Heartland Houndsmen Federation
"Showcasing the Heartland's Best in the Upper Midwest"
Steve Fielder on HHF
Wow! It's hard to believe it's only been 9 days since we closed the 2nd Annual AKC Heartland Classic in Tomah. With the AKC Youth World Championship just last weekend, things have been a blur of activity.
I've been working with coonhound events since I was a teenager in West Virginia where I ran water races and field trials for our local club. I've been privileged to work with all three of the coonhound registries, literally attending hundreds, I'm sure more than a thousand coonhound events in my experience.
I've never met a better group in terms of dedication and singleness of purpose, nor a group with a brighter future than that of the Heartland Houndsmen Federation. When I see young people like Marc and Erika and the great folks like Sheldon and Phil and the Paulsons putting your hearts into this project, I know that it's going to go way over the top in terms of its future success.
Each of you in the Heartland Houndsmen Federation deserve a tremendous vote of thanks for the awesome job you did with the AKC Heartland Classic this year. It was a first class event from start to finish.
Those of us at AKC know how hard you worked to make the HC a success this year. With 206 entries it was by all standards tremendously successful.
Give yourselves a big round of applause, a big pat on the back, and relax in the knowledge that you are building something good for the many coon hunters and their families in the Upper Midwest.
I want to thank each of you that guided a cast, helped on the committees, judged in the hunt or show, and especially to Marc Brogan, Erika Froeming, and Sheldon Swenson for their leadership. We appreciate the show judges Bonnie Casner, Jeff Farthing, Nevin Vrieze, and Teri Poziombke for coming to Tomah and judging the four shows there. We appreciate Dr. Tim Hickman for coming over from Iowa and judging our Final Cast.
From all of us on the Coonhound Events Management Team, thank you! Now get some rest and know that the job you set out to do was extremely well done!
Steve Fielder
Asst. Vice President, Coonhound Events
