Plans for
the NESDC hosted 2008 ISDRA Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet, June 13, 14, 15,
2008 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire are coming together and we are very excited!
Speakers to date include
Egil Ellis, 4 time Triple Crown Winner,
4 time winner of Anchorage Fur Rendezvous Open World Championship, 7 time winner
of Open North American Championship, 9 time winner of Tok Race of Champions, and
World Champion, Open Class, IFSS WC Fairbanks. Egil will be accompanied by his partner
Helen
Lundberg
, World champion 8
Dog Class, IFSS WC Fairbanks who is also
the Editor of ISDRA’s official publication “Dog & Driver”.
They will be speaking about how to train and condition their world class
sprint teams.
Distance
racing will be the topic for
Mike
Ellis
of New Hampshire, who, with his wife Sue, has taken a year off from work to plan
and train for the Yukon Quest.
We look
forward to hearing all about their adventures.
Ben Woodard
a current Board Member of P.R.I.D.E, with 30 years experience as a ranger, guide,
ski patroller and 20 years mushing, will address this organization’s value to today’s
mushing community.
Rob Downey,
creator and owner of Annamaet Pet Foods and 2006 ISDRA Gold Medalist in both the
8 and 10 dog class, will speak on how heat stress affects our canine athletes. Rob,
as a grad student under Dr. David Kronfeld at the University of Pennsylvania, studied
canine nutrition as well.
NESDC member
Beryl Bender Birch will share
her extensive experience and expertise in the world of Yoga and how to apply
it to avoid injuries on the sled. Beryl
is the best selling author of Power Yoga and the founder and director of the Hard
& the Soft Yoga Institute. Drivers and handlers alike will be able to benefit
from learning more about this ancient philosophy.
Lastly, our
welcoming committee will be comprised of
Harris
Dunlap
, long time
ISDRA member/supporter, successful breeder and competitor and
Chet Killam, past NESDC Chief Judge and Terri Killam’s dad.
These 2 will be on hand to greet old friends and new, and perhaps reminisce
a bit about the early years of our sport.
Check out
the NESDC website for hotel reservation information and vendor application forms.
(www.nesdc.org - Meeting Details
). The Best
Western Wynwood Hotel (1-800-528-1234) has a block of rooms at a discounted rate
for those attending. Just mention ISDRA. The New Hampshire Seacoast is a popular
tourist destination, so we strongly urge you to make your reservations early. For those who haven’t visited our area,
why not plan to come a few days before or stay a while after the meeting – there’s
plenty to see and do!
Please note: Vendor space will be limited, so we advise
you to sign up early.
The fund
raising items for this event, our 2008 ISDRA tee shirts featuring the event’s unique
logo and our very collectible calendars may be seen on the NESDC website and would
make great
Chris
tmas gifts!!
Please check them out!
For more
information contact Anita Wischinski (blackrivr@gsinet.net) or Martha
Heckman (venturaknl@comcast.net).
See you in June!!
