In its endless pursuit to recognize outstanding members of the fancy, The American Kennel Club Lifetime Achievement Awards were established in 1998 to honor our Fancy’s best. The purpose of the awards is to celebrate those individuals whose many years of dedication have led to significant contributions to our sport on a national level.
As in the past, this year’s nominees were selected by AKC member clubs that cast their votes for one nominee in each of three categories: Conformation, Companion Events, and Performance. The three nominees receiving the most votes in each category were selected as the finalists. Member clubs have now been asked to cast their vote for one nominee in each of the three categories. This final round of balloting will close on September 15, 2006. A special presentation will be held in conjunction with the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship in Long Beach, California in December 2006.
The AKC is honored to present photos and bios of the nine finalists who were selected by their constituents in recognition of their exemplary participation in the fancy.
Nominees in Conformation:
Louis Auslander, of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, has had purebred dogs most of his life, and along with his wife, Semi, became a serious breeder in the mid 60s. Their breed involvement includes Miniature Schnauzers, Whippets, Borzoi, Fox Terriers, and Welsh Terriers. Their breeding program provided numerous Champions, including winners of over 50 Groups and several Bests in Show. Louis became an AKC judge in the early 70s and now judges the Sporting, Working, Hound and Terrier Groups as well as Best in Show. His assignments have taken him all over the world and he has judged Best in Show at Westminster, Montgomery County and International Kennel Club of Chicago. In 1982 Louis became the AKC Delegate for International Kennel Club and still serves them in that capacity. With his help, International Kennel Club initiated Puppy Groups and Best in Show, owner/handler Best in Show and many other initiatives.
Louis served on the AKC Board of Directors from 1983 through 1992 and was Chairman for the last five years of his tenure. For seven months he did double duty as both AKC President and as a Board member. Louis was also a founding member of the AKC Museum of the Dog.
As chairman of the Humane Society of The Palm Beaches, and with assistance from AKC, he helped rescue 125 dogs and cats from the Louisiana/Mississippi area during the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, eventually reuniting 30 of them with their owners.
Damara Bolté, of Leesburg, Virginia, has been intrigued by animals for as long as she can remember. She majored in Animal Husbandry at Purdue University and spent a winter in Paris studying Animal Sculpture. In 1955 she became the kennel manager for Bettina Belmont Ward’s show kennel of Basenjis. She was given Betinas Fedha, the foundation for Damara’s Reveille Basenjis. While her more than three decades as a supervisory Animal Husbandman at the National Institutes of Health meant handling and breeding on a limited basis, she managed to handle nine Best in Show winners and two Reveille dogs have won the Basenji Club of America’s National Specialty. Another Reveille dog was the first Basenji to be named a Pedigree Award winner. A long time board member of the Basenji Club of America, Damara is also the current president of Old Dominion Kennel Club of Northern Virginia. She was the AKC GAZETTE breed columnist for three decades and the author of the Hound chapter in The AKC’s World of the Purebred Dog.
Damara served on the advisory committee for the AKC Hander’s program and is an AKC Registered Handler and a member of the Professional Handler’s Association. In 2002 she was honored as the first recipient of the AKC Breeder of the Year award in the Hound Group.
Jane Kamp Forsyth, of Pinehurst, North Carolina, grew up in the show ring. Her mother was a breeder/exhibitor of Boxers and Airedales, and young Jane Kamp handled her first homebred Airedale to Best in Obedience at Boston sixty-four years ago. In her teens she managed and handled dogs for Elblac Kennels (Doberman Pinschers), Grafmar Kennels (German Shepherd Dogs) and Dorick Kennels (Boxers). She became a professional handler and went into partnership with George Pusey. Together, they were America’s top breeders of Boxers for three years. She later joined forces with Robert S. Forsyth, and they soon became dogdom’s most famous husband-and-wife team of handlers. Mr. and Mrs. Forsyth handled Best in Show winners at Westminster, the only married couple to do so.
Mrs. Forsyth was named the Kennel Review Handler of the Year three times, earning her a place in the Hall of Fame. She has won three Gaines Awards, including Woman of the Year, and was inducted into the American Boxer Club Hall of Fame in 2001.
In 1981, after forty-three years, Mrs. Forsyth retired from handling. She is approved for all AKC and FCI breeds, and has judged in England, Finland, Sweden, South America, Puerto Rico, Canada, Italy, and Mexico. Mrs. Forsyth judged four AKC/Eukanuba National Championships including Best in Show in January 2006.
Nominees in Companion Events:
Fernandeze (Wes) Cartwright, of Lake Oswego, Oregon, first became involved with purebred dogs in 1938, breeding Greyhounds. Wes competed first in Conformation, with a Great Dane in the early 50s and helped form Portland Dog Obedience Club (PDOC) serving as President and then as an instructor for nearly 20 years. A number of persons from his classes went on to become successful handlers and judges. In addition to PDOC, Wes was active in Dog Fanciers Association of Oregon and the Dane Club of Oregon. He was founding president of the Oregon Combined Specialty Association and an officer in American Dog Owners Association, serving as its Northwest liaison in legislative matters. In the mid-1950’s, he took his dog training expertise to 4-H. He served on the Oregon State 4-H Advisory Committee for about fifteen years and was co-developer of their dog training program for which he wrote the first regulations.
Wes was among a handful of judges approved for both Conformation and Obedience. He judged 841 shows all around the world before retiring because of failing eyesight.
Wes continues to be involved in the Fancy by mentoring young judges and through his participation in Oregon Dog Judges, Inc.
