MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
Words almost fail me
concerning our first-ever
back-to-back Specialty
Shows. Luckily for me, and
unfortunately for you
reading this, the key word
in that statement is almost!
The shows were a HUGE
success!
We had 10 different states
represented, with exhibitors
from as far away as
Michigan! Everyone, and I do
mean everyone, had only
positive comments about our
shows, our location, and our
entire ability to put on
such a fantastic couple of
events.
When many different folks
independently approach you
and state they wish the
National was like our shows
- then you know you're doing
something correctly!
In no particular order, the
credit the show's successes
are as follows:
Marianne Welsh:
Thank you for stepping up to
the plate and judging
Sweepstakes our first day.
EVERYONE commented on what a
great job you did, and how
pleasant you were to show
under. Let's hope you had as
much fun judging as your
exhibitors had showing to
you!
Patty Sulzberger:
Not only did you agree to do
the advertisements for the
catalog, but you did it in a
way that made Alice Smith
giggle like a schoolgirl.
And many said that couldn't
be done! Thank you so much
for your professional work
on our catalog.
Alan Alford:
As always, sir, the entire
club is grateful for your
light-hearted and enjoyable
demeanor as Chief Ring
Steward and Head Bottle
Washer. After all these
years you still show up with
a smile and nary an unkind
word. I thank you for that.
Ruth Leiberg:
Catalogs, raffles, 50/50,
auctions ... you did it all!
No excuses necessary you are
able to keep the money
straight in a way that most
of us can only admire. I
promise next year to look
more presentable as we set
up the ring!
Doris Bizier:
You showed up just in time
for your favorite event -
the 50/50 drawing! I
appreciate your coming and
being supportive.
Chris Procaccini:
Very few people would be
able to show up with a
paralyzed face after
sleeping later than expected
and STILL manage to get in
the middle of it all! And
yet you did it without even
breaking a sweat. Thank you
for all you did in making
sure the room looked as good
as it did.
Chris & Carly Krok:
HOW many raffle tickets did
you two sell? You ladies are
like donations machines.
Thank you for all you did
the past several months.
Fernanda Barlow:
The unofficial club
photographer/Minuteman
Motel. You went above and
beyond by showing up despite
not having an entry, and
even allowing out-of-staters
to stay with you! Your
positive words and
encouraging attitude were
fantastic to have around.
Thank you for all you did to
help out.
Nanette Prideaux:
Thank you for judging
sweepstakes on the second
day. Above that, who else
would show up at 6:30am
Saturday morning (when you
live an hour away!) JUST to
help roll out mats and
arrange fake leaves on the
auction tables?? For
everything from helping to
make the room beautiful to
quashing any and all
potential drama before it
started, I thank you.
Jim
Frissell:
You served as the
strong-but-(sometimes)-silent
type that weekend, mostly
keeping your mouth shut and
lugging the heavy materials
around. Even though we all
pretended we didn't, we paid
attention to your advice and
usually followed it. I thank
you for everything from
running through an entire
tank of gas from 14 hours of
continual back-and forth
across three states on
Friday, to just being there
cheering on the success of
the club.
Ginny
O'Connell:
I have never in my life seen
a more beautiful trophy
table. You definitely
polished off the show site
on Saturday. How you pulled
it all off for as little
money as you did continues
to escape me - I'm just glad
you did! I had a constant
stream of folks coming to me
and telling me how much each
enjoyed the trophies. I
thank you for your work for
our shows, as well as for
your continued interest in
the ongoing betterment of
Minuteman.
And
last, and certainly not
least, is Donna Nardi
- Assistant Show Chair
extraordinaire. Donna, you
were, without a doubt, the
most enjoyable and stable
(!?!) part of this whole
process. Working with you as
my right arm allowed
Minuteman to pull off what
it just pulled off, and to
do so with grace and class.
You were able to pick up all
the little pieces that I
continually dropped, and
pretended to do so happily.
Your philosophy of "More is
More" really brought the
ballroom as far over the top
as we had hoped (how many
baskets can you fit in a
BMW?), and I never realized
that there were that many
flower arrangements and fake
leaf-garland strings in all
of New England.
From the start to the
finish, you put up with and
accepted my "decisions" (and
even won a few yourself). We
may have openly disagreed at
times, but no one cried and
it was always fun.
Thanks for housing the lawn
ornament for a few days, and
for this and that, and for
it all.
Countless club members were
present at the show for
support of both the moral
and entry types. It was
great to see so many people
genuinely interested in the
well-being of the Minuteman
Boston Terrier Club!
The hotel has already asked
us back for next year, so it
looks like we have an annual
thing going. Let's all keep
working together to increase
the activity, visibility,
and membership of Minuteman.
After all, the Boston
Terrier is our state dog
-let's act like a club
that's proud of that little
bit of special ownership of
our breed!
