African Love Bird Societ Exhibitor Mentorship Awards
By Blake Ma
--> (This article was featured in the Oct/Nov/Dec 2006 issue of Agapornis World)
This is the first year that the Exhibitor Mentorship Awards have been given at The National Cage Bird Show. The Awards this year went to 3 very special people. This award is presented by exhibitors in appreciation for outstanding encouragement, support, and advice to fellow Exhibitors. This year’s awards were sponsored by Jessica Miller, Blake Ma, Kera Groves, and Kim Frievald.
A mentor is someone who truly gives selflessly, knowing full well that the birds, the advice, the support, and the encouragement that they impart may very well come back and be competition for them on the show bench. It really shows a true sense of dedication to exhibiting and to The African Love Bird Society. These 3 people have encouraged, given top quality birds, and have made us feel like a part of their bird family, and welcomed us with open arms. They were there to tell us not to give up when we came home with no ribbons and were there to congratulate us when we took our first Best Novice Award. The bottom line is that without their encouragement and their support, none of us would be Exhibitors today. We wanted to say THANK YOU and for them to know that the time and effort they spent with us and continue to do is very much appreciated.
At the 2006 Nationals in Schaumburg, IL, this award was given to 3 people. We know that there are others out there who have taken the time to support and mentor other newer Exhibitors, and we would like to encourage other Advanced Exhibitors to continue to do the same, but these 3 people are the ones who have made the most impact on our exhibiting from day 1, and one day we hope to show the same type of caring and patience to a Novice that these Exhibitors gave to us.
The Exhibitor Mentorship Awards were awarded to Linda Brandt, Doree Bedwell, and Linna Reusmann.