Somebody finally did it. At the ABC membership meeting in May ‘98, Dr. Paul Gerard, the 1997-98 regional ABC board member from California, tossed a bombshell into the closing minutes of the meeting just as everyone was stifling yawns, glancing surreptitiously at their watches, and hoping that someone would make a motion to adjourn. Dr. Gerard made a motion that the entire ABC membership be allowed to vote on whether or not to move the ABC to the center of the country. Even though the meeting room was packed with northeastern ABC members, his "Move the ABC" motion passed quite handily. And that means that ABC members and member clubs can soon expect to receive a ballot asking for their vote on yet another controversial issue - one that may make "Ear Wars" look like a minor disagreement over which shade of blue to paint the guest bedroom.

As long as we’ve been members of ABC - over 17 years now - there have been rumblings about moving the ABC out of the Northeast to a location more accessible to all exhibitors. This dissatisfaction came to a head when several car thefts and muggings made it plain that the Newark, NJ site was not only esthetically unappealing, it was downright unsafe as a venue for our national specialty. At that point, after giving the membership a brief period of time to check out and propose alternatives to Newark, the ABC sent out ballots for what amounted to a "show site popularity contest," and Frederick, MD won. In all fairness, no center-of-the-country site was proposed (Ohio and Pennsylvania were as close to "centrally located" as it got), and I don’t think anybody realized that the Holiday Inn FSK could not accomodate all would-be ABC attendees without utilizing its "sister motel," the Holiday Inn Express (formerly the Super 8), which was NOT as conveniently located to the Holiday Inn FSK as advertised, especially if you flew into the ABC with dogs or without a rental vehicle. Be that as it may, ABC members once again have an opportunity to select a different location for our national specialty. Let’s look at the mileage differences first, and then talk about some of the other issues.

The mileage stats printed below were taken from the American Map Corp.United States Road Atlas. To the left of the chart are listed the cities generally considered centrally located in the U.S. - St. Louis and Kansas City, MO - plus Dallas, TX, which was suggested by a Texas exhibitor. Listed below them is Washington, DC (Frederick, MD), the current location of the ABC. Across the top of the chart are listed four cities at opposite ends of the country from which exhibitors travel to the ABC.

What are some of the other considerations? Several people we spoke to pointed to the relatively small turnout at the Regionals as proof that the ABC entry would drop drastically if the show were held anywhere but in the NE. Ah, but those people are forgetting the Futurity. The possibility of winning one of those big Futurity prizes - and purses - with one’s latest young hopeful is what spurs many an exhibitor, including this one, to spend a week of their precious yearly vacation traveling to and from the ABC.

It’s also been suggested that the experience and ability to put on a huge show like the ABC resides only in the NE. The obvious answer to that argument is that, unlike the Regionals, sponsoring the ABC is not the responsibility of a local member club...it is the responsibility of the ABC. Our national specialty and futurity is produced and directed by the officers, board, and committee members of the parent club and financed by its treasury (read, our dues), wherever the show is held. Take a look at the 1998 catalog - this year’s ABC was truly a national effort! The show chairwoman lives in MD; the obedience chair lives in VA; the Futurity chair in NY; the ABC president hails from GA; the treasurer, from TX; catalog advertising was also handled from TX; the chief steward lives in FL; the RV parking coordinators are from IA and MN; the Top Twenty coordinator lives in FL, and the ABCF dinner and auction was coordinated by two very capable members from MN and CA.

On the other hand, we can’t expect the ABC leadership to fly all over the country checking out sites before the membership has made its wishes known with a "yes" - or "no" - vote. So please take a look at the survey below. If you live in a centrally located area of the U.S., know of a great potential show site, and wish to participate in the survey, just fill it out and return it to B.U. via e-mail. Although B.U. is NOT conducting this survey in an official capacity for the ABC, if the vote is "yes," we will forward any information we collect to the ABC.

IF THE ABC MOVES TO THE CENTER OF THE COUNTRY...

A SURVEY OF CITIES/SHOW SITES

1. Name of city:

2. Name of show site (i.e. Kemper Arena, Holiday Inn Westport):

3. Distance from the show site to the airport:

4. Type and size of airport (i.e. international?):

If the prospective show site is a motel or hotel:

1. How many rooms does it have (the Holiday Inn FSK in Frederick has only 155 rooms and is inadequate; the Holiday Inn Newark Airport has 234 rooms and was ok)?

2. Is there a restaurant on site?

3. What are the restaurant’s hours of operation (24 hours, 8am - 9pm only)?

4. Does the hotel/motel provide transportation to and from the airport?

5. What is the size of the ballroom and meeting rooms?

6. Are the banquet facilities large enough to accomodate 400-600 guests at the Annual Awards Dinner?

7. Is there room for RV parking? How many RVs could be accommodated ?

8. Are there grassy areas available for walking/exercising dogs?

9. Has the hotel ever hosted a dog show?
   

If the prospective show site is NOT a motel or hotel:

1. How close is the nearest motel/hotel that accepts dogs?

2. Does that hotel provide transportation to the show facility?

3. How large is that hotel (how many rooms), and does it have all the amenities listed above. For example, Purina Farms in St. Louis, MO looked promising initially, but has only outdoor show rings and no nearby motel large enough to accommodate all ABC goers or the annual banquet.