Until next time, and again
with sincere thanks to all
for your work in helping the
club succeed,
Jason Luciano
MBTC
President
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BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE 2009
SPECIALTY
Submitted by
Donna Nardi
Well, well, well. .. the little club from Massachusetts
managed to pull-off a two day, back-to-back Specialty Show.
As with any major production, ours was not without a mishap
here and there, and by the Friday before the show,
everything was progressing justa bit too smoothly. The hotel
personnel had been wonderful, our judges were on their way,
our show secretary Alice had everything under control,
trophies were ready, baskets made, catalogs printed and
decorations prepared. In short, we just were waiting for the
proverbial shoe to fall.
Did anyone happen to notice the absence of our Ways and
Means table?
The Ways and Means products were available for purchase,
only you had to travel to my driveway in East Longmeadow to
make a purchase, because ... well. .. that's where Jason and
Jim's motor home broke down early Friday afternoon.
Arriving at noon to help me haul baskets, teacup auction
items, decorations, and all of the other show "stuff" that
dominated 80i'o of the space in my basement for the better
part of September, James coasted into my driveway, and I use
the word coasted in the most literal sense, with six dogs,
Sunday's trophies, and all of the Ways and Means packed
every-so carefully into his motor home.
The sad realization that it would be impossible to find a
mechanic on a Friday afternoon left us with only one
alternative: Tequila. So while James and my husband
lightened their mood with a wee bit of spirits, I cuddled-up
with Johnny W.
Too bad you had to pick-up Jan at the airport Jason, the
afternoon did not turn out half bad. With our mood a bit
lighter, we managed to pack into three cars as much as
humanly possible, our caravan reminiscent of Chevy Chase's
Vacation.
First arriving at a hotel for a dog show is always a
challenge. While juggling any number of dogs, you attempt to
check-in while making certain that none of your little
darlings decides to pee on the fake fichus in front of the
management who you have assured that Bostons are an
absolutely wonderful and otherwise clean breed. Of course,
all this is going on while
you are greeting people you haven't seen in ages, don't want
to be rude but could we possibly postpone this little chat
until after I have unloaded 3 crates, one grooming table, a
gear bag, 2 suitcases and a cooler full of bait?
Somehow we managed to hit the ground running bright and
early Saturday morning. We were unable to set-up on Friday
night due to a belly dancing demonstration being held in the
ballroom. No fooling, that's what was going on, and no,
Stacie Ziebel and Fernanda Barlow did not participate, but I
did hear a rumor that Ruth Lieberg ...
Our club early birds were all there to assist with set-up.
Chris and Carly Krok still in pajamas, Stacie rolling in
looking like she had just stepped out of the salon, Eleanor
with her photographer/boyfriend in tow, Ginny
(where-the-heck-is-an-eisle for my quilt) juggling her
trophies and scattering autumn leaves, Ruth w/her catalogs,
Nanette hauling in mums, Jason and James on hands and knees
unrolling mats, and Procaccini searching for her Ways and
Means table (I hear she is still wandering around Western
Mass looking).
And the realization hits - we may just be pulling this thing
off. Within two hours, the ballroom had been transformed to
one beautiful show cite, complete with candles lit and
gracing the upper viewing area. Unbelievably enough, we
still had a two hour window before curtain time.
Saturday was great, with winners singing the praises of our
judicial selection and losers asking the always familiar
has-this-judge-ever-read the-standard question. The one
common theme among winners and losers alike was that the
first day of our show was a screaming success.
By Saturday evening, adrenalin now reduced to a normal
level, we were all quite ready for a little down time and
what better place to meet than, you guessed it, the hotel
bar. One of the greatest advantages of these shows, and our
club proved to be no exception, is that we have people
spanning several generations come together, sharing a common
interest that knows no age barriers.
Pat and Jim brought along Grandma Nan, as always my Mom, Viv,
accompanied me, and you'd better believe they were both
right there, at the bar, along with our wonderful Ruth,
rehashing the day's events.
We concluded the evening with an intimate dinner for 16,
which included our very social judge, Jan Warren and Sharon
Stoll who had traveled by car, in the pouring rain, from
Michigan. Our N.J. contingent, Allison Alison and Joan
Brucato joined our happy group with Ken Roux (from IL) in
tow, after their lobster dinner in Northampton.
Thankfully, Sunday morning, which came too quickly, did not
require the same level of preparation as our ballroom was
not being utilized Saturday night. I suspect one evening of
belly dancing is enough for anyone. By Sunday our ballroom
bar was seeing a bit more action, with our show running
smooth as silk. Our vendor, Divadog was doing a brisk
business, with a promise to return next year.
