Biography

I am a life member of the Canadian Kennel Club, and since 1965 have been involved with raising, training, showing and in recent years judging, purebred dogs. I have been interested in dogs all my life, but my involvement with Irish Setters began in 1965. This started my love of showing and obedience.

In 1979 we added Cairn terriers to our family and throughout the years have had a small but successful breeding program. We have successfully raised and shown dogs to Championships and Obedience Titles, with BIS’s and Specialty wins along the way.

During this time I belonged to several Dog Clubs, starting with The Lakehead and ThunderBay Training and Kennel Clubs in Ontario, to the West Kootenay Kennel Club and Tyee Kennel Club in BC. I have held several positions from President to Show Chair. My interest in conformation led me into Judging and I started my first permit in 1992. In recent years, I have had the opportunity to judge across Canada, the US and overseas.

Recently I have been involved with the Cairns in both the Show and Agility rings, and in Pet Therapy with an Irish Setter. I also write CKC Breedlines for Irish Setters.

In my professional career I worked in Health Care as an RN and for 20 years in Hospital Administration. As an Hospital Administrator I gained considerable experience in working with Boards and in the governance and operation of Organizations. During this period I administered diverse groups of paraprofessional and professional staff. I played a 'hands on' role in labour relations
including negotiation, interpretation and management of collective agreements. Other responsibilities included budget development and management, policy development and implementation,and public relations and liaison with other health organizations at local and provincial levels, and with local communities.

I believe my experience within the Dog World and as a Health Care Administrator will enable me to make a worthwhile contribution to the governance of the CKC.