Welcome to the Junior's section of the A.S.S.A. This section is intended to keep Juniors interested in the Shetland Sheepdog up to date on upcoming events and scholarships. If you have any comments or suggestions on making this section more helpful to you please contact:
A.S.S.A. Junior Showmanship Chair
Meredith Hector
954-472-7945 or ilemist2@hotmail.com
On this page you will find information on activities at the upcoming National, scholarship information, and Westminster sponsorship. The scholarship fund and the Westminster sponsorship are funded by the A.S.S.A. Foundation, through the generous donations of A.S.S.A. members and the sheltie fancy. We also need your input, feedback, on the website and information you find here. It would be great if juniors would provide us with news and photos of themselves.
If you would like to help support the Junior Program you can do so by sending a check to:
Al Bianchi, Treasurer
A.S.S.A. Foundation
500 Millstone Road
Chesapeake, VA, 23322-4367
Make check payable to: A.S.S.A. Foundation, with notation that the check is to go to the Junior Showmanship Program.
ASSA JUNIOR SHOWMAN SCHOLARSHIP
These scholarship monies are provided through the generosity of the ASSA Board and contributors to the A.S.S.A. Foundation. Please consider contributing to the A.S.S.A. Foundation fund today. We also encourage you to support the juniors program by sponsoring a juniors’ trophy at the upcoming National. Please contact Jennie Hynes for additional details.
ASSA Foundation has granted a $1000 scholarship to Megan Nelson of Cheshire, CT in 2007.
Scholarship Criteria
Juniors - please be advised that the statistical source for determining rankings and sponsorship eligibility, Junior News and Views (http://www.jnewsandviews.com) is experiencing financial difficulties and is not available, therefore, we must rely on you for assistance. We will need you to submit your show records as of October 11 of each year I will need to receive those records NO LATER THAN OCTOBER 31 of each year. Remember that only shows in which you competed with a sheltie count and you must show a sheltie if you are sponsored. We will compile rankings based on your records and our own research and will post those rankings on the ASSA web site in the Juniors section.
All other submission and selection criteria remain the same and appear below:
WHAT: $1,000 college scholarships (to be applied to undergraduate studies) for the children of A.S.S.A. members in good standing. The number of scholarships will be determined by the number and quality of applications received and the funds available through the A.S.S.A Foundation. Typically two to three scholarships are awarded each year.
WHO: High school seniors and undergraduate college students (age 17-24) who are involved with Shetland Sheepdogs and in any venue within the sport of pure-bred dogs.
To be eligible, students must be the child of an A.S.S.A. members in good standing and already be enrolled in college or must be a high school senior who has applied to, and been accepted at an accredited institution of higher education (any two or four year school) at time of application. Applicants should have an average grad point average of 3.0 or higher.
HOW: Simply complete the application form and submit four (4) copies of the application and all supporting documents (official transcript, letter of recommendation, personal essay) to:
Meredith Hector
A.S.S.A. Junior Showmanship Chair
1100 SW 128th Drive
Davie, FL 33325
Phone: 954-472-7945,
email: hector@knightfdn.org or ilemist2@hotmail.com
DEADLINE: no later than August 1, 2008
SELECTION: Scholarship recipients will be selected by the A.S.S.A. Junior Showmanship Committee
(Sondra Mauzy, Marjorie Tuff, and the chair). The committee's decision will be based primarily on the strength of the applicants personal essay and their letters of recommendation. Grade point average and participation in community service and extracurricular activities will be secondary selection factors. Please note that the President of the A.S.S.A. and the members of the A.S.S.A. Junior Showmanship Committee cannot serve as references for scholarship applicants.
WHEN: Fund decisions will be made, and applicants notified of the decision no later than September 30, 2008. Scholarship monies will be awarded to the applicant and should be utilized for college related expenses (i.e. tuition, books, housing, meal plans).
Scholarship winners are asked to submit a brief report to the Junior Showmanship chair, by March 1, 2009 detailing how the scholarship monies were used, and the impact those monies have had on their educational experience.
Download Application
ASSA SPONSORSHIP TO ATTEND WESTMINSTER OR AKC/EUKANUBA INVITATIONAL
The A.S.S.A. will provide three (3) $500 sponsorship to the first ranked Open handlers (Junior, Intermediate, or Senior) - one from each of the three A.S.S.A. geographic zones (East, Central and West) based on the junior showmanship statistics complied for the Junior News and Views website: http://www.akc.org/kids_juniors/index.cfm?nav_area=kids_juniors as of October 11 of each year for Eukanuba and as of December 1 of each year for Westminster
In the event the first ranked junior in A zone does not qualify for Westminster or AKC/Eukanuba Invitational entry (qualifications for each show appear below), the second ranked junior in that zone will be sponsored if he/she qualified for Westminster or the Invitational. Only the top two ranked Open handlers in each zone will be considered. If none of these six individuals is qualified for Westminster entry, no sponsorship will be awarded.
ASSA JUNIOR ADVISOR PROGRAM
The ASSA is pleased to announce a new Juniors Advisor program. Modeled after the Judges mentoring requirement, to ensure that individuals working with juniors are held to a similarly high standard. Juniors' advisors must be ASSA members and may perform a variety of activities, including but not limited to: sessions about care, grooming, handling, breed knowledge and breed history. Such activities could take place at shows or around local club meetings and will only take place in public settings with full parental knowledge and approval.
Juniors' Advisors meet ASSA's qualifications to provide advice to juniors. Please contact any of the advisors listed below to arrange a session. ASSA advisors agree to:
* use ASSA materials when advising
* keep the tone positive and objective when advising
* concentrate on virtues rather than faults when discussing dogs
* share their knowledge and experience in such a way that it inspires young people to learn more about the
Sheltie not to use his/her status as an ASSA advisor for self-promotion or advertising in any way
* conduct himself/herself appropriately as a representative of ASSA
To find out more about the requirements to become an ASSA Juniors Advisor or to make an application, download the application form here. Juniors you are responsible for taking the initiative to contact potential advisors with skill sets that meet your needs. If you need assistance to find a suitable advisor, the juniors committee will work with you to suggest match ups. The list of eligible advisor list will be published and updated here on the ASSA website as a resource as it is for Judge's mentors.
Contact Meredith Hector, chair of the Juniors Committee. 954-472-7945 or ilemist2@hotmail.com
JUNIOR SEMINARS
May 24, 2008
Hampton, VA
Seminar Title: Junior Handling Seminar and Workshop
Sponsoring Club: Langley Kennel Club
Contact: Donna Bruce, donnaeb@gmail.com
757-271-8448
web site: www.langleykennelclub.org
Additional information: No charge, open to all present and future junior handlers. Seminar/Workshop will be conducted in the ring, immediately following Junior Showmanship judging. You will need a dog to participate.
** ASSA Juniors Email Group **
There is a new Yahoo group for juniors, Shelties_Juniors is a resource for juniors (age 17and younger) exhibitors of Shetland Sheepdogs in any AKC venue - conformation, junior showmanship, obedience, agility, herding, tracking and rally. It is a source of peer networking an support a place to share accomplishments, meet fellow juniors, and ask and answer questions related to exhibiting and caring for shelties. The list is member-moderated. Parents and guardians of current juniors and former junior handlers are also welcome to join this group. To join go to sheltie_juniors-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
|
