event getting things set up and would be there on Monday after to put the Agricenter back the way it was. Even after Carol and I relocated to Knoxville about 375 miles away in 2003, I would travel back for meet- ings as well as to spend the week of the event—from theMonday before to the Monday after—getting things done. MOVING FORWARD In the following years, the Greater Shelby Kennel Club would become the host club and started to hold their point show in conjunction with the event. Later, the Tupelo Kennel Club of Mississippi would also partner with us to make it a four-day weekend event. When hiring their judging pan- els both clubs allowed for many of the newer judges to participate by offering them the opportunity to judge their provisional breeds. Tim James and the Onofrio organi- zation became a vital partner for the shows and the event in general. Es- pecially in helping us to deal with dif- ficult moments in dealing with AKC rules and regulations. Because of the rules, any area hosting an AKC event had to be roped off with signage stat - ing no unentered dogs were allowed past those signs into the areas where AKC designated events were being held. I can tell you from personal ex- perience that most of the AKC people were understanding and helpful with the difficulties we faced. I will always be grateful to the late Dr. Robert Berndt, a special friend and the AKC Chairman of the board at the time, as well as the late Bill Bergum, also an AKC board member, for their support and guidance not only for the event, but in dealing with AKC aspects and conflicts as they arose. While most of the folks at the AKC were supportive and understanding, there were also a couple of individuals within the or- ganization that at times made it very, very difficult to put on the event. THE PAY OFF From being told by many it could not be done, a tremendous group of volunteers and organizations worked
judges Gary Doerge and Carol Som- merfelt, as well as other members of the Mid-South judges group, served as the hosts for the seminars. Over the years, many of the icons of vari- ous breeds would come to Memphis to present their breed at seminars where, inmost years, between 75-100 judges would attend. In that first year, we also had 59 indi - vidual breed booths and 24 all-breed and other organization groups partic- ipate in getting their information out to the general public. ADOPTING A POLICY There was no question that we were going outside the box when we decided to allow the general public to bring their dogs. This created many difficult issues with the AKC rules, but we felt it was important to let the public bring their dogs. We had a very strict policy that during the event no dogs could be sold, placed, adopted or traded. It was emphasized to all the breeds and other groups that if people were interested, they could follow up with them after the event was over. FLYBALL Probably no single event or demon- stration over the years was as popular as flyball. In the first year, we invited a group fromHouston, Texas to come and do demonstrations and share their sport with the public. The gen- eral public fell in love with the sport. Starting in year two of the event it became an annual tournament and when our event ended its run in 2009, the largest flyball tournament in North America was being held at the Showcase. OTHER AREAS When putting on an event of this size there are so many small details that require attention and hard work. We had to find food vendors, and we needed to find a variety of regular vendors to buy space. This gave us a chance to succeed and pay our bills. We also needed people in print adver- tising, TV, and radio to assist in the promotion of the event. We needed people to handle parking, ticket sales,
set up and tear down, a convention supply company to provide pipe and drape for booths, AV equipment, tables, chairs, and many other items. We had to find catering companies to provide lunch for the workers and volunteers as well as security for the general public. PRESS CONFERENCE By May of 1995, we were only five months away from seeing our proj- ect on display. In May of that year, the Mayor of Memphis, The Shelby County Mayor, Executives from Pedigree and myself gathered on the steps of St. Jude Children’s research hospital for a press conference to an- nounce the inaugural event to the general public. This was an important landmark in our success as it became an alliance between the dog people, the local government and St. Jude to present our sport of purebred dogs to the public. Over the following 15 years, that proved to be a great alli- ance as no dog legislation was put into effect in the city or the county. VOLUNTEERS There is no way an event like this takes place without volunteers. I es- timate that annually we would have over 300 individuals volunteer in some way to make this show work. Many of our volunteers were not dog people, but rather people who vol- unteered to further the mission of St. Jude. Many people volunteered for that first event who would continue to volunteer every year throughout our successful run. These people were so vital to our continuity and suc- cess and I will always be grateful for their contributions. Starting from year one, Traci Mathews built a connection with a group of non-violent offenders to do their community service hours. Many of these individuals would often be the labor that helped us put up tents, cut grass, park cars, keep the area clean, staff numerous areas and do a lot to assist us. Jerry Pittman and I would start on the Monday before the
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