-8800
  $95.00 single/double/triple

 

Ask for the “cat show” room block.  Neither hotel is within walking distance.  Shuttle buses will be provided to and from the show hall.  All official functions are being held at the Doubletree, including the Judges Workshop, Judges School, breed council meetings and any hospitality.  The hotels are within 3 blocks of each other.