December 8 - CFDDC's Christmas Party & Canis Major Awards Banquet
New China Buffet 3319 John Moore Rd Brandon, FL Starts:6:30 PM
Contact: Janice Hensley (863) 859-4770
Hello everyone,
I just wanted to post the following message regarding Saturday night's CFDDC Christmas party & Canis Major awards. If you were not able to make it, we held our annual Christmas party & Canis Major awards in Brandon last night. Approximately 25 people attended to enjoy one last time together this year and to celebrate another successful season of CFDDC.
I had made the following speech before presenting the 2007 Canis Major awards with my fellow Director(ette) Ms. Donna Griffin, the speech went something like this:
"When our club met at the Otis M. Andrews sports complex at Plant City in January to discuss the 2007 season, we had no idea what would be set into motion, a year that would see our club have success on the field at a number of competitions wherever we participated. Whether it was the U.F.O., Skyhoundz, USDDN, AWI, Quadruped or any other event, our club was well represented by those of you who have travelled and competed.
The ranks of our club are now filled with two Skyhoundz World – finals caliber disc dog teams, one the Skyhoundz 2007 Sport Division World Champion, the other a Micro – Dog Class World Championship Runner -up. Our club’s on-field success is only limited by ourselves, as all of you have some amazing canine athletes that are in my (perhaps biased) opinion, equal to any team or any club in the country. The great news is that these dogs have the good fortune of calling your place home.
As our club continues to grow, I hope to see more club members participate in area tournaments to enjoy their time on the field with their dogs, for the time that we get to share with them is relatively short compared to us humans. The typical disc-dog has a competitive age ranging from 2 years to perhaps 10 years in some cases, and much like any aging athlete their skills diminish as time marches on. Skills that were once honed to perfection in a dog’s youth give way to the passing of time. But we are always grateful to have had the opportunity to play with our four - legged friends and share in the experience of this wonderful sport. So tonight when you go home, take a minute or two to spend a little quality time with your dogs, who are the very reason why we are all here tonight."
We then presented the following Canis Major awards to the following teams:
Sport division Runner-up : Kat Fahle & Ruckus
Sport division Champion: Kat Fahle & Tali
Super-Sport division Runner-up: Tracy Farmer & Rusty
Super-Sport division Champion: Jack Fahle & Ruckus
Open division Runner-up: Bob Walkley & Brigit
Open division Champion: Jack Fahle & Tali
Super-Open division Runner-up: Roger Dingess & Bogie
Super-Open division Champion: Chuck Hensley & Rico
The Director's Choice award was not an easy decision for me this year. unbeknownst to most club members, I try to keep a mental note of competing teams' progression in the sport and how far they have developed their skills (and their dog's) throughout the season along with other attributes that I consider qualities that best represent the context under which the award is based upon. There were three legitimate candidates for this year's award, but in the end the team that won this year's "Director's Choice" Award for the CFDDC was Nikki Spirakis and her Australian Shepherd Abby, who nearly pulled off the Sport division Runner-up trophy but by 5 Canis Major points. Congratulations Nikki and Abby, well done and we look forward to bigger and better things from this team in the future as symbolized by the rising star on their trophy!
Before presenting the 2007 Canis Major Overall Champion award (AKA the "Reggie Cup"), I gave one more little blurb about our club competition series for this year"
" Tonight’s Canis Major Championship Awards are the result of the efforts of everyone in this club; from the volunteers who help staff the field judging positions to the people who assist with the registration process, divisional lineups, PA announcing, and setting up and taking down our “little circus” that comes to town every Fall. Thank you all. We are fortunate to have a wonderful facility to compete at, as we are indebted to the City of Plant City Parks & Recreation Department for such wonderful field conditions that we get to play on. It is a significant improvement over previous years, as any of the “old-timers” can tell you.
Canis Major is indeed a year for champions as evidenced by our latest addition to the Skyhoundz World Championships held this past September. The ever-growing list of champions in this club continues to grow, as tonight we add yet another page to the 12 year history of the C.F.D.D.C’s Canis Major competition series.
Whether a first-timer or veteran disc dog team, all have the opportunity to compete on an equal footing (both human and canine) with a chance to become the next club champion. Congratulations to all of you on another great year of disc dog competition, it is you and your wonderful dogs that are the real champions that make this sport what it is. So as we crown this year’s Canis Major champion, let’s all celebrate the fun that was enjoyed by all this year, the year of champions for the CFDDC!"
And with that I announced this year's CFDDC Canis Major Champion: Mr. Jack Fahle and his mini-Aussie Tali. Jack got to triumphantly hold aloft the "Reggie Cup" as the victors for this year, finishing quite a year for team Tali!
After presenting the "Reggie Cup", Jack was given the floor for a moment to recognize his accomplishment, thanking his wife Kat for all of her help and support and to his wonderful dogs, who were a pleasure to watch this year.
We also took a moment to recognize a couple of club members who went the extra mile in helping to streamline our registration process and with their tireless efforts to further our club and the sport in general.
Susan Jones was awarded a framed Certificate Of Appreciation thanking her for her efforts and all that she has done over the years to help our club; whether it is at the registration table, behind the laptop calculating scores, at the Line Judge position lending a hand or performing for our demo team, Susan has stepped up whenever we have asked her and has always done a good job, thank you again Susan, well done!
We also had a nice recognition award for Mr. Gary Duke, but unfortunately Gary was unable to attend due to his work schedule. He will be given his award in January at our annual club business meeting and play day. Gary has assumed the duties as our club webmaster, and has done a marvelous job! He should have the Canis Major final standings posted at our website, be sure to check it out to see where your favorite disc-dog team finished.
We ended the evening with a gift exchange, where names were randomly drawn to select a dog-related gift, and could swap once for an "upgrade" from another person's gift, making for some interesting fun!
Congratulations again on a fine job and a great representative of the CFDDC to Jack & Tali and everyone who participated in this year's Canis Major Championships, we look forward to meeting everyone on the field next year!
On behalf of myself, Janice, Kiera and fellow Director Donna Griffin; we wish all of you a very happy holiday season and a great 2008!
Chuck Hensley,
Director, CFDDC
