Chief Operating Officer John Lyons announces AKC staff promotions as a result of a number of recent retirements in several departments.
Doug Ljungren will be promoted to Vice President of the newly consolidated Companion and Performance Events Department effective May 2, 2012. Ljungren has been responsible for all facets of AKC Field Trials, Hunting Tests, Herding, Lure Coursing, Earthdog and coonhound events. He has also assisted in the development and launch of several new programs including Canine Partners, the Coursing Ability Test and the AKC Therapy dog title program. Ljungren joined AKC in March 2007 and has been involved with Pointing Breed field events for over 30 years.
Curt Curtis, Assistant Vice President of Companion Events, will retire effective May 2, 2012. Curtis was hired in 2005 and oversaw the Companion Events Department including Obedience, Tracking, Agility and Rally events as well as organized the National Obedience Invitational and the National Tracking Invitational.
Robin L. Stansell, Vice President of Event Operations, retired in March 2012 after 11 years of service with the Executive Field Staff and the Event Operations department where he oversaw all aspects of event approval and result recording, including rules, regulations and policies governing them as well as AKC Global Services and the licensed superintendents.
Alan Slay has been promoted to Director of Event Programs from the Information Services Department where he served as Principal Software Engineer. In his new role, he will focus on system efficiencies providing AKC clubs with enhanced services by means of a new online competition management system. Slay will be joining 17-year AKC veteran Director of Event Operations Bobby Birdsong. Events Operations processes all Conformation and Companion event applications and results, computation of the schedule of points for conformation events and supervision of the processing of AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC) results and evaluator approvals.
Darrell L. Hayes, Vice President of Dog Show Judges, began in 1993 as an Executive Field Representative and in 1996 began overseeing Judging Operations and the Conformation Field Staff. Over the years his job expanded to include Judges Education and the Registered Handlers Program. He retired in March 2012.
Pattie Proctor has been promoted to Senior Executive Field Representative responsible for managing the field staff at conformation events. Field Representative Lee Herr, who assisted in both Event Operations and the Judging Department in the North Carolina office during the transition period is returning to the field. Tim Thomas continues his responsibilities as Judging Liaison.
Chief Operating Officer John Lyons announces AKC staff promotions as a result of a number of…