We received wonderful compliments once again not only from
exhibitors and spectators, but we have been welcomed back by
our gracious hosts at the Clarion, who were amazed that our
Bostons are truly cleaner and better behaved than most
humans.
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For those Club members not in attendance,
you were missed. You do not need to be a "show"
person to enjoy this insanity. Anyone who has ever
been owned by a Boston would have a good time
socializing, meeting fellow fanciers from all over
the U.S. (we had 10 states represented), and of
course, those beautiful Bostons.
Please keep this in mind next year with the motto
being: I went to a party and a dog show broke out.
Thank you to all of those club members who helped
out by getting up early, going to bed late, making
donations, bidding on baskets, buying raffle tickets
and providing much needed emotional support and
encouragement.
And oh yes, thanks for getting the motor home out of
the driveway!
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
In Memory of Bobby
Fullen: 1998 - 2009
Bobby was born a dog but became a gentleman and best
friend.
The Beacon would like to acknowledge the life of
Bobby Fullen and his Club Member parents, Sarah and
Tom Fullen.
Bobby was often seen at the Specialty Show - sitting
in the comforting laps of his mother, Sarah, or dad,
Tom, or his maternal grandparents, Gwen and Ed
Saunders.
Bobby would sometimes got so excited at the show he
would blow bubbles.
Bobby was loved beyond words by his parents and
grandparents. Bobby had daily play time and work
time.
He often went to work with Sarah and Tom and rested
in his bed while they ran their photo/printing
business. Bobby was a regular in the shop and all
the customers knew him by name.
Bob finally succumbed to cardiac failure and was put
to sleep on October 3, 2009.
His family will forever mourn his death, but they
will also always remember the total joy he gave.
Someday soon, they hope to welcome another Boston
into their family.
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
My Dog, Libby By Jackie
Ebel, age 9
When we first
got Libby, I was only three years old. My family and
I hadn't had a dog in our house for two years. I was
excited about finally getting a dog. On the day we
got Libby, Libby's name wasn't Libby. Her name was
Sarah. I remember going home and we stopped at her
vet's office on the way. Libby's vet is the vet we
used for Spanky, the Boston Terrier we had before we
got Libby. We stopped to show off Libby, and the vet
checked her out to make sure she was okay. She was
GREAT! We took Libby home and my Mom, Dad, and I sat
on the floor with her and took turns saying our
names. We did this because we wanted Libby to learn
our names. This seemed a little silly, but it really
helped her out!
I remember not wanting to leave the house
without Libby. My parents made me leave without her.
We were going shopping for toys and food and
everything else she needed that we didn't have. I
remember two things about that night. I was climbing
into bed and I asked my mom, "So, what's the
doggie's name again?" The other thing I remember
about that night was that Libby was crying. She
cried every night for a couple of weeks. She didn't
like being left alone in her crate. When my dad got
tired ofthe crying, he let her sleep in the bed with
my dad and my mom. That's the way Libby sleeps, even
now.
I often talk to Libby and she does quite a
few things that are funny. She picks words out of
other words and sentences. My music teacher's name
is Mr. Gorgone. My mom and I were talking about
music class and we said his name, Libby was nearby.
Libby picked out the word "go" from the middle of
his name and she got very excited. When I say things
that start with "Do you ... ", "Are you ... ", or
"Is it the ... " her ears go up. If! say something
interesting, she gives me the head tippies. Libby
can spell some words. We started spelling words to
say things to each other at home when we didn't want
Libby to get excited. It didn't work. She learned
how to spell. She can spell go, ride, car, Libby,
dinner, and a few other words! She's so smart!
Sometimes I will ask Libby a question and her answer
is a snort! It's like she is really answering me!
With all these things going on, I think it's sort of
like Libby is having a conversation with me!
Sometimes I will read
to Libby. If it is cold outside, I will put Libby in
her bed. Then I will put a soft blanket over her. I
have some Boston Terrier books about a dog named
Penny. Libby (of course) is a Boston Terrier so I
read those books to her.
Libby has a lot offunny habits. One of Libby's
habits is that she likes to come into my room and
sit on myoid doll bed. One time when she did that I
covered her with the blanket that goes with the doll
bed. Another habit is that Libby will go to certain
sides of my mom's chair at the kitchen table for
certain things. The right side of my mom's chair is
the begging side. The left side of the chair is the
side she goes to when she is called or when she
wants to be picked up. She knows that she can't be
picked up during the middle of dinner, so she waits
until my mom puts her fork down to come see if she
will be picked up to join the family at the table.
When I get out of my chair, Libby will come and look
under my chair for crumbs. She will even come to
look if she is in a different room. She listens for
my chair! Libby LOVES crumbs! Another habit is that
she goes crazy for ice cubes in her water dish.
Sometimes, someone will be getting ice for their own
water and Libby runs to look in her water dish for
ice cubes.
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