Hi, group.
Just a short history of the special awards that can be earned in NADAC. We started our Special Awards program as "I" want to acknowledge those that have acheivements with their dogs that are a combination of many classes....... that says something that is above and beyond the individual qualifying runs.
Agility flourished and all was well... then the awards started getting to be more and more as NADAC grew and grew, but that was good too!! Then the costs started to get out of line and we started doing some research.... we changed awards companies and our yearly savings the first year after the changes was $86,000!! Life was good and the awards program continued onward! There was a LOT of complaints when we switched companies because the awards were now "different" and didn't match with the older awards. It took a couple of years and everyone was happy again... well, not everyone... some people quit NADAC because their awards were different and it upset them.
We continued and the number of people in NADAC grew and grew and with it the awards numbers grew and grew. Life was good. Then the economy started to take a dump, but even though entries started to drop, the cost of awards started to increase... awards companies needed more money for the awards, engraving prices increased and postage went sky high. In 2007, when it came time to process awards, I took out a second mortgage to cover the awards and the postage.... life is good.... In 2008, entries dropped more and costs increased.... so we re-financed the mortgage and continued onward. When 2009 rolled around, I borrowed $32,000 from a friend to cover the postage for the 2008 awards and all was good. In 2010, I borrowed $28,000 from my mom for the postage for the 2009 awards and we continued onward. For 2011, I borrowed $27,000 to cover the postage from another friend to mail the 2010 awards. I continued to pay off the mortgages and the loans. Then at the end of 2011, I could no longer make the payments owed and no way to take on another loan for the 2011 awards. So we stopped sending awards and announced that the program was on hold. So no awards earned from August 2010 and throughout 2011 were processed. But it was too late and we lost the house but not the bills.... I ended up selling the OK property for $200,000 less than what was owed on it and I refinanced my life so that the bank owns everything and I own nothing.... and I continue to pay off the personal loans from years earlier. And life goes on.
Entries are now climping rapidly and growth is great! So back to processing awards!! Again I had to change awards companies and again there are people who will quit NADAC because the awards don't match previous awards. And yes, there are many, many people who are very upset that they haven't received their awards.
But there is no one more upset than me............ I LOVE sending those awards....... everyone around me begs me to quit processing awards, but it is a huge part of what I am proud of with those that compete in NADAC.... when I spend those weeks looking at those names and seeing those packages going out the door, I swell with pride and a sense of accomplishment that I have created a venue that so many participate in and that they have risen to the levels required for those awards. I am so proud of every dog and handler team who walks into the ring and earns another notch towards one of those awards.
Right now there is no space in the house that isn't covered in awards and medals!! It is beautiful!
I am processing all of the Extended titles medals and they will start going out Monday. I am processing the NATCHes and Versatility NATCHes for all NADAC associates. As soon as those are done, I will start on the Versatility Awards and Triple Superiors for NADAC associates. Then will be the Lifetime Points awards for associates. Then I will finish off the All Around awards, the Superior Versatility awards and the Triple Triples.
The Platinum Speed Stars and the Triple Superior Versatility awards will remain the same as the older style awards.
As soon as those are done, I will start right back over again with the awards for non-associates.
I know that there are people that are upset over not receiving awards. There HAS to be, since there are over 4,000 to be processed right now!! But I currently have 1,300 of those spread around my house so that will help some.
But through some of the tough times in the past year I have come to realize that I can only do what I can and I can't stress over the things that I cannot change, no matter how much I want to!!
I WILL get the awards all completed and stay up to date once done............ I have learned many things and during 2013 I will have all of my personal loans paid off. We will never recover from the loss of the OK property but the burn from that will continue to lessen as time goes on.
Bottom line, I will do what I can and I do NOT want to ever discontinue the awards program,.......... it is so much of what makes me feel so good about NADAC and so proud of the dogs and handlers within it.
Thanks to everyone for their patience while we get back on our feet and learn how to walk and then run again with our awards program!!
Sharon
