by Mark Peasley
I’m honored and excited to be the Interim President of the DKGNA. Let me start by thanking Frank O’Leary for the countless hours he spent working to get the club off the ground and growing it to where it is today. I must also thank the Board and the many volunteers of the club who devote so much of their time to the love of Deutsch Kurzhaars and promoting the breed here in North America.
I have been a member of the DKGNA since its inception because I appreciate its devotion to honest testing and breeding. I’ve been lucky to make many friends and enjoyed lots of good hunting opportunities with the club. I have three DKs (ages 4, 9, and 14). I am a JGHV field judge and am currently an apprentice form judge. One of the things I most enjoy about judging is meeting many members of the DKGNA. Those members I haven’t met yet, I hope to do so in the near future.
It is my goal in the next 16 months to work closely with the regions in the US and Canada to help grow their membership and increase the dogs that participate in our Derby, Solms, and VGP tests. I believe the breeders and test coordinators in the various regions are very important to helping to grow this club.
I will work closely with the regions to understand their testing needs and to promote activities that attract new handlers. I believe that regions that have strong training day participation help keep new and existing members active in the club. I will contact previous club members that may have left the club to understand what we can do to improve and get them back into the club. I will listen to previous and existing club member to make this club as rewarding and enjoyable as possible.
I will also work to expand our pool of judges. It’s important that we bring young, but experienced handlers into the judging apprenticeship program. Our existing judges are stretched thin and I appreciate the time and expense they all put into their judging. I know they do it because they love watching our wonderful DKs work the field, water, and forest.
I believe we will have a great year ahead of us. I look forward to working with you all on this club that we all are a part of.
Sincerely,
Mark Peasley