MY FIRST GRAND CHAMPION!! Thank you koi-bito members!!

[Louie]

What a wonderfull feeling !!!! Thanks for shareing with us in your excitement your Kujaku is very worthy. Louie

[Brutuscz]

Today was the awards ceremony...I had a great time. Here are some pictures from the show. Thats me with Karen Pattist and Art Lembke getting the GC award. I also have a picture of Bill receiving an award. Also my wife and Daughter enjoying the day. I have to say...my first fathers day, and I don't see how it could have been any better!!!

Art and Nicole Lembke were really wonderful. Excellent explanations of all decisions. All shows should be this way (but most are too big). They explained some mistakes I made in preparation, and things I should have done differently.
When I went to accept the award for Best Shiro Utsuri..Art had me laughing. He said it was an excellent shiro utsuri...now stop feeding color food and don't screw it up!!! Absolutely...Yes sir!!! That was a big mistake I made...turned both SU and kumonryu a little pinkish/yellowish. I wont make that error twice. The advice was great from both of them.
I also wanted to thank Bill...He helped me bag up my fish. It would have been brutal without him!! Really a great guy!!!

[Tamianth]

Congrats on the win!!!

[lypope]

Congratulations on your wins - especially the Grand Champ! That's quite an accomplishment, and now you're on the road to complete insanity...

Listen to Art; he's priceless. And yes, Bill Story is a very special and helpful fellow!

And I just have to add: ADORABLE BABY!!!!

[wcstory]

Here's the results for the New England Water Garden & Ornamental Fish Show

The North East has such a small percentage of pond owners with "Koi" ponds that it is hard to hold a "Koi" show. The Pioneer Valley Club did a fantastic job of balancing the regional demographics with their vendors, the exhibits and competitions. They moved the show to a fantastic new venue that really complemented the show. The new venue appeared to bring in a LOT more foot traffic and it looks as if the vendors did well. Remember it's the vendors and sponsors that pay for these shows and I did my part to support the vendors. I won't mention how well I supported the vendors because the WONDERFUL & sweet wife reads my posts from time to time.

It was the first time I had the chance to attend a show that was judged in a teaching format. Art and Nicole discussed their judging decisions with the show attendees as they went along. All critique was done in a constructive manner. I welcomed my chance to hear the good points of my Koi and their faults also, everyone I talked to felt the same.

Helping with this show I took on a new task and helped with the computer entry part of registration as well as the photography. Nicole was a great help with answers when we got stuck. Everyone should make a point of walking in and saying thank you to the people doing registration it is VERY demanding in a mental aspect. (No wonder I had trouble)

Again my hat goes off to Roc, Karen, Tim, Mel, Bruce and everyone that poured their heart and soul into the show to make it a success.

While I don't pretend to understand the goldfish varieties or judging criteria, there were a bunch of goldfish at the AGA sanctioned show. The Pioneer Valley Aquarium Society and AGA members did a fantastic job of setting up and running their end of the event. Again the heart and effort is what made the show shine.

It was great to see my online friends and meet new ones - Robert aka/ Brutuscz and many others.

Most of the photos are uploaded to my pBase account at new_england_koi_show Photo Gallery by wcstory at pbase.com

Take care and hope to see everyone again in Westminster, Md at the MAKC show in September. Sorry for the shameless plug, but I'm Co-Chairing. Will have to see if I can take a long lunch and run over to the Potomac ZNA show.

Take care,
Bill