The 9th Annual Toys for Tots Dog Agility Fundraiser was yet another resounding success. We returned once again to the indoor horse arena at Wild Winds Farm. Last year, we were graced with a fire truck in the ring (even if it was just watering the ring). This year, we had a tractor inside the ring for part of the runs due to mechanical issues. We had a number of special guests join us this year. We were welcomed to the event by the Chairman of the Granville County Commissioners. GnySgt Floyd with the US Marine Corps came and visited with us on Saturday and spent time taking photos, and we even had a visit from Santa for more photo opportunities.
This year was our biggest ever as far as entries went. We had 161 runs Friday, 488 Saturday, and 432 on Sunday for a total of 1081 runs. We had an additional 65 ToyTot entries. There were 124 dogs entered representing 9 different states. And we had some great runs and highlights this year, including 4 NATCH’s!
There were quite a few contests and events that kept us entertained and laughing throughout the weekend. The Puppy Kissing contest was very popular, as was the Weave-Pole Dance Challenge. We had groups doing the Hustle, the Chicken Dance, and Gangnam Style as well.
The food was simply AMAZING this year. While there were numerous people that helped contribute to the food tables, Becky Spring did her usual spectacular job of coordinating and running it all. This year we introduced the “Graze All Day” buttons and they were extremely popular.
The raffle seems to get bigger and bigger each year. This year was no exception and the raffle was a big success.
We had the best media coverage we have ever had for the event, with several newspaper articles and even a video segment on the local news leading up to the event. That helped bring in more spectators than we have ever had in the past, many of which were very interested in learning how to train agility! What a fantastic way to introduce people to the sport of dog agility.
A personal highlight for me was the “Photo with a Marine” pledge made by Karen Kelly in honor of her late father who was also a Marine. Karen pledged $5 per dog for every dog that had its picture taken with GnySgt Floyd. The stories about her father, Vern Brintzenhofe, were inspiring and amazing and it was such a fitting tribute to her father. This will now become an annual pledge, but with a challenge going forward. If you donate $5 to have your picture taken, Karen will then match it in honor of her father.
The pictures with Santa were also very popular and quite entertaining at times. What a great sport our Santa was with all of the dogs.
All in all, we collected about 6 boxes of toys and over $17,000 from our entry fees, donations, raffle proceeds, record food sales, donations from pictures, the Toys for Tots Weight Loss Challenge, and Addicted to Agility’s Exchange-A-Q Ribbon program.
It takes an Army of Elves to pull this event off and it could not be done without a TON of support from everyone at the trial. First and foremost, thank you to NADAC for being our biggest supporter from day one. Thank you also to all of our great judging corps, all of whom travel at their own expense and waive their judging fees.; Sarah Fix, Chris Nelson, Mike Whall, Ben Philibert, Scott Casino, and Judge in Training Linda Anderson. The trial secretary duties and scoring were once again handled by Tim Spring, and he did his usual fantastic job. Becky Spring was our Food Goddess once again and outdid herself this year with an even bigger and better spread than ever. The raffle was handled by Laura Anne Welch and Shelly Harris. And a special thank you goes to Debbie Olson of Wild Winds Farm for the use of her great facility once again.
Each year this event seems to get bigger and better. We had so much fun this year and we are already working on next year’s event. THANK YOU to everyone who supported us in any way. Christmas will be a special time for a lot of kids because of you! Once again you prove that Santa wears NADAC purple.
Thank you so much!
Ron Y – The Big Elf
