Specialty Update
March 22
Since we have taken over the show chairmanship, we have received so many well wishes, offers of support, and questions about how things are going, we thought we’d write this summary rather than send out 20 separate blog posts. We are so appreciative of everyone’s support! But this is where we are now and where we need help.
[Cue music] Money, money, money, MONEY!
Did you know that the National Specialty is the club’s ONLY significant fundraiser? So one of a Show Chair’s chief responsibilities, especially leading up to the show, is financial. Looking at the numbers to date, we’re behind in many areas. On the positive side, that means there are MANY ways you can help. Here are some:
- STAY IN THE CLUB’S HOTEL BLOCK. The hotel calculates something called “room nights” where the club signs up to have people stay so many nights in exchange for deals on meeting rooms, the show field, etc. The hotel puts those room nights aside for us. So if we don’t reserve all of those room nights, not only are we not meeting our obligations, the hotel has also lost the opportunity to sell those room nights to someone else and charges us a penalty. So room nights are a huge deal. Right now, we are 60 room nights short, and our deadline is April 7. So if you were thinking of coming or adding to your stay, it all helps! But you have to stay in our room block — if you reserved a cottage, for instance, that isn’t in our block and doesn’t count.
Oglebay is a gorgeous resort. Our rooms are reasonably priced, especially if you’re sharing, and come with awesome hot buffet breakfasts daily! And there’s no dog limit per room. Please join us! Here is the hotel information page:
https://deerhoundspecialty.org/accommodations/
Reserve your room now!
- BUY MERCHANDISE: Merchandise is a lot of fun, but it is also a source of income for the show, and we budget for a certain amount to be sold. The deadline is coming up — March 26 — and, as of now, we need to sell about 150 more items. So please help the show by buying merchandise! The beauty of buying merchandise is you don’t need to be coming to the show to buy it — just choose the shipping option, and we’ll mail your order to you (except for glassware, which is not available for shipping). Anne Alie has done an awesome job picking out the best selection of styles and colors that has ever been seen in specialty merchandise, so please check it out. We’re confident you’ll find something — hopefully, more than one somethings — to buy:
https://deerhoundstore.com/product-category/specialty/
Remember: the merchandise deadline is March 26.
- MAKE A TROPHY FUND DONATION: Lynn Heiler, Johanna Hanson, and Marylane Brett have done a spectacular job choosing wonderful trophies within our budget, and Kathy Lagatta has done an amazing job raising money, so we are RRREEEAAAAALLLLLLLYYYYYY close to our goal, but we still need $300 to make our trophy budget. However, every specialty chair wants to leave a little seed money for next year’s show committee — it’s called a trophy rollover, as trophy fund donations must be spent on trophies — so we’d really love to raise a total of $900 more so we can leave the 2024 specialty with a small rollover to get started. There are still classes left to sponsor, and general trophy fund donations are always welcome. Here’s the link to donate:
https://deerhoundstore.com/product-category/trophies/
The trophy fund donation deadline is April 8th to be listed in the catalog.
- BUY A CATALOG AD: Our catalogs become keepsakes, and one big reason why is because of the awesome ads. But ads are also a source of income for the show, and currently we are 13 ads short of our goal. So your purchasing an ad can really help! The ad deadline is April 8 — here’s more information:
https://deerhoundspecialty.org/catalog-ads/
Your ad doesn’t need to be of a BIS or BIF win — people want to see any nice show win photo, and running photos are always lovely. And you don’t need to be touting your dog, if you don’t want to: even a cute photo of your dog on the couch and a “Best wishes” note is great! And don’t think these ads aren’t useful — every breeder is always looking for stud dogs, for instance, and you never know when your ad will spark an idea.
- ENTER THE SHOW. We’re not going to lie: entries are a chief source of revenue for the show. But that’s not the only reason to enter. Entering the show is the best way for other Deerhound fanciers to see your dog. It also gives you a chance to see how your dog stacks up (pun intended!) in the ring in a big entry. You will have the rare opportunity for a breeder-judge to judge your dog. And you will have the rare pleasure of showing your dog in a relatively large class, which really gives you time to show your dog. Not entering because “you know the judge won’t put up your dog” misses the point of national specialties. Plus, we can make a prediction about the judging outcome: You can’t win if you don’t enter. Entries close April 19. Here is the premium list:
https://deerhoundspecialty.org/show-entries/
And, of course, running and obedience event entries count, too! Look for premium lists for the running events to be posted in the next couple of weeks.
THANK YOU IN ADVANCE for any help you can give!
WHAT’S NEW THIS WEEK
Catalog pre-orders are now being taken through the SDCA Store:
https://deerhoundstore.com/shop/specialty/catalogues/2023-specialty-catalogs/
Deadline for pre-orders is April 15.
Still in the works: menus and DVDs. Stay tuned!
There is one other way you can help:
VOLUNTEER — MANY HANDS MAKE LIGHT WORK
We need volunteers, plain and simple. To run a successful specialty, we need about 75-100 volunteers to do jobs big and small, so please help us out and volunteer to help with something. NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY! And you’ll find that volunteering is a great way to meet people and actually increases your enjoyment of the week. Most volunteer positions only take a couple of hours, so it won’t make a huge dent in your time. And we have so many open positions, you can find something that fits in your schedule.
Currently, we need:
Hospitality — We need volunteers to staff the hospitality room so that it can be open for longer periods. We also need help with setting up table decorations before the Saturday night banquet.
Trophies — We need people to help set up trophy tables each day.
Grounds — We need people to help set up the ring and decorations and who will walk the grounds to ensure people are picking up after their dogs.
Vendor Coordinator — We need a vendor coordinator to take reservations by email, divvy up the vendor space at ringside, then meet the vendors, show them their space, collect their items for the auction, and deliver them to the auction chair.
Obedience ring — We need people to help set-up and take-down the obedience ring and equipment on Thursday morning.
Please CONTACT US to volunteer. Click here to contact us
FUN!
The reason why so many people are doing so much work is we have an awesome specialty planned! We will provide more details on this in the days to come, but here are some highlights:
A GREAT PLACE TO STAY: Oglebay is a gorgeous resort: There are thousands of acres with beautiful hotel spaces. And the food is divine. We have the foundation for a memorable specialty at Oglebay.
RUNNING EVENTS: Are you a coursing enthusiast? Scott and Ceil Dove and Michael Blair have done an amazing job coordinating our running events, so you have not one, but TWO FastCat trials to attend, as well as LGRA racing and ASFA and AKC coursing. There is truly something for everyone, no matter what your interests are.
A BREEDER JUDGE: Jay Phinizy has bred, owned, and shown Deerhounds since the 1970s, and his life in Deerhounds is a fascinating one that was influential on both sides of “The Pond.”
Come to our Welcome Reception hosted by MADA (Mid-Atlantic Deerhound Assoc.) on Wednesday 4:00–6:00 pm.
All the pieces are here for a fantastic specialty, and a lot of people are working really hard to make sure that happens. All we need is you! We look forward to hosting you in Wheeling.
Finally, we send a humongous thank you to all of the people who are spending literally hundreds of hours to make this show extra special under some very trying circumstances. We literally cannot express our appreciation for your help.
If you have any questions or comments about the show, please don’t hesitate to CONTACT US. Click here to contact us
Thanks!
— Jodi, Jana, Miranda, and the entire show committee
