Georgia Region 2011

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=82 BGCOLOR="#003333" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>Georgia Region</B></FONT><B>     |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Georgia Region"><B>home</B></A></div> <div> back to<B>  </B><A HREF="id20.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Trial News"><B>Trial News</B></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#003333" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <div>                                                   </div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=398 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#006633" TEXT="#F7F7FF"> <bR> <bR> <div> <B> </B><B>Georgia Region Championships </B></div> <div> <B>March 19/20, 2011 </B></div> <div> <B>4 Star Plantation, Elberton, GA </B></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwbVXCmjBlc" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwbVXCmjB"><I>Click Here for Video of 2011 Region Trial</I></A></div> <bR> <div> <B><IMG SRC="2cbfdfd0.jpg" border=0 width="765" height="509" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></div> <bR> <bR> <div> Danny and Nancy Brownlow volunteered their beautiful country home and grounds for our region championships and they didn't need to wait long for an answer! Home to national trials and numerous local trials, 4 Star Plantation has all the amenities for the bird dog community. President Ricky Gunnyon jumped on the opportunity and we all showed up for a weekend of fun. </div> <bR> <div> Saturday dawned clear and warm and ended up HOT! We saw temperatures approaching 90 degrees in the afternoon. The dogs hit the water barrels every chance they could and, I must admit, that pond was looking pretty good to this old man. (If I could have had a time out, I would have waded in!) The judges, Eddie Pierce and Nolan Huffman, stayed cool throughout the trial, though. The bird planter, Kevin Johnston, did an absolutely outstanding job. I don't think one bird left the field the entire trial and you could guarantee those planted birds were in the field. </div> <bR> <div> By the end of Saturday, twelve dogs made the cut to Sunday. We adjourned to the clubhouse for our Annual Meeting and awards banquet. Ricky Gunnyon stepped out for a minute, so we re-elected him President. Stan Perdue made the nomination, so we made him Vice President. Angie Healan can read, write, and count, so she's the Secretary/Treasurer. That little tidbit of officiating complete, we handed out some awards. Rookie of the Year went to Bobby Chastain. Sportsman of the Year went to Dale Aldridge. The Scott Clark Award went to the entire Thornton Family, without whose support and hard work, this region may have ceased to exist. Judge of the Year was awarded to Jeff Keck. Most Improved Dog went to Keith Howard and "Sadie". High Point Female was "Sadie"/ Keith Howard. High Point Dog of the Year went to Ricky Gunnyon and "Sky".</div> <div>  </div> <div> During the night, storms rolled through and the rain was continuous. The next morning, the cool air stayed around as the clouds cleared. The wind picked up and the humidity dropped. A high of only 60 degrees was a welcome relief to the heat of the day before. The dogs came off the line with an extra spring in the step and we saw some great dogwork close to the gallery. Almost every brace resulted in a split field, with only a few points separating the dogs. The final six dogs advanced to 3 more braces, with the high point 2 dogs running a final one hour brace. At the end of the day, Jeff Keck and Tripp were declared 2011 GEORGIA REGION CHAMPIONS! Dude and Corey Perdue, 2nd. Georgia Boy and Bobby Wheat, 3rd. Bubba and Bobby Wheat 4th. Mickey and David Healan, 5th. Chip and Bobby Chastain, 6th. </div> <bR> <div> We want to give a special thanks to our fine judges from the South Carolina Region, Eddie Green and Nolan Huffman and, also, our bird planter, Kevin Johnston. Another special thank you to Nancy and Danny Brownlow for the use of their spectacular plantation. Without you, it will not happen! </div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="2cd65980.jpg" border=0 width="613" height="408" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </td> </tr></table></body>