MFGRC to Hold Special Election Saturday Night

A special election will be held at the Mid-Florida Golden Retriever Club’s Christmas Party/Annual Meeting on Saturday, Dec. 16, to choose the seven people who will compose the club’s board for 2018.  Nine club members have volunteered and been nominated for the board but the club’s by-laws limit the board to seven members.

The party/meeting will be held at the home of Ann Rowe in Sorrento, Fla.  Full details and directions can be found on the club website https://mfgrc.org/mfgrc-christmas-party-annual-meeting-2017/.

Only club members in attendance at the party will be permitted to vote.  As a service to members to help them decide, the club is providing a list of the nine nominees and brief biographies:

MFGRC 2018 BOARD NOMINEES

John Blair

My wife Rosa and I joined MFGRC in 2001 just in time to help with the 2002 National Specialty. I helped on the grounds committee as well as the agility and obedience trials while Rosa helped on the merchandizing committee. We were both previously on the board in 2010 and 2011. I was the agility chair in 2010 thru 2012 as well as chairing the agility trials at the 2011 and 2014 GRCA National Specialties. I have also chaired the MFGRC hunt test under the tutelage of the late Susan Fullenwider. I was on the board last year and am now serving as club president. Currently we show our dogs in conformation and lure coursing, with hopes to get back into obedience, hunt tests and dock diving. We have previously tilted dogs in conformation, agility, obedience, rally, hunt and WC/WCX. We have owned/bred four AKC Champions. I am most proud of the agility 1st place Excellent JWW placement my dog Star and I achieved at our 2002 National Specialty. We had our picture posted in the GR news!!! Not so bad considering I didn’t get to walk the course beforehand because I was helping in the standard ring. Rosa and I have been breeders since 1999 and have whelped over 160 puppies. Rosa is a professional dog groomer working one day a week at Cocoa Veterinary Hospital and the rest of the time out of our home. I am retired after 32 long years from Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. where I spent most of my time managing the assembly and launch of unmanned spacecraft from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.  I would like to be a Board Member for 2018 to continue pursuit of the 2020 National and to help the club in all the other venues.

Rosa Blair

I have been an active member in good standing with the club since 2001 and have previously served on the MFGRC BOD. I volunteered at the 2002 National Specialty that our club hosted as an assistant to Merchandising Chair. I oversaw agility ribbons & awards as well as provided hospitality for the agility judges at the 2011 and 2014 National Specialties.  I have previously helped at several club functions serving many roles including Hunt Tests, Agility Trials, Health Clinics and Specialties. I previously conducted a full grooming seminar for all club members. I would like to be nominated to a position on the 2018 MFGRC BOD to help the club and to volunteer as needed for the 2020 National Specialty.

Robin Lemieux/Burket

I’ve been an animal lover since I was born. From the time I was about three years old, I begged my parents for two things: horse riding lessons and a dog. I checked out every library book I could find and read about all the dog breeds, their care, training, and health. I decided that goldens are the perfect breed for me, and when I started high school I finally convinced my mother to agree to one. From that point on, I was hooked. I groom and show my own dogs, and I’m always looking to learn more and improve. Since I studied abroad in Europe in 2004 and met several breeders when I was over there, I’ve developed good friendships with and have been mentored by breeders who have been working with goldens for longer than I’ve been alive. I’ve been breeding goldens on a very limited basis since 2005, but my puppies have gone on to be master hunters, therapy dogs, service dogs, and wonderful family pets who have excelled at obedience work.

I believe that I’m a good candidate for the board because, in addition to my love of the breed, I’m eager to put in the time and effort to improve the club, to increase the frequency of our events, and to reach out to the community to expand our membership and attendance. I work as a nurse doing three night shifts per week, which affords me plenty of time and flexibility to volunteer. As a bonus, my husband is a talented wildlife photographer, so I’d be happy to bring him along with his camera to some of our events so that we have great photos to share on our Facebook page. I’m VERY excited about the possibility of hosting the 2020 National here in Orlando, and look forward to doing whatever I can to make it a success

Anney Doucette

Anney Doucette brought home her first Golden in 1992 and joined MFGRC shortly after. She currently lives in Gainesville, Fla., and is a graphic artist, owner of K9-Design.com. She competes in conformation, field and obedience with her Golden boys, having owner-trained and handled three AKC Champions, three Master Hunters, two High In Trial winners, one Outstanding Sire, and two Dual Dog Hall of Fame dogs. Her 4-year-old “Ballyhoo” is the only GCH** in breed history. In her spare time Anney likes to cheer on the Gators, listen to the Beatles, and ride a very small motorcycle (not necessarily all at once). Her goals in serving on the MFGRC board are to promote and encourage owner/trainer/handlers in responsible breeding and husbandry, good sportsmanship, and participation in club events. She will lobby hard for more board meetings at Olive Garden, because no one should ever pass up free salad and breadsticks.

