He went on thank
the countless volunteers who helped put on this event. These “boots on the
ground” as he called them made the event happen and kept it flowing smoothly without
having to hire anyone outside of the club. He thanked Mia DiBenedetto for her
communication expertise in providing informative text messages to all the
participants throughout the week. Laura Judd was next on the list as an indispensable
part of the event from her merchandise sales to her general assistance to Ed
before and during the event. He thanked Frank Prendergast and Dave Christianson
as Stake Marshals for each Flight. Our Sponsors, Purina and Avery, were also
mentioned for their generosity. Ed stated that you could look in the
Training Guide for the other sponsors involved with providing support to the
MARC.
He brought the Judges to the front of the room and they made
a speech to each of their respective Flights thanking the contestants for helping where needed and making the week go smoothly. Bob Swift asked Dave Christianson to come up to the front of the room so that he could present him with his special hat: "The Order of the Sombrero." Ed Sullivan acknowledged the "behind the scenes" people in Deanna and David Wolfe who assisted with getting and documenting the pre-National training properties.
Dave Christianson said that 18 people helped in Flight B who were not running a dog. That kind of assistance is invaluable in making the event run smoothly. The event started the the rain and ended in the rain, but we all still had a lot of fun.
Bob Swift added that he had "good news" and "bad news." The "good news" is that there were more Qualified dogs for the MAI than had been anticipated. The "bad news" is that they will run out of plates and some folks will have to have theirs shipped to their homes. Gordon Schlichting spoke about getting the MARC members to go to their respective clubs and spread the word about joining the MARC and helping this organization grow.
See you next year in Butte, Montana!
