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AMERICAN RACING
PIGEON UNION CELEBRATES 97TH YEAR
What are you going to do when the
Mariachi band starts playing and the
buffet table overflows with the makings
for tacos? Well, party, of course! The
Mexican Fiesta was a spirited start to
the annual celebration at the Ann Arbor
Marriott in
Alex Bieche kicked off the second day of
the AU convention with a seminar, while
ladies enjoyed a tour, lunch and show.
The 10th annual AU National Youth Race
was held on Friday as well. The handler,
Bill Sweeney and the SMCC did a great
job training and caring for the birds.
66 birds went to the race and 33 came in
on the first drop. Caden Flanery was the
big winner! He is a Michigan resident
and into his second year of racing
interest. Caden will enjoy the
opportunity to attend the 2008 AU
Convention, in Minnesota, as a treat by
the AU. After the youth race, it was
time to get back to the hotel for
breeders and handlers to check their
convention race birds. Birds were
transported overnight 400 miles, to
Griffin, Indiana.
The convention race was exciting and the
handlers provided great food and fun for
guests. The winner of the 2007 AU
Convention Race was Dr. David Chen.
During the course of the week, your AU
Board of Directors held annual board
meetings. Various Board Action Requests,
race rules, promotion efforts, award
updates and lobbying reports were shared
and discussed. Be sure to watch the
January edition of the AU Update to
review the minutes from the meetings and
summary of rule changes.
It became apparent through the meetings
that the AU remains focused on its
commitment to preserve the sport through
proactive measures and programs, such as
the AU Loft Certification program and
working with our lobbyist. Your
lobbyist, Greg Smith, does an
outstanding job to monitor legislation
that may impact the sport, as well as
continue to develop and nurture
relationships with key officials.
Promotion efforts and member retention
continue to be a priority for the AU as
well. Reported promotion and marketing
efforts reflect another membership
increase as we head into the end of the
year.
Freddie Rivera kicked off the third day
with a seminar. Meanwhile several
attendees were casino bound. The day was
capped off with a bountiful buffet
dinner and Viva Las Vegas! to entertain.
Talented entertainers took the audience
from country’s George Jones to rock’s
Elvis Presley.
The final day. AU members gathered for
the general membership meeting and heard
the latest from the AU Officers, the AU
national office and the AU lobbyist,
Greg Smith. With no immediate
emergencies pending, the audience was
reminded of the need to educate the
public about the racing sport and the
practice of good neighborliness to build
relationships. It was also encouraging
to see several members take the
opportunity to share concerns with the
AU Board. This input gave your lobbyist
necessary information so that he may
better voice our needs and requirements.
Afterward, the National Ladies Auxiliary
hosted their annual brunch and the top
30 race birds were displayed and
auctioned.
The 97th annual dinner and awards
presentation offered up the
announcements and presentations to the
2007 winners: AU Member Hall of Fame,
Vernon Young and Gene Yoes; AU Publicity
Persons of the Year, Mother Lode RPC and
Colleen Mastony of the Chicago Tribune;
AU Persons of the Year, Walt & Margaret
Shaffer; AU Breeder Elite, Roger
Mortvedt; Rick Phalen Leadership Award,
Herb Cartmell; AU Legends of the Sport,
Fred Quilitzch, Bill Lightell, Pete
Barry, Larry Long, Shannon Hiatt and Dr.
Jon Esposito; and Junior Member of the
Year, Michaelina Kobylanski.
Congratulations to a tremendous group!
All of these individuals have
contributed tremendously to the sport,
the national organization and local
clubs. We thank you and salute you all!
As a subsidiary organization of the AU,
the National Ladies Auxiliary offers
scholarships to children of AU members.
This past year, NLA gave away $7300 in
15 scholarships. One way the AU helps to
replenish the scholarship fund is to
have an auction during the awards
banquet. Past AU President, Frank
Greenhall stepped up to the microphone
and raised over $2500 to add to the NLA
fund.
Last years Youth Race Winner, Tony
Szymanek, raked it in when he was given
the Crazy Al auction bird won by Frank
himself. Tony was also the lucky winner
of the National Junior Membership
Contest, in which the prize was a
Benzing electronic timing system,
donated by Ed Minvielle and Siegels, as
representatives of Benzing. It was a
huge night for Tony – congratulations!
In the end, it was a great week. Guests
appeared to enjoy themselves. Meetings
were productive. Entertainment was
wonderful. We thank the convention
committee, handlers, volunteers and the
entire Suburban Cities Motor Combine for
their hard work and hospitality.
Race results for the 2007 Convention
race are posted on the main page of our
website (www.pigeon.org). Details
pertaining to the 2008 convention are
also posted.
We look forward to seeing you at the
2008 AU Convention, which will be hosted
by the Heartland Federation in
Minneapolis.
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