President’s Message
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D
ecember was a busy month on quite a number of fronts in our dog world and no doubt on the home front for all of us. I hope that Christmas was a happy time and that you were not too inconvenienced by border requirements with family and friends travelling interstate. I take this opportunity to wish all members a Happy New Year and all the best for 2022. Covid still provides challenges for us as a community. As I type this a notification has just come through about over 11,000 cases being recorded in NSW overnight. The Omicron variant is a disappointing development and underlines the importance of us following the ever evolving government guidelines. It has been great that we have been able to continue a good schedule of conformation dog shows and sports events throughout the State. We have tried to be a bit innovative in the way we respond to increased requirements. An example was the show weekend from 17 to 19 December 2021 at Durack. We had an impressive line-up of events that included Double Rally, Tricks Trial and Championship Shows run by the All Dogs Sports Spectacular Committee and the Durack Grounds Committee as well as specialty shows for the Border Collie Club of Qld Inc. The mandatory check in requirement remained in place but the additional double vaccination requirement on entry had been imposed by the State government. A bouquet to the office that think tanked this requirement and came up with the idea of having printed cards that could be issued to members once proof of double vaccination was provided upon entry. These cards can be presented on subsequent visits to dog events. I did a few long shifts on the gates with Carolyn Ryan and Vicki Schneider and other volunteers, including new Life Member, Ainslie Carius, and numerous office and grounds staff, and can say that this measure really sped up this process. A big thank you to all those who assisted on those
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DOG WORLD January 2022
checkpoints. It was a massive exercise over this long weekend. It was a special weekend in a number of ways. In the past we have had a special Christmas sit down dinner for invited guests. This year I thought it would be a better idea to have a Christmas barbeque on the Saturday evening for members and their families. We had nearly 300 people register for the complimentary hamburgers and soft drinks and I know from my “gate duty” that members who had not entered the show also came for the barbeque. A big thank you to Rob Harrison, Michael Yates and Julana Akers for their work on the barbeque! In addition, thank you to Carolyn Pearen, the ADSS Committee, Mandy Schelbach and the Grounds Committee for their time and dedication in organising the shows over the Christmas Carnival weekend. Also, it was a Board decision to have the Sunday Show as a fundraiser for Meegan and Layla, the widow and child of Rohan Ally who tragically died after competing in an agility trial at the Redlands Dog Obedience Club. It was truly heart-warming Continued page 6
