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I can't believe it's come and gone -- our first shows as part of the Fall Roundup Cluster in Helena last Thursday and Friday went extremely well. It's been an interesting and sometimes frustrating journey -- I'm new to being a show chair, our decision to cluster with Helena *IN* Helena, and in a brand-new building that neither club had ever been in before. But with the
cooperation and much hard work on everyone's part, it proved to be a great show.
I apologize for not posting earlier -- I came home Sunday evening to some loose ends with two rescues I've been helping with and some unexpected out-of-state houseguests. I also wanted to wait until I had some figures to share, but I didn't want to wait any longer to thank everyone for their huge efforts in making these such successful shows.
First of all, our numbers were up a bit from last year (great news, considering everyone else's numbers are down this year, including Helena's entries on Saturday and Sunday). While we lost one judge due to an accident just as the premiums were being printed, we had a great replacement and no other problems with the judges. The raffle netted somewhere around $1,700, parking went well (Dick said only one complainer this year) and netted a profit also. Christie's preliminary figures look like we'll end up comfortably in the black.
The building was fantastic and everyone was thrilled with it. We had to iron out some unanticipated problems on the first day (providing close-in grassy areas for x-pens, air temperature and circulation the building (gotta love those "Big Ass Fans" overhead!), breakfast-deprived judges, use of emergency-exit doors, sunlight glaring into the Obedience and Rally rings, two dogs locked in overheated cars in the day parking lot, losing electricity in the grooming areas, etc.) but those were minor issues that we were able to deal with and easily fix. We had no major issues arise (whew!).
Onofrio did a great job of configuring and setting up the nine rings to best utilize the space and meet the Fire Marshal's requirements (I requested that he come in on Wednesday and tell us exactly what we could or could not do, and he was great to work with also) -- we didn't want to be resetting rings at 2 AM! The Lewis & Clark Fairgrounds crew couldn't have been nicer or easier to work with -- they responded immediately to any problem we had and were fantastic to work with.
Christie (and Jeannette from the Helena club) did a great job with reserved grooming -- everyone loved the convenience of their spots, and we were able to accommodate quite a few "walk-ons" with the outside spaces as the weather couldn't have been better for outside grooming. Christie and Becky did their usual excellent job with the Raffle (which included a very special, fun doggie-theme quilt made and donated by Christie) and staffing the sales tables. Becky made sure Obedience and Rally went well, and Susan had every ring well-taken care of with great stewards. Von did an excellent job as a first-time Hospitality Chair, responding quickly to unforseen judges' needs. Dick felt that parking was easier and better than what we've had in Bozeman (maybe that's because of his super-helpers, Omar and Twyla). And Tyler's stainless bowl prizes were very well received -- too bad he wasn't there for the fun of presenting them.
Judy, Cara, Carol, Sami, and Anne worked long and hard, and did a great job stewarding and keeping things running smoothly. While I was pulled in many different directions on Thursday, knowing we had such a willing and competent team there who could and did step up as needed was great and contributed to the success of our shows.
I heard nothing but praise and positive comments from the judges, workers, handlers and participants, and spectators for every aspect of these shows. Our participants plan on returning, and they're happy to spread the word about our new venue. So thank you all. I'm so proud of us -- we done gooood!!!
As Christie posted earlier, I overestimated the amount of food we'd need for lunches (the caterer was very generous in their portions, and I was too literal in the numbers I was given), so we need to relieve her freezer of our "leftovers" -- pork stirfry and chicken parmesan. Yum!
I need to dive back into our plans for 2010 right away, so if anyone has any suggestions on how we can improve next year, please let me know. I'm going to write and thank the L&C Fairgrounds for the facility and the excellent support of their staff, and will suggest that they add some sort of window coverings on the east side windows and doors before next year. I don't think we can do anything about the emergency-exit-only doors other than what we finally ended up with (those on the east side remained alarmed for emergency use only, while most of the others were disarmed and allowed non-emergency exit). None of the doors can be propped open as that will interfere with the wonderful air conditioning and circulation in the building. But in the end, I don't feel that was a huge problem -- people loved the AC and were willing to put up with inconvenient ingress and egress to have that.
I'll share more on our numbers as soon as I have them. Thank you everyone -- it was a huge job, lots of work and effort, but together we did a great job. Pat yourselves on the back!
Later,
Vicky Whitney |
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