2005 AFA National Show Award

AFA HONORS LIFE MEMBER SALLY HUNTINGTON
AS WINNER OF THE 2005 AFA NATIONAL SHOW AWARD

The American Federation of Aviculture proudly presented its 2005 National Show Award to Mrs. Sally Huntington, for the “Best Bird Bred and Banded by an AFA Member” that ranked highest overall in the show. AFA Show Awards Chair Linda S. Rubin presented AFA Life Member Sally Huntington with the prestigious award during the Saturday evening banquet at the National Cage Bird Show (NCBS) in Dallas, Texas. The 57th NCBS was held during November 16-20, 2005 with hundreds of exhibitors in attendance exhibiting all varieties of canaries, finches & softbills, love birds, cockatiels, and parrots.

The winning exhibit, Mrs. Huntington’s superb Black Grey Society Finch, earned both the AFA special show award, as well as Best Finch in Division, the top award presented by the National Finch & Softbill Society, www.nfss.org, an affiliate organization of AFA. The prestigious AFA Show Award is highly coveted by bird show exhibitors because it demonstrates the combined tally of votes from eighteen certified panel judges representing all eighteen divisions of the National Cage Bird Show.

Sally and Vince Huntington, long time members and supporters of the American Federation of Aviculture, are also Life Members of AFA. Mrs. Huntington has been raising finches for over twenty years and is a certified Panel Judge and President of the National Finch & Softbill Society, Inc.

In order to qualify for the AFA National Show Award, exhibitors must fill out and submit an official AFA registration form detailing the name of the species, the exhibitor’s personal band code engraved on their entries closed, traceable leg bands, and their signature as a current member of the AFA. At the close of the National Cage Bird Show, the Scannell tally committee meets with the AFA show awards chair to determine the highest-ranking bird in the show bred by an exhibitor who is a current AFA member. The potential winner’s name is verified in the AFA database during the show to find out whether they are a current member of AFA.

Because the AFA Show Awards Committee became operational late in the year, the award was only available to the National Cage Bird Show during 2005. However, plans are to include the award at both the National Cage Bird Show and the Great American Bird Show in 2006.

For further details on this story, please refer to the article published in an upcoming issue of the AFA Watchbird Journal and the complete story in the June 2006 issue of BIRD TIMES Magazine www.birdtimes.com.

For information on the 2006 awards, check back for updates on the AFA website and in future issues of AFA In Brief. If you would like to help with the work of the AFA Show Awards Committee, please contact the chair, Linda S. Rubin @ LSR@CockatielsPlusParrots.com.