2018 Phideaux Award Recipient
It is the club's special privilege and honor to recognize the 2018 Phideaux Award Recipient.
This year's Phideaux recipient has been training creatures great and small for many years. This person's association with Spokane Dog Training Club has, like an agility course, had some twists and turns. Our recipient was a member for several years, took a break to train 2-legged family members, and then became active again when those family members grew up and there was more time to spend on the 4-legged family.
Our recipient has guided countless students through our training program, assisting in teaching classes ranging from puppy preschool through Utility obedience. Besides being a versatile and knowledgeable assistant, our recipient has been a "go-to" person willing to fill in when another assistant was unavailable, and has very capably led classes when the instructor was absent. This member has also provided valuable support by checking shot records and helping students register for classes.
As dog trainers, we are constantly reminded that rewards are important for our dogs. This member understands the importance of applying the same principles of providing positive feedback to the human team members. At our trials, our recipient makes sure those enticing trophies are ordered and arrive on time, and are attractively displayed, and helps ensure we all get our treats and toys and praise at past and present annual awards events.
One of our club's great assets is having a well-maintained and attractive training building and property, and this person has been a major contributor to that effort. This member was in charge of property maintenance for several years, and put many hours into producing the ring gate stanchions that we now use for our indoor rings at trials.
In the words of a legendary band (and a bumper sticker seen on this person's vehicle), "What a long, strange trip it's been," and we are grateful that our Phideaux recipient has shared it with us. Congratulations to our 2018 Phideaux recipient,
