2012 Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet
2012 National Bird Hunters Association (NBHA) Awards Banquet
The NBHA held our 2012 awards banquet and annual meeting August 10th and 11th in Tonganoxie, KS which is just west of Kansas City, KS. The local area provided entertainment options such as a vast shopping district, casinos, Cabela’s, the Kansas City Sporting Soccer club and many food and drink establishments. This weekend capped of an exciting year which saw the NBHA entries increase by over 40%. We will continue to welcome new field trial individuals of all ages and promote walking stakes across the country! We had people join us from as far north as Wisconsin, as far south as Texas and from the South Carolina coast to the plains of Kansas. Thank you all for dedicating your time to participate in this important meeting and awards weekend.
The NBHA truly appreciates all the support provided by our national sponsors. Purina, Tri-Tronics, Christie Enterprises, Gun Dog Supply and Gun Dog Central continue to be strong supporters of the NBHA and we encourage everyone to support their products and services. Without their support we could not be the association we are today and look forward to be in the future…thank you again! Dean Reinke from Purina spent the weekend with us and provided a lot of good information as well as donated a lot of product. Dean also coordinated a presentation from Ted Gartner of Garmin. Ted focused on their tracking devices, specifically the new Alpha product. The time spent with Garmin was very informative and interesting, thanks Ted and Dean!
After the meeting, we kicked off our banquet at Bichelmeyer’s Steak House in Tonganoxie. Many new trailers were presented with Handler and Dog of the Year honors. This year Larry Carpenter of Clarksburg, MO took home five different awards. Securing the Open Dog of the Year award was Texas Honey Bee, a four year old female setter, owned by Kevin Klein of Weatherford, PA. She was the 2012 NBHA National Open Invitational Champion as well. The Amateur Dog of the Year award went to DuMore Back in Black, a four year old female pointer, owned and handled by LG Barnard of Olpe, KS. Jet won both the 2012 NBHA National Amateur Championship as well as the 2011 NBHA Western Regional Championship. Owners of both dogs received an NBHA plaque and an oil painting of their respective dog. The overall Open Handler of the Year award went to Oscar Whitt of Attalla, AL. Oscar compiled a total of 91 points to take this honor home to Alabama. The overall Amateur Handler of the Year went to Bruce Norris of Grove Oak, AL with a total of 43 points. Oscar and Bruce each received a NBHA plaque, an embroidered Purina jacket as well as a pallet of Purina dog food. The state with the highest number of dog entries in 2011-2012 was Wisconsin, with over 320 dogs run in their trials. Congratulations to ALL the HOY/DOY award winners. With the increase in dog entries, you all should be proud to take home an award like this.
The evening wrapped up with our auction. A special thank you goes out to every person and company that donated items to the NBHA. We had items such as stud fees, a quail hunt from Ken Sauer, a fishing trip from Steve Schiber, leather goods which Tony King was able to assemble, Tri-Tronics collars donated by Tri-Tronic’s & Ken Sauer, Purina dog food, NBHA Tee Shirts donated by Ken Sauer for a NBHA fund raiser, clothing and much more. The dog food was a full year’s supply, some of the stud fees included CH Touch’s White Out, CH Browntown Johnny Reb, CH Ridge Creek Cody and many more. Many of the leather goods were handcrafted Amish items such as roading harnesses, bridles, saddle bags, etc. Larry Carpenter donated a male setter puppy, from his breeding that made his way north to Wisconsin for Dean Reinke! Tony King and Kevin Western put a lot of time and effort into this auction and due to their efforts the organization as a whole is much stronger for it…thank you guys! Thank you to everyone who purchased tickets and supported the efforts of the NBHA. This will allow us to continue to promote and expand our walking trials across the country.
The 2012-2013 NBHA Annual Meeting and Banquet will be held in the Memphis, TN area and the tentative date is July 26th and 27th, 2013. Mark this weekend on your calendar now and join us for another great weekend!
