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As my time serving the NAFA Board, either as a Board Member or as Executive Director ends after 8 years, I really wanted to express my appreciation for all the help, and contributions people have made over those years. I am very nervous I will miss someone, so please forgive me if I do.

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I first want to acknowledge and thank all the Regional Directors of NAFA. There are 20 regions in NAFA and each one of them does an incredible job keeping their region working. Aside from the work they do during a weekend and transporting several pieces of equipment to all the events, they spend a tremendous amount between events. There are divisions and schedules to approve, some of our RDs even create both the divisions and schedules. Our RDs assistance with promoting the sport, find clubs for new members and work as liaison to filter information back to myself and NAFA. I truly appreciate all your work, and please thank you RDs as well.

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I also need to thank my wife and family, for their support and putting up with all the NAFA stuff that came up. Their support and understanding were the best. Love you guys.

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Another group I would like to thank is our judges. Our judges are an incredible group that really work hard to facilitate NAFA racing for all of us, and their contributions are so widespread. I am incredibly proud of the work our judges do and thank you for making our sport possible.

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Thank you to my predecessors in the role, Sam Ford and Lee Heighton. Both gentlemen did an excellent job and set a very high standard for the job. I can only hope I left the organization in a good a spot as they left it for me.

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I did have a lot of thank you’s at CanAm, but they bear repeating. It’s a huge undertaking, and there are so many people that helped NAFA and me pull it off:

-?????? My club and teammates that have helped tremendously over the years.

-?????? My setup group of Chad Wahl, John Forseth, Luke Weichmann, Alex Meidle and Justin Bowder

-?????? Dirk Elber and Cindy Henderson for all the hard work getting sponsorship and vendors lined up, which we couldn’t do the event with them.

-?????? Kim Davis for her work on the website and all the time mapping out the crating areas

-?????? Terry McLean for all her tireless work in the Pit Area

-?????? Lynda Mantler for travelling all the way and organizing the volunteers which is always a huge challenge

-?????? Jon Bescher for all his hard work PLUS organizing all the judges for the event.

-?????? Dale Smith who comes every year and mans the Pit Boss area and keeps all our races flowing, I don’t know what we would do without him.

-?????? Dave Thomas and Jeremy Meeler who work behind the scenes getting the networking and APES systems up and running and continue to monitor all weekend.

-?????? Emily Getty and Laurie Wahl who have made sure we always have fantastic awards and prizes.

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I also want to call out a few folks that have helped myself, and NAFA, as well as CanAm.

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Kelly Price, for all the organization and work with the EJSs and shipping and coordination. It’s a thankless job, and she keeps tabs on everything, and handling the UPS screw ups is amazing. Thanks so much Kelly!

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Annie Taylor for all the work she does with Awards. Staying on top of all those awards is a herculean effort, and she pulls it off flawlessly every year.

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Dana Hanson, who was so helpful at CanAm, but worked even harder to revamp our account and books. Dana was indispensable as our treasurer in his 6 years on the board, and I can’t thank him enough.

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Emma Mak, who wears so many hats. She’s done a tremendous job on the website and database support since I’ve been on the board. When Emma isn’t doing those jobs, she also serves as a Board Member and RD in Region 2. I can’t thank her enough for her friendship and support.

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Leerie Jenkin has put in countless hours for NAFA. Leerie has just finished a second two term engagemenbt on the board, for a total of about 13 years of service. ?His support and guidance during my time made the job so much easier. His insight, counsel and friendship during my time was so appreciated.

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John Hendriks, whose friendship, guidance and hard work at CanAm cannot be understated. For CanAm, John helped transform how setup and teared down was organized so that it was much more efficient. He also helped set the stage for a change to our measuring rules, this was an incredible amount of work. He did all this while also serving as RD for Region 12.

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Both Steve Corona, and Jayne McQuillan who served as Chair of the Board during my time ED. I thought we partnered well together, and I enjoyed working with you both. I think NAFA is in excellent hands going forward with both of you at the helm.

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Last and certainly not least is Karen Oleson. We always try and say that there is no single person that NAFA couldn’t function without, but I am not so sure I can say this about Karen. I flat out couldn’t have done this job with her support. CanAm or everyday NAFA support, she is the rock that helped hold it all together. Thank you, Karen! I will sincerely miss working with you.

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Sincerely,

Neil Flood

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On October 30^th, 2022, the Flyball community lost an amazing competitor and contributor far too soon with the passing of Emily Getty. Our condolences are with the Getty family, her teammates, and her many friends who loved her dearly.

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For the past 8 years Emily raced in Region 9 with Fur Fun, had previously raced in Regions 2, 4, and 15, and her presence will be missed across all our regions.? She was an incredible handler and teammate, having raced at the highest level, while always maintaining a down to earth perspective and was always a gracious and respected competitor.

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Each and every year since CanAm II she has worked tirelessly by organizing and providing CanAm competitors the best possible awards and prizes.? She always came through, somehow finding a way to outdo the previous year. I cannot understate how much I’ve appreciated her contributions and devotion to CanAm.? I truly could not have done it without her, and I have no doubt whatsoever that my predecessors felt the same way.

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In her memory, I am honored to announce that NAFA will rename the CanAm Multibreed Championship trophy the Emily Getty Cup. We look forward to displaying the trophy at the next CanAm. I would also like to thank both Kelly Price and Leerie Jenkins with their assistance in getting ?the trophy plaque updated so we could share with Emily before she passed.

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Thank you,

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Neil Flood

North American Flyball Association

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