Dear Friends & Members,

I am pleased to be able to offer an update to your summer calendars – the confirmation of our summer seminar and trial dates.  Michael Ellis will again be joining us, but this time it will be a week earlier – May 22-24, 2010, the weekend before Memorial Day.  The reasons for the change range from using it as a draw to get folks here for a “tuneup” on the way to the AWDF Nationals in Indianapolis, to the conflict that Anne and I both have with having to be at the AWDF’s (in Anne’s case, for the AWDF General meeting, in my case for the judges’ college).  Now that Michael’s school has taken off, he has dropped back to 1 seminar a month, and we are fortunate to remain on his calendar of “preferred” locations.   And I don’t even think he’s raised his fees….

Second, we have successfully scheduled our trial for the weekend of August 14 and 15, with USA judge Mike Caputo.  Mike is a true southern gentleman with a good eye and a real love for the sport, who gives fair ratings and great critiques, and will be a pleasure on and off the field.  Mike recently moved to St Joseph, MO from the hinterlands of the Appalachians, so he’s become more accessible to us than in the past.

Hope winter is treating you all as well as can be expected, and a personal THANKS to everyone who participated in our training session at the barn today – great fun was had by all…

Cheers!
WJ