Guidelines for Member Club Columnists
The GRNews is a great place to let the GRCA Membership know what the local clubs are doing. It’s a great way for clubs to share ideas for club events. E-mail your column to the Editor either as an attached MSWord document (preferred) or paste it into the message of an e-mail. No PDFs. Send to editorgrnews@gmail.com. Put your club’s name in the subject line and name any attachment with your club’s name, e.g. – “Austin GRC MCC.” Please try to name your file with your club’s name as well.
What Should Be In Your Column:
News and information about your club and its members. Spotlight a member who has done something interesting. Spotlight a member’s dog that has achieved a unique status. Write about events your club has put on. Your views on subjects related to Goldens are always welcome. Don’t be afraid to tackle controversial subjects that stimulate thought and dialog.
You may also submit high resolution photos which relate to the storyline of your column. 300dpi or a large file (over 2MB). If the image is from an iPhone, choose “actual size.”
As of January 1, 2014, we are no longer publishing individual member wins or new titles/awards on dogs.
IN GENERAL
If you are a new columnist, please keep your personal introduction short. Also, if your club has not submitted a column for some time, do not go back for the past year and list all the information that should have been reported during that time. Report only current information.
We are happy to report on your local club’s year-end trophy winners – try to keep it brief without detailed explanations of what each trophy is awarded for. We will not give a year-end recounting of all your local club’s title winners. You may mention that your club had xx new CHs, xx new CDs, xx new MHs, etc. Remember to list the dog’s name as outlined in the GRCA Yearbook Database and put the trophies/awards in upper/lower case.
If you are in doubt about a dog’s name or titles, please verify it on the GRCA Yearbook Database (YBD). http://www.starzgoldens.com/yearbook/welcome.do
The YBD is valuable to help you list titles in the correct order – especially with all the new titles for dock diving, barn hunt, Fast CAT, scentwork, etc. Remember these titles should only be listed if they have been recorded with the AKC and are reflected in the YBD.
Over the years we have had valuable information come out of the Member Club Columns. It is a wonderful way for clubs to read about what other clubs are doing and perhaps inspire them to do new club events. Your thoughts and informative ideas are valuable to all of us!
Genevieve Dever, Editor
Please use upper and lower case format. Try to limit your column to three double-spaced pages. Below is an example of a local club report. Please include the club name, report name, and report writer in the header. If you want photos in a specific location, please note that in the report.
Member Club Report Example:
EVERGREEN GRC
by Rachelle Mahoney RN MN AMB-BC
EGRC HOSTS ITS CCA
Evergreen GRC held a CCA this spring, and by all accounts it was a good day for dogs, handlers, and the club!
A Certificate of Conformation Assessment is a little different from a regular dog show. There are no class placements and no Best of Breed. Instead, each dog is evaluated individually against the Golden Retriever standard. The goal is to look at the whole dog and give owners a useful assessment from experienced evaluators.
People had time to ask questions, listen, and learn. The evaluators were patient and generous with their comments, and the atmosphere stayed friendly and relaxed throughout the day.
Like most club events, the work started long before the first dog walked in. Trish Hughes and Lynn Anderson did a tremendous amount of the planning. Lynn helped with the evaluators, food, accommodations, and gathering workers. Trish handled the GRCA paperwork, entries, forms, spreadsheets, and the many details that have to be done correctly for a CCA to run properly. Kathy Daspit helped as Assistant to the Secretary, which made a big difference on event day. There were also plenty of people helping in the background, setting up, bringing supplies, helping exhibitors, keeping things moving, and making sure everyone had what they needed.
The dogs were, of course, the best part. We had a nice group of Goldens come through, including some young dogs who handled the day very well. At the end of the event, the participating dogs earned their Certificate of Conformation Assessment. There were ribbons, photos, tired dogs, happy handlers, and a lot of appreciation for the people who made it happen.
EGRC came away from the day with a good foundation for doing this again. The event was successful, the club learned a lot, and the teamwork was excellent. It also ended up being financially positive for the club, helped by careful planning and generous donations of time, supplies, and equipment.
Thank you to everyone who evaluated, entered, worked, donated, carried things, answered questions, brought food, loaned equipment, or simply showed up ready to help! That is how club events happen.
It was a good day for EGRC, and an even better day for Goldens.
rev: 09-2026