Pamela Ginn

I have been a veterinarian for 35 years. I initially spent 7 years in private practice focused on small animals. I then completed a three year anatomical pathology residency at the University of Florida and joined the faculty at the completion of my training as the pathology resident coordinator and Surgical Pathology Service Chief. Over the years, I spent most of time interpreting biopsies or doing necropsies of literally every kind of animal you can imagine from bats to rhinoceroses in addition to conducting collaborative research on naturally occurring diseases of various types. My primary area of interest has been diseases of the skin and I have an international reputation in veterinary Dermatopathology. In 2012 I accepted an administrative position as Associate Dean for Students and Instruction at the College. I was responsible for the logistics of running the academic program which including everything from admissions to commencement and all scheduling, teaching budgets, curriculum mapping, academic advancement and all student enrichment programs to list a few of my responsibilities. I have recently left that position to have a more sane life and have gone back to the practice of pathology. So, I know a lot about logistical issues and accreditation standards of a large academic program and I am specialized in the study of disease and its effect on the body, especially when it comes to skin diseases. What I do not keep up on are the ins and out of regular private practice as I do not treat animals.

I got my first golden retriever from Dee Thibodeaux about 18 years ago. Cowboy was the most loyal and wonderful companion and he died of cancer at the age of 10. I then adopted another one year beautiful registered golden male about a year old that a young woman decided was too much for her. Wowser was a wonderful dog also and died of cancer at the age of 9. I never showed or competed in anyway with my first two goldens as work and kids took all my time. I more recently have acquired two very nice goldens and have done a small bit of owner handled conformation but more recently used a professional handler with my dog. My dog, Rhett has done very well and I hope to continue to develop him in conformation and then move on to obedience and rally or hunt. I am on a big learning curve of the show and sporting dog world and enjoy learning from mentors that love Golden Retrievers.

So I have good organization and documentation skills and can integrate a lot of moving parts of an organization and I have an intense love of Golden Retrievers.

Patricia (Pat) Kopco

A member of the MFGRC since 1994, Pat has served the club as president and as a board member. She also has been active with the Golden Retriever Club of America, serving a four-year stint as Eastern Director for the GRCA Board of Directors. She and husband Mike Orloff have titled dogs in obedience, agility, conformation and field, and she has been an AKC field judge for five years. Pat’s proudest titles were for her dog Jagger’s Dual Dog Hall of Fame title (CH/MH) in 2011/12 and Ozzy’s Reserve Jam in the Qual at the National Specialty field trial in Wichita Falls, Tex., in 2013. She currently has four dogs that all do or will compete in field, obedience and conformation. Pat is a divorce lawyer and former prosecutor and before she went to law school, she worked for NBC News for 15 years based in Miami covering Latin and South America. She lives in Dover, Fla.

Betty Lambert

A member of MFGRC since 2004, Betty has served on the board six years and was the Club Secretary for three years. She has been the proud owner/co-owner of five dogs from Magik Goldens over the years and has done Rally, Obedience, Tracking, and Conformation with her Goldens. Her most proud moments in the ring came when her boy Kasey, most often along with his brothers Jack and Chippie, helped their awesome dad, Stetson, win the Stud Dog class over the years at specialties and once at the International show in 2007. “I was not an official co-owner of Stetson but I loved him dearly and those were very happy, proud moments when he won that class with Kasey in the ring with him,” she said. Betty has worked for the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office for 20 years and is a Human Resources Specialist but works primarily in recruiting and background investigations, processing applicants hoping to be hired as sworn law enforcement officers.

Ted Misilo

A familiar face at most MFGRC events, Ted is in his second term as a member of the board after having served as the club’s president in 2016. He first joined the club in 2013 and has worked at the club’s hunt tests as well as the annual Specialty, the Obedience Trial and more. His volunteer efforts at club events helped Ted earn the 2014 Nancy McCune Member of the Year for service to the club. Ted’s sons Tom and T.J., who maintain the club’s website (mfgrc.org), were named “Members of the Year” for 2016 for their contributions to the club that also included working at numerous club events. Ted and his family have competed in conformation with their Goldens and in a WC test. Originally from Massachusetts, where he worked as an electrician, Ted is retired and lives in Palm Bay, Fla.

Kristin Sipus

My husband, a retired jockey and I reside with our two golden girls, Millie and Tuuli, near Ocala, FL. We own and operate a thoroughbred horse training center where we buy, train and sell young race prospects.

I have been around goldens since I was one year old, when my parents bought our first. My lifetime association with the breed continues as a member of MFGRC’s board. I first joined the club in 2006 and have been a board member since 2014. I have been active in helping stage many of the club’s events, including hosting the annual intro to field day. Have served as head marshal/volunteer coordinator for several years at our two annual hunt tests. And have helped organize several of our events throughout the year.

I currently compete in conformation, hunt tests and have competed in field trials, obedience, tracking and agility.  I have owner trained and handled two dogs to both their breed Championship & Master hunter titles and have bred 2 other members of the Dual Dog Hall of Fame. In addition to the DDHF, my  small breeding program has produced Conformation Grand Champions, master hunters, Obedience trial Champion, UDX, MX and ** goldens.

I look forward to having the opportunity to continue serving on the board. I would like to see our club host more educational opportunities for our members in a variety of subjects including breeding, training and all things golden!  I enjoy giving back to this wonderful breed that has been such a big part of my life and encouraging owner handlers in many venues.