SaberTails

IMarch2014

www.pbgv.org

27

T

hiswasoursecondyearofbeinginvolvedinthisevent
anditdidn’tdisappoint!Theatmosphereisalways
electricwithpeoplebustlingabout.Setupdaystartson

Friday,withthemaineventonSaturdayandSunday.

Thisyearwerequestedadoubleboothtoallowforplenty

ofroomforvisitorstomeetandgreetthedogs.Ourlocation
wasideal,rightatthetopoftheaisle,sowehadplentyof
visibilityandalotoftrafficbythebooth.

WearrivedonFriday,foundourlocationandthenstaked

outourterritory.Uponcloserinspectionwenotedthatour
boothwasmissingacoupleofkeyelements,asidecurtain
andasidebanquettable,whichwouldgivebetterdefinition
totheareaofthebooth.Wellthatjustwouldn'tdo,so
MarthaStewartIngherandIquicklysetoutonarecon
missionandwithinnotimeatall,ourboothhadeverything
thatitneededandthensome!Itpaystobetheearlybird
(orPeeb)!

Thisyearweusedthehuntingscenebackdropthatwas

debutedattheMeettheBreedseventinNewYorkattheJav-
itsCenterearlierintheyear.Thepanelisquitebeautifuland
veryeye-catching.Theotheritematthebooththatattracted
alotofattentionwasthewooden
fencewiththePBGVsrunningto-
wardthebunny.Weentertaineda
lotofquestionsaboutthebackdrop
andthefencefromthegeneral
publicandfrommembersofother
breedclubs.Thefenceisonloan
fromBarbaraandGaryOxholm;
wethankthemagainforlettingus
displayitinthebooth.

Anunexpectedbenefitgained

fromaneventlikethisisthe
opportunitytointeractwithpeople
fromtheotherclubsandbeableto
shareinformationandideas.

Manyboothsaresimplydoneandsomearevery

elaborate.Therealattractionforourboothwasthe
PBGVsthemselves.
Eachofthedogswas
suchagreatexample
ofthespiritofthe
breed.Theywerevery
outgoing,happy
ambassadorsforthe
breed.Theyworked
thecrowdanddrew

peopleoverquite
expertly.Ofcoursewe
keptthebasketwell
stockedwithcandyand
hadplentyofwaterand
treatsforthedogs.

Itissuchapleasureto

introducepeopleto
PBGVs.Manyhaveheard
aboutthebreedbuthave
neverseenoneinperson.
Theyaresoappreciativeandexcitednotonlytoseeone
buttobeabletointeractwithaPBGVandeventohavea
picturetakenwithone.Peopleaskedlotsofgoodquestions.
Wehadlotsofeducationalmaterialavailable.

Severalmemberswereattheeventandstoppedbyto

helpwiththebooth,bringadogoverorjusttosayhello.
LindleyHensonbroughtFriday(ownedbyKarenClugston)
overtobethebooth.Karenstoppedbylatertohelp.Jill
FitzgeraldbroughtQuincyandSheltontothebooth.Robyn

andGenShavewereattheboothwith
Hottiebothdays.MeganEscherick’sMuse
joinedusonSunday.KatherineHowell
andSparkswerepartofthe
festivities.PaulaDePalma,LoriMegli,
BonnieLapham,SueSmyth,BettyBarth
andPamHelmerhelpedoutwiththedogs
andinformationatthebooth.Sandy
Bustin,SusannahCooperandPink
stoppedbytosayhello.

MeettheBreedsisnotthetypeof

eventthatcanbedonebyonlyoneor
twopeople.Thankssomuchtoeveryone
whocamebyandhelpedout;wecouldn’t
havedoneitwithoutallofyou!

I

byHelenIngherandLindaMurray

MeettheBreed:Orlando

I

MeettheBreedsreturnstoOrlando’s

OrangeCountyConventionCenter

Clockwise,from
topleft:The
PBGVbooth;Jill
Fitzgeraldand
Shelton;Lindley
Hensenwith
Friday;Robyn
ShavandHottie
greetavisitor.