2016 NBHA Awards Banquet
The National Bird Hunters Association held our awards banquet in Nashville, TN on July 30, 2016 at the Brentwood Hilton Hotel just 12 miles south of downtown Nashville in Nashville, TN. We hosted approximately 60 individuals in the one of the meeting rooms and had a great evening of food and fellowship!
We would like to thank our sponsors Purina, Garmin, Christie Enterprises, Gun Dog Supply and Gundog Central. Without their generous support, our organization would not be able to recognize the outstanding performances from this past year�thank you very much! Greg Blair one of our members represented Purina.
Our weekend began on Friday evening with a social gathering at the Brentwood Hilton Atrium in Brentwood, TN. This was a great time to reunite with individuals we haven�t seen in quite a while, and meet new people. After the social hour, many people enjoyed a ride into Nashville and to surrounding restaurants for an excellent meal. There is so much to keep you entertained, it was a great evening!
Saturday morning began at 8 a.m. with the business meeting led by President Marty Robinson. Nearly 30 people attended and offered insight on how to move the NBHA forward! This past trial season was an exciting time for the NBHA. We named five National Champions, an outstanding Futurity winner, along with five Regional Champions!
Marty announced that our 2017 National Open Championship will be held at the historic Ames Plantation on March 1, 2017. This venue is a dream come true in that a walking trial will be held at the Ames Plantation in Grand Junction, TN. This is certainly an aspiration of every field trailer to run at the historic and prestigious Ames Plantation. This event will require much effort from volunteers to host an event that will be remembered by NBHA members for a lifetime.
This year we inducted two individuals into the NBHA Hall of Fame Scott Miller from Kansas and Harold Woodward from Arkansas. The dog that was inducted this year was Champion L�s Busy Bee. We encourage everyone to stop by our display at the Bird Dog Foundation and Museum to see all the work we have done. We are looking forward to adding historic items, new plaques and pictures!
Speaking of the Hall of Fame, one of the highlights of the meeting was the recommendation by the Hall of Fame Committee of Oscar Whitt, long-time field trailer and trainer, into the Hall of Fame. Oscar will be inducted inn Memphis at our next annual meeting in July of 2017.
The business meeting heard the reports of all of the current officers. Newly elected officers for the 2016-2017 year were Greg Blair to First Vice President, Scott Turner to Second Vice President, Stan McCain to Secretary, and Ray Brown to Treasurer. Marty Robinson retained his position of President and Chris Gebhart retained his position as Third Vice President, for the National Bird Hunters Association.
There was much discussion on ways to improve and expand the NBHA Futurity and National Open Invite. The expansion of the nomination of litters was addressed and suggestions were made on ways to expand the nomination of litters. In order to expand participation in the Futurity a motion was passed to host the Futurity National Open Invite in alternating locations of the North and West and The South and East. Two co-chairs were elected to serve to direct these area events. Brian Casey will serve as chair for the event when it is held in the North and West area and Bruce Mercer will serve as director for the event when it is held in the South and East. These two men will collaborate during the year to discuss ways to expand litter nominations and participation in this prestigious event. The event will be held at the Wayne Fitzgerell State Park Field Trial Grounds in Rend Lake, Ill. from March 28- April 1, 2017.
We began the banquet evening with a cocktail hour followed by a fabulous meal prepared by the Brentwood Hilton. A silent auction was held for donated items followed by a live auction for great items such as Purina dog food and Garmin collars to name a few. The NBHA was truly blessed this year in having Tonya Brotherton from the National Bird Dog Museum and her husband at our weekend event
The 2015-2016 Dog and Handler of the Year awards were recognized throughout the evening. Pictured above with Purina representative Greg Blair (fourth from left) - the Open Handler of the Year went to Oscar Whitt (third from left) of Attalla, AL and the Amateur Handler of the Year went to Dr. Stan McCain of Bremen, GA. Both of these men worked extremely hard and ran some great dogs that were competitive all year long! Their efforts were rewarded by Purina with a supply of dog food, and an embroidered jacket. They also received an NBHA plaque recognizing their accomplishments! The Open Dog of the Year went to Rocky Hollow Big Time, owned by Brian and Georgie Casey of and handled by Oscar Whitt. The Amateur Dog of the Year went to CH Trooper Money Boy, owned and handled by Dr. Stan McCain of Bremen, GA. Money was also trained by Oscar Whitt. Congrats to Oscar Whitt, Brian and Georgie Casey and Stan McCain. We would like to congratulate ALL of our award winners this year, and each and every person who entered one of our trials and put your dog on the ground. We deeply thank you and look forward to another exciting year. A special recognition goes out to all the judges, bird planters, trial chairpersons, gallery wagon drivers, and galleries who supported the NBHA, thank you for all of your hard work.
Chris Gebhardt, and many other people, put together the raffle and auction that ANY organization would have been proud of. Scott Turner offered his auctioneering expertise and really got the crowd involved - we greatly appreciated that! Thank you to EVERY individual, kennel, and/or business that donated items. This auction is a vital part of our association! Champion stud services donated and offered for auction were National Champion Whippoorwill Justified, National Champion Connor�s EZ Button, Sugarknoll War Paint, Erin�s Hidden Shamrock, Stardust Chaz, a dog from Luke Eisenhart�s String, dog from Jamie Daniels String, Calico�s Cowboy Casanova, and Bully Brag.
We are looking forward to another great year. Come join us next year in Memphis, TN for our awards banquet! We would love to have you join us!
by Dr. Stan McCain
