What does a Lifetime Membership mean. It is a person that embodies inspiration to other members, sacrifice and commitment to the club and someone that is held in high esteem by all members of the club. In short it is someone who has given exceptional service. It is something our club puts up on a pedestal and proclaims to the world this is who we are.

Exceptional is an interesting word. It is bandied around on a regular basis with the watered down version of a combination of mundane actions that can in combination reach exceptional status. That is poppycock. Exceptional has to be that Exceptional. It can be a single act of service that is so far reaching as to obtain the lofty heights in unto itself or it may be a combination of very high acts that in combination would reach this definition. 

Please find our list of Life Members below and a small blurb on what they have done to obtain the honour and privilege to have been nominated and accepted.

1971 Mr Dan Smith –  

 

1971 Mrs P McLennan – 

 

1974 Mrs P Wilson – 

 

1974 Mrs Marg Wason – 

 

1976 Mr J Meadows – 

 

1984 Mr J Haining – 

 

1987 Mrs Meg Fullerton – 

 

1989 Mrs Joyce Asquith – 

 

1989 Mrs Roma Hodge – 

 

1990 Mrs Marion Jones – 

 

1992 Felix & Christine Kilmister – 

 

1997 Ms Ruby Eggleton – 

 

2008 Miss Lesley Osmotherley – 

 

2008 Mrs Helen Hehne – 

 

2012 Miss Jane Osmotherley – 

 

2013 Mrs Jean E Witte – 

 

2018 Mrs Rhonda Monshouwer – 

 

2019 Mr Kevin Felmingham – 

 

2020 Mrs Janet PALMER – A life member of a club is a person who has gone above and beyond what is considered normal members' duties.  The extra personal time they have devoted/ invested in the club for the betterment of the club over a length of time is recognised by the awarding of life membership.

Janet came to Wangaratta over thirty years ago and her daughter Jess was born here.  As a newcomer to the town and a new mum, she was looking for something to do outside the house and new people to meet.  At the time, she started obedience training with her Heinz variety dog and, after moving away to Warrnambool for a time, moved back to Wangaratta and the WKODC, where she recommenced obedience training with a greyhound this time.

In the years since then, she has become the Black and Tan lady with Dobermans, April, Noah, Thor, Angel, Raine and Pagan and then Manchester Terriers, Rue, Willow, China and Autumn.  This four-legged group have performed in Obedience, Conformation show and Rally O. Many have reached Australian Championship titles.

During this time, Janet has been involved within the club, first as a member training her dogs, then as an instructor for confirmation and also a member of the committee for many years, and is currently one of our vice Presidents, a position she has held for several years.  Janet managed the canteen for a time, ordering goods, arranging officials meals, cooking foodstuffs. A must-try is her chicken and corn soup.

Janet is the show secretary for the clubs' June weekend confirmation shows.  This is a year-long task from organising and contracting judges, arranging the stewards and ticket writers, lodging of schedules to the VCA and also sourcing and purchasing trophies for both shows whenever she sees a bargain.

 

2020 Mrs Marion GRAY is committed to providing time and effort in the pursuit of many very high acts that are not related to any appointments she has signed up for, but have been performed to not only help those club members and the club itself, but have the added unintended benefit of inspiring other members to not only become more involved but to play an active role in the betterment of the club as a whole.

Marion organises group activities like the monthly dog walk to further engage in the community and provide members with a social outing with like-minded dog lovers. She provides scones with home-made jam and fresh whipped cream and any other food and drink that she either feels will be of desire or requested.

Marion has a continual Expression of Interest on the website for those of our membership interested in Confirmation Showing. She arranges a 5-week course when sufficient numbers have expressed their desire for this type of training. She instructs the members on current techniques and through great observation, identifies the weaker areas that need work and assists those members in honing the necessary skills.

Marion has been the 2IC for the Canteen Manager, often stepping up as part of the awesome team that provides fantastic meals and service at the many events we run. She has provided a necessary option for food consumption in the Gluten Free and Vegetarian range of meals she has provided. She has been a significant contributor to the canteen, even at the sacrifice of her own time.

Marion has without question hosted judges and Internationally Acclaimed Speakers for the many trials and shows we run. The Airbnb she has unwittingly provided is at the impeccable end of the spectrum for location, amenities and service, opening her door to members to assist when they have long distances to travel. This hospitality is done at her own expense and impacts her everyday life and that of her families without even a murmur of discontent.

Marion has taken a special interest in training beginners, which is one of the hardest groups to train, requiring significant patience and engagement with the members. She continues to support the club in this way every week, inspiring new and existing trainers to try new fun ideas to assist in getting the new members engaged in the training with their fluffies. She also remains a versatile trainer, assisting in other classes when required without issue and introducing similar techniques into those more advanced classes to shake things up and make training fun.

Marion is always willing to put her hand up and assist in any way possible when we have works down at the club grounds. She gets in as much as possible often ensuring a steady flow of food and drinks to ensure all people are adequately fuelled to keep going until completion.

Marion assisted greatly in the 2020 North East Fire Evacuation whereby the club supplied Breakfast, Support and in a lot of cases Consoling. She was critical in helping in the Canteen and even assisted evacuees with the care and housing of their fluffies at a very stressful time in their life.

All of those she did above and beyond the regular activities that a member would be expected to assist with. They were done in sacrifice to time with her loving family and often at expenses not claimed.

Additionally Marion has the one attribute that is in unto itself exceptional. That is her inspiration to other members to give more. Many have never been involved with any club like they are with this one. It is the silent dedication that Marion exudes that has inspired people to change. Marion is a person the club can hold up on that pedestal to proclaim to the world and certainly exceptional.