| ILLINI GREAT DANE CLUB HISTORY |
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| HOME MISSION OFFICERS UPCOMING EVENTS ILLINI HISTORY GREAT DANE HISTORY PHOTO GALLERY BREEDER & HANDLERS STUD DOGS LITTERBOX RESCUE 2003 SPECIALTY & SWEEPSTAKES LINKS TRAINING |
| The Illini Great Dane Club was originally chartered as the Greater Will County Great Dane Club on February 2nd, 1982 with the following nine charter members:
Betty Currier Dave Currier Joe Ferrentino Pat Ferrentino Jeff Lawrence Pat Lawrence Barb Renkosiewicz Lynda Renkosiewicz Suzanne Sherwood� � The�Club's first match was an all-breed "Fun"�(Unsanctioned) Match with a supported�Great Dane Specialty on May 5th, 1983. The following December, the�Club�(with the�assistance�of the AKC)�changed its name to the now Illini Great Dane Club. � In January of 1986,�we�were�granted�affiliation with the�Great Dane Club of America. � April of 1988�found the�Club partially�sponsoring�a "Pilot Dog"�(hearing dog) by�covering the�$300+� �transportation fee for the dog's new owner to fly to Ohio for training by the Pilot Dog organization. � From the�Club's inception in 1982 through the year of 1987, the Illini Great Dane Club�held� numerous activities such as�unsanctioned��matches,�flea markets,� banquets, and even marched in the annual Canal Days Parade in Lockport.��.� During that�4+�year period,�we continued to apply for sanctioned match approval from the AKC. � Finally, in July of 1988,�Illini Great Dane club�hosted�its first AKC Sanctioned�B-OB�Match & Sweepstakes.�And, after completing a series of AKC Sanctioned B-OB Matches to the satisfaction of the AKC, we were granted approval for our first AKC Sanctioned A-OA Match in July of 1990�.� � After 10 long years of waiting,�Illini GDC was finally granted sanctioned show status by the AKC, and our�1st Annual Obedience Trial/Sweeps/Specialty Show was held on February 8th & 9th, 1992.��The show weekend was a smashing success with a first-time entry of 17 in Obedience, 90 in Sweeps and 175 in Specialty.��From that point forward,�we have�hosted�our annual Obedience Trial, Sweeps & Specialty�in the Spring.�There has also been�an AKC sanctioned B-OB Match�& Sweeps�every�year in�July. � Within the first�few years of�Illini's�existence, a scholarship�fund�was established�known�as the Illini Great Dane Club Veterinary Scholarship Fund.��The yearly sum of $250.00 was awarded�to a�veterinary student from the University of Illinois Veterinary School. Upon the passing of�charter member Pat Lawrence, the�Club renamed�it to the Patricia�Lawrence Memorial Scholarship Fund. As the years have gone by, we have been able to increase the amount of the scholarship and to date,�have donated thousands of dollars in scholarships to veterinary students at the U of I. � The Illini Great Dane Club will be holding�its 13th Annual Obedience Trial/Sweeps and Specialty Show in��March of 2004.���We�continue to strive�to educate the public�on the Great Dane Breed�with activities such as participation in the breed education contest at the International Kennel Club Show, attending the Bark in the Park outing at White Sox Park, having a yearly booth at�Dog Expo, and�through the internet with our�own�web�site.� In addition, we hold�weekly obedience and��conformation training classes.��A�formal Rescue Committee has been formed.� Our monthly membership meetings are open to the public and�are very informative with various educational topics covered regularly.� � Going forward, we hope to begin new activities to better our wonderful breed while maintaining our high standard of ethics and education.� |