open-minded—not judgmental—and appreciative of every single volunteer for it to succeed. Sherry and I agree that we could not succeed by micro-managing, and we had to let each group and individual event contribute and staff as needed. We, as leaders, would be there to as- sist and coordinate with them to make it all work as one event with each group as a sub-event. Sherry was a very valuable assistant chairman who served the event well for several years before family health matters would force her to move over to the sidelines. The contributions she made to the project, especially in the beginning, were tremendous. GETTING THE WORD OUT The committee wanted to put some type of name to the event and the title “St. Jude Wonderful World of Dogs” was selected, and Sherry created a wonderful logo of a child and dog to represent the project. Ironically just a few weeks before the event, we would learn the “wonderful world of dogs” had been copyrighted and we were in violation of copyright law putting our event in jeopardy. Fortunately, an agreement was reached along with a donation from the copyright holder and we could proceed, but the follow- ing year we would change our name to the St. Jude Showcase of Dogs. Also, we needed a way to share our event with potential groups and spon- sors. I created a script for a video and Sherry (with the cooperation of ALSCA and the AKC) secured video material that Pro-Video in Memphis built into a four-minute promotional video on our project. After the creation of the video, Sherry and I started to attend meetings with many kennel clubs and groups in the general area. Our goal was to gener- ate a diverse group with an interest in the project. We also sent the video out to every major dog food brand at the time looking for a title sponsor with some sort of financial support.
THE GENERAL PUBLIC Everyone on the committee felt that not only getting the general public to attendwas essential, but we needed to get them excited about it. We decided to allow the public to bring their dogs with them to the event so they could participate in some activities as well as learn about their breeds and their dogs from breeders and veterinarians and trainers that were participating. FINDING A SITE AND A DATE Securing a suitable site and date was next on our agenda. We researched available dates with little or no com- petition from other shows, knowing that this large undertaking would take a special site to accommodate it. We also researched the weather from the data available over the past 50 years. The Agricenter International in sub- urban Germantown, Tennessee was selected as the site and the weekend of October 7 and 8 was selected for the date, as history had shown it had only rained twice in 50 years on that week- end. The Agricenter was also adjacent to the Duck’s Unlimited headquar- ters and some aspects of that property would fit with our project. We still did not have a sponsor, but I signed the contracts to secure the site and I was now “all in” for sure as I did not want to lose everything if we failed. The Agricenter was a unique prop- erty. The indoor set-up was difficult to utilize efficiently, but the outside had 300 full RV hook-ups, a won- derful pond and numerous large and small grassy areas wheremany events could be staged. TITLE SPONSOR NAMED In January of 1995, Kal-Kan Pedi- gree dog food company stepped up and agreed to become the first spon - sor of our event. It was a big relief to all of us and a sign that we were on our way toward success.
A TRUE DOG COMMUNITY PROJECT In our meetings and outreach, vari- ous groups started to come on board. One of particular significance was the Memphis and Shelby County Veteri- nary Association. This group, with no less than 50 local veterinarians and their clinics, committed to designing and staffing a “Noah’s Ark” exhibit in which they created a mini-hospital to share with the public information and demonstrations on various vet- erinary practices regarding surgery, dentistry, ultrasound, physical ex- ams, laboratory practices, preventive medicine radiology/X-rays and all things veterinary related. The Ark would become a great success as the general public had a real opportunity to get a behind the scenes look at the veterinary profession and how they treat their dogs. The Memphis Obedience Club un- der the direction of AKC judge How- ard Gladstein stepped up and agreed to sponsor the obedience side of the project. They would host a limited obedience trial as well as do numer- ous demonstrations to introduce Obedience to the spectators. The Greater Shelby Kennel Club—of which Carol, Sherry and I were char- ter members—was hesitant to join on as a sponsor and move their show to the event, but they did agree to hold sanctioned matches on the weekend to present the conformation side of the sport. The American Kennel Club, The American Field, The Bird Dog Mu- seum and the National Field Trial Championship all agreed to par- ticipate. They would not only have a booth, they would do bird dog demon- strations on the adjacent Duck’s Un- limited properties. Agility and Lure coursing were not yet AKC events, but they were being held by other sanctioned organiza- tions and they agreed to hold a full trial at the event. T op N otch T oys , A pril 2022 • 21
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