Lynn Eggers, of Grapevine, Texas, has been judging Obedience for almost 40 years. She first began training with her Miniature Poodle, finished his UD and then trained the first of many Dobermans to a UD title. She is a breeder/owner of numerous Doberman Champions under the kennel name, Foxhall. One of her Dobermans was the top-winning dog in Obedience in 1968. Lynn is interested in numerous facets of the Sport and trained her breed Champion Foxhall’s American Spirit in Obedience, Agility and Schutzhund. She has taught Obedience classes, both independently and for the Ft. Worth Dog Training Club, and served as a volunteer instructor for one of her favorite activities, Obedience classes for children with the Ft. Worth Museum of Science and History.
Club experience includes serving as president of the Doberman Pinscher Club of Dallas and as a past AKC Delegate for the Doberman Pinscher Club of America. In addition, she is a past vice president for the Fort Worth Kennel Club.
Lynn is currently licensed to judge all Obedience and Rally classes. Now, essentially retired, she enjoys judging more than ever – particularly Novice classes, which represents for her the future of the Sport. Spending time with beginners helps to ensure that Companion events will continue to be a truly rewarding experience for both dogs and their handlers.
Marian Mason Hodesson, of Tucson, Arizona, was born in the north of England and emigrated with her family to the United States in 1928, along with the family Collie. They settled in Monrovia, California, establishing the Wilpshire Kennel in the early thirties. First drawn to Obedience, Marian trained and showed Collies, Shetland Sheepdogs, and Miniature Poodles, finishing several dogs in those early years in both Conformation and Obedience. She became an Obedience judge in the 1940s and applied for her first breed in 1963. She is presently licensed to judge the Sporting, Working, Non-Sporting, and Herding Groups. She has judged throughout the United States and Canada, as well as in Mexico, New Zealand and Australia. A charter member of the Canada del Oro Kennel Club, Marian has been a member of the Collie Club of America and Tucson Kennel Club for over 53 and 35 years respectively, serving as Chair in a variety of capacities.
Marian worked with her husband, a veterinarian, for 23 years. Longtime contributors to the Veterinary School Library at the Ohio State University, Marian and her late husband had been working towards an endowment. Marian experienced the thrill of a lifetime when she recently found out that their goal had been achieved.
Nominees in Performance:
Kenneth A. Marden, of Whitefield, Maine, has owned, trained, and bred German Shorthaired Pointers since 1961. Successfully competing under his Crossing Creek banner in field trials, hunting tests, as well as Conformation and Obedience, Ken has finished 12 Champions, all amateur handled. A Field trial judge since 1966, he has judged more than 100 pointing breed Field trials. Ken served as the AKC Delegate for the German Shorthaired Pointer Club of America since 1974 and has been a Director on the AKC Board from 1986 to 2006. He served several terms as president of the Eastern German Shorthaired Pointer Club, and as vice president of the German Shorthaired Pointer Club of America.
In 1987, he was elected president of The American Kennel Club and established the Performance Events department. Under his leadership the department expanded to include Herding Agility, Lure Coursing, Earthdog, and Coonhound trials as AKC events.
Following his three-years as president, Ken continued to serve as a Director on the AKC Board where his experience and knowledge of Performance events provided an invaluable resource. For the last thirteen years, he has held the position of Chairman of the AKC Gun Dog Championships Association, which supervises the annual AKC Pointing Breed Gun Dog Championships.
Mario Palumbo, of Tolland, Connecticut, purchased his first Beagle in 1950 for hunting purposes. Shortly thereafter he learned about Beagle field trials and joined New England Beagle Club, the second oldest club in the country. Subsequently, he joined Nutmeg Beagle Club and served as president for five years. Mario was part of a small group that started Eastern Connecticut Beagle Club in Sterling Connecticut, and was their field trial secretary for a few years. He is also an active member of Little Rhody Beagle Club. Mario was appointed by New England Beagle Club as their Delegate to The American Kennel Club, and has attended Delegate meetings since September 1985. For six years he was on the Delegates Field Trial and Hunting Test Events Committee. Mario also served on the Beagle Advisory Committee for four years, and was president of the Northeastern Federation of Beagle Clubs for eight years. He still participates in field trials and hopes to continue to do so for many years.
In his years in Beagling he has finished more than 20 Field Champions, and has three hounds that he is currently campaigning. Mario also writes articles on Beagling for Hounds and Hunting Magazine.
Carl Ruffalo, of Rochester, Minnesota, has been retriever training, trialing and judging since 1962. He has qualified for 11 Nationals/National Amateurs, trained and handled three Field Champion Amateur Field Champions (AFC) and two AFCs, and become a member of the “Double Header Club” in 1982 by winning an Open and Amateur at the same trial. His crowning training and handling accomplishment was Lucky, FC AFC E-Lynn’s Super Strike Lucky, who was a three-time National and two-time National Amateur finalist and is in the Retriever Hall of Fame with 234 all-age points. Carl is an AKC Delegate for the Minnesota Field Trial Association, Inc. and a charter member for the Snowbird and Watopa Retriever Clubs. He has been active member, including Officer and Field Trial Chairman, for three other clubs and is currently involved in assisting two new clubs that will host their first field trials in 2006 and spring of 2007. Carl is a past Field Trial Chairman for the National Amateur Retriever Championship as well as a past president of the National Amateur Retriever Club.
Judging has been a very important part of his retriever experience. He has judged 101 All-Age stakes (62 Opens and 39 Amateurs). Carl judged at the 1978 National Amateur, and was voted judge of the year by the Professional Retriever Trainer Association in 1975.
Follow Us