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It’s that time again, when we all come together to award the top cats and once again we are asking for your help in contributing to make our awards breakfast as memorable as possible. This year we are making a change in the process by allowing you to choose the award you donate for. This will enable you to honor your favorite cat or a friend who you have supported during the show season. To insure that you are able to sponsor your first choice please fill out the attached form and return it as soon as possible. The ballot for the Lifetime Achievement Award is also attached, along with the narrative describing why this person was chosen by the committee to be honored*. There were several people presented to the committee this year, so the choice wasn’t easy, and the members had to deliberate for a long period in order to reach a decision. I also want to thank all those who took the time to submit an application on behalf of people they considered worthy of this award. There will be some good candidates to be presented for future nominations. Also, if you are considering submitting a nomination for LAA next year, please take the time to review the one for this year’s nominee. It is an excellent example of what needs to be included in a nomination. It covers all the criteria expected for an LAA nomination **, and goes further to show exactly why this person deserves the award. Just as a reminder, if you are planning on attending the Annual this year, be sure and place your reservation for the Siamese Breed Council Breakfast. These should be placed as soon as possible, as the size of the room we are given depends upon the number of people who sign up ahead of time. Debbi Stevenson * This year's committee members were Ellyn Honey, Gloria Hoover, and Virginia Wheeldon. |
Nomination of Betty White for Lifetime Achievement Award |
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During her career, Betty White has achieved the kind of success most of us can only dream of in our lifetime. Her efforts have had a profound affect on the Siamese breed, and rare is the breeder who cannot find Angkor Rose in their pedigrees today. From her success with Angkor Rose Siamese through her tenure as a CFA allbreed judge, Betty has shown us all her devotion to the welfare and advancement of the Siamese and CFA. And so I nominate Betty White for the Siamese Breed Council’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Betty easily exceeds the minimum requirements for this award: |
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Angkor Rose was registered with CFA in 1968 A cursory check of the pedigree database on the breed council’s website shows over 30 Angkor Rose grand champions in CFA. (5 required) Three DMs (GC Angkor Rose Kristyne, DM, GC Angkor Rose Shantung of Offshore, DM, and GC Angkor Rose Sweeter ‘n Honey, DM) and one National Winner (GC, NW Angkor Rose Dream Away) for at least four advanced awards (1 required) A longtime member and officer of Gulf Shore Siamese Fanciers and regular member of the Siamese Breed Council. Betty is currently secretary of GSSF, and is currently on the breed council. As a judge and recent board member, Betty is obviously in good standing in CFA |
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Those minimum accomplishments alone merit consideration for this award, but Betty’s career includes more: |
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- Thanks to Betty’s willingness to share her lines, the Angkor Rose cattery has had a profound effect on the Siamese breed contributing to generations of winning cats. Most of today’s Siamese breeders do not have to look far in their pedigrees to find an Angkor Rose cat, and many of today’s top Siamese trace their heritage to Angkor Rose. Here are just a few of the notable Angkor Rose contributions to the Siamese: CH Angkor Rose Allez Vite – a delicate sealpoint male born in July of 1989, Allez Vite is the sire of GC,RW Sawasdee Gremlin of Chimcheeree, DM, CFA’s first lilac point male DM. He is also the sire of three other regional winners and one other DM (GC,RW Koblizek’s Ho’opakele of Mara-Per, GP,RW Geishagoll Whirlwind, and GC,RW Geishagoll Evaleigh, DM). Allez Vite’s contribution doesn’t stop with his direct offspring. GC,NW,BW CSA’s General John Hunt Morgan, Best of Breed in the 97-98 season, and GP,NW CSA’s Southern Sunshine of Waltur are a great grandsons of Allez Vite. Also, 2nd Best of Breed Siamese in the 99-00 show season, GC,RW CSA’s Shenandoah Sunrise descends from Allez Vite. CH Angkor Rose Li’l Snoopy – a sealpoint male born in 1979. Here is what Dee Johnson says about Li’l Snoopy, “Another important acquisition to my breeding program was CH Angkor Rose Li’l Snoopy from Betty White. Betty’s cats were well known for health, excellent color and hard bodies. The Singa/Angkor Rose cross with my other lines worked fantastically well, producing my first Distinguished Merit cat, GC San-Toi’s Blue Horizon, DM, a blue pt. Siamese female. Blue Horizon was the dam of GC,NW San-Toi’s Celebration in Blue and GC,NW San-Toi’s Am I Blu.” Along with Blue Horizon and a handful of other grands, Li’l Snoopy sired a cat named GC San-Toi’s Suzie Q. Suzie is the dam of GC,NW San-Toi Yankee Doodle Dandy of Elsk, DM. Li’l Snoopy has a very prominent place in the San-Toi pedigrees! GC Angkor Rose Pied Piper – a sealpoint male born in 1983. Pied Piper is the offspring of two Angkor Rose cats, GC Angkor Rose Chip O’Honey and Angkor Rose Pipe Dream. His offspring credits are numerous and include a national winner and two DMs. When bred to CH Angkor Rose Cherokee, Piper produced CH Angkor Rose Allez Vite described above. When bred to GC Angkor Rose Kristyne, DM, he produced GC Angkor Rose Shantung of Offshore, DM. His two most famous offspring are GC,NW Angkor Rose Dream Away and GC Cindy Lou Sister Kathrine O’Riley, DM. Sister Kathrine has 10 grands to her credit! The contribution from these cats to today’s top show winners continues. Last season’s 2nd Best of Breed Siamese, GC,RW Maiyah’s Lady Sings the Blues, traces her ancestry to Sister Kathrine and thus to Pied Piper. Last season’s 3rd Best of Breed Siamese, GC,RW MVAble Special Dark, is the great granddaughter of Allez Vite. The Best Siamese from last season, GC,NW San-Toi’s Icing On The Cake is also a descendent of Allez Vite. - Betty has had considerable success exhibiting Siamese in CFA with a pattern of consistent wins from one generation to the next. She has produced generation after generation of Grand Champion cats. For example, her national winner GC,NW Angkor Rose Dream Away has at least one Angkor Rose grand champion in each generation of his pedigree for at least six generations. Another example, GC Angkor Rose Kristyne, DM is the dam of GC Angkor Rose Shantung of Offshore, DM. Kristyne contributed to another special line: GC Angkor Rose Kristyne, DM -> GC Angkor Rose Aztec of Clowntown -> GC Davisiam Divinity, DM. Divinity is the dam of GC,RW Davisiam Dark Diva and grand dam CH Davisiam Miss Money, DM. There are many other examples showing a clear progression of success that have placed Angkor Rose among the elite of top show Siamese catteries. What is most amazing about Betty’s success is that she has always strived for quality over quantity. Valere Hull (CSA) says of Betty’s breeding philosophy “I remember Betty saying of necessity she couldn’t keep more than 10 cats, but if you keep the right ones, those are more than enough.” - No one has done more to promote and advance the Siamese breed outside of breeding and exhibiting than Betty White. Betty has |
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-- Authored numerous articles for Cat Fancy, the CFA Almanac, and the CFA Yearbook . Two of her Yearbook articles were a comprehensive history of the Siamese. Her contributions to the Gulf Shore Siamese Fanciers Quarterly Newsletter are immeasurable! She was the creator and editor of the newsletter from the early 80’s until around 1991 when she asked Valere Hull to be the assistant editor. When her judging responsibilities and job became too time consuming, she turned the newsletter over to Valere but continued to contribute with articles and editorials. -- Served two terms as a Director-At-Large on the CFA Executive Board where she chaired the Health committee. While on the board, Betty was a staunch advocate for the Siamese. She unfailingly listened to the majority voice of the Siamese breed council, even on the rare occasion when she was at odds with that voice, and she fought hard to protect our cats from forces that would have our Siamese be just another division of another breed. Valere Hull says “If I had to name one person whom I would call ‘protector of the breed’ Betty’s name is the one that stands out above all the rest. No one I know has ever been so tireless in her efforts for the purity of the Siamese nor in her love of the breed.” -- Served as secretary of the Gulf Shore Siamese Fanciers since about 1990, and she has been the mainstay of the club for over two decades. She was, as noted above, the creator of the Gulf Shore Siamese Fanciers Quarterly newsletter. Gulf Shore Siamese, one of only a handful of Siamese breed clubs, is a major force in promoting the Siamese through shows and publications. -- Served for many years as a CFA AllBreed judge. |
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- San-Toi, CSA, Ardreymanor, Offshore, Chimcheeree, Cindy Lou, Tan-Tara, Geishagoll, Jim-An-Di, Davisiam, Koblizek, Clowntown, these are just some of the catteries that have directly benefited from Angkor Rose cats. Betty has always worked with other breeders to share her lines and her philosophies on breeding Siamese. |
The health of the Siamese is always foremost in Betty’s mind, and so she has taken on the Herculean task of raising $10,000 for a matching grant from the Winn Foundation to fund a research project in Feline Breast Cancer. Breeding and exhibiting have never been enough for Betty, although she has achieved notable success in those areas and Angkor Rose is among the elite of Siamese catteries. Betty has gone further to promote and protect the Siamese by dedicating herself to also being an author, judge, board member, breed historian, club officer, mentor, and health advocate. Few people can achieve excellence in just one of those areas, yet Betty has excelled in all!
The form can be found here.