Wednesday, March 25, 2015

The Buckeye Nation reigns supreme at the Ohio National in November 2014!



Columbus, Ohio – November 7-9th the Nation’s largest poultry exhibition and swap of 2014 took place in Columbus, Ohio with thousands of people attending and nearly 10,000 fowl entered in the exhibition! This year marked the 100th Anniversary of the American Bantam Association (ABA) and this brought in record numbers for