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How big is your club?

With all the talk on here about how down the hunt numbers are i am curious as to how big everyone's local club is. I would just like to see the member numbers, along with number of hunts held and compare that to the number of entries and location within the country. We have a club in southwestern PA, a few hundred feet from the WV border. Usually have a sectional or two and have hosted the Zones twice. We average 25-30 paid members a year with maybe 10-15 of those being active and involved mostly. We host 6-7 UKC hunts a year, and 15ish $KC hunts. Our numbers are down in entry just like everywhere else, but I can't say it has really effected our club in many ways. If there really is too many hunts being held out there like many people say (which im not agreeing or disagreeing) you should see a lot of real small clubs on here with not much in the bank account.

i belong to club in md. at least half the members are from south central pa. it's 10 or 15 miles below the state line. i'm not sure how many members but about a dozen active. we usually draw about 2 cast of each reg and 2 nt ch. sometimes 3 rarely ever 1 cast. which is common among the clubs within a 2 hr drive in any direction most clubs holding 6 or 7 ukc hunts a year. no money hunts close or rqe's

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Mr. Moore I don't want to take your question in another direction but from traveling a little around the country. I don't think there is a clear definition of what a club is. Yes, every Kennel Club has it's requirements to be a club. But I have seen a variety of club styles.

I think the most impressive clubs, I have seen is in the state of IL and IN. I am sure there are many others up north equal to or better than the ones I saw.

The CLUBS are a stand alone building and grounds. That is all it is used for. The Coon Club. The insides are impressive. The Kitchen is impressive and you can feel it is a Coon Club.
I can't imagine the upkeep and work it takes and I can see how these CLUBS might be in financial trouble if attendance is down. The second types of clubs I see are small community type clubs held on rented public land. Such as a community center, community park. Womens Club. In other some other building that is just rented for Coon Club meetings but the expenses is shared mostly with someone else. I have seen hunts at several Volunteer Fire Departments in the South. I have seen hunts at clubs that have a small area set aside on someone's farm or business. Most of the small clubs that share the building with other's then move their larger hunts to a fairground or arena. That is maybe once or twice a year. Then there are even smaller Clubs that meet at someones barn, garage, at the community store.

I am really impressed with the clubs up North. Like all things that time changes. The impressive clubs with overhead will probably be impacted first and the smaller leaner clubs still exist. If all that your use to is the smaller leaner clubs which living in FL has accustomed me to. They are not so bad. But if I came from one of the big two story clubs with a large Family of coonhunters it would be hard to understand and accept. Bottom line, Time and Money changes things and sometimes instead of something big and nice trimming down. The best clubs just close down.

__________________
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"Boss Lights"

There are some real nice clubs in NC as well.

__________________
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When the law of the land becomes unjust outlaws will rise to take their place in history.

I'm not a member of a club here anymore. I was at one time. I'll guide a cast at a club that's 20 miles from me if I get asked to. But I won't be a member of another club for a long time.

__________________
Eric DePue
Hill Country Kennels Itty-Bitty
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And
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Gone but not forgotten

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Mr. Conkey I take it the clubs in Illinois you were impressed with are not central Il. They are pathetic at best.

My home club has its own building and about 25 members, about 4 of them help with anything. Another one 30 min from me has its own building and has about the same amount of members. The funny thing is they are 30 min apart and none of the members belong to both clubs.

What you will find is a lot of the UKC clubs have a actual club with members. The PKC 'Clubs' have no members and one guy runs them out of the best place he can. I went to one in TX that held their hunts at a dairy queen. Those clubs are the ones that pop up and have 36 pkc hunts a year and are spreading us way to thin.

__________________
Michael Rosamond
Sunspot Lights
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quote:

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Originally posted by pamjohnson
i belong to club in md. at least half the members are from south central pa. it's 10 or 15 miles below the state line. i'm not sure how many members but about a dozen active. we usually draw about 2 cast of each reg and 2 nt ch. sometimes 3 rarely ever 1 cast. which is common among the clubs within a 2 hr drive in any direction most clubs holding 6 or 7 ukc hunts a year. no money hunts close or rqe's

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__________________
Michael Rosamond
Sunspot Lights
936-827-6309
http://www.sunspotlights.com/
When brightness matters!!

Home Of:
PKC Ch, Grch Grnch 2008 Tx state champion They call me Crazy Betty

PKC SCh CH Grnch They call me Howler too

quote:

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Originally posted by Chuck Allen
There are some real nice clubs in NC as well.

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HomeMade Kennels
Newton N.C
2010 SETWA BREEDER OF THE YEAR!!
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Cedar Grove, North Carolina has a real nice club.

We went to a Blue Grass Festival at the Venango Coon and Fox Club 2 yrs ago. They had a nice club house, grounds with camping for RVs, and a pond for water races. I asked a few people about events and they told me to talk to Jim the President. I finally found him;
he told me they don't have coonhound events. They have 150 members...he didn't think anyone owned a hound and wouldn't take one if u were giving it away.

Thats funny rex. I was out of the hunts for 30 years. I bought a dog for my son and nephew to run in the hunts. One night during the week i had to fill in for them due to their work. Loaded up fred and arrived at the wayne county coonhunters association. Parking lot was full. Maybe30 plus trucks and another 20 suvs. I thought man what a hunt this was going to be. As i walked in i could hear music. They were having a square dance with some bluegrass mixed in. Lol. Asked if there was a $kc junt here and was directed out around the corner to a shack where a man was taking entries. Hunted a grand total of 8 dogs. Lol i won my cast paid 60 bucks plus

30x50 8

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Vicki Figg

Glad u won, micooner.

quote:

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Originally posted by joey
I'll be around the Whiteford MD area at the end of the month.

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Our club is the eastern panhandle of WV. Around 20 paid members and everyone of our members pitches in whether the kitchen, set up judging or guiding. We do not have our own building (the club sold the building and grounds in the late 70s due to declining attendance...) but we are lucky enough to use the local saddle club. Last year we had 7 UKC Events, 13 ACHA events and 2 AKC hunts. We hunted 212 dogs, showed 141, swam 36, trialed 22. Everything was up over 2016 except nite hunt entries but we had the worst luck with weather in 2017.

Another club that has about the same members is located in Fulton County PA. We just got the ok there to run UKC in 2018. 9 ACHA and 2 AKC events had 98 dogs hunted and 24 shown. Club has only been around 3 years now.

Also another club in the eastern panhandle of WV that has very little local interest. A bunch of us help out there but it's over an hour drive. 9 acres and a great building along with a pond and woods. 5 UKC events with 46 hunt entries and 30 show entries.

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My dog has never done that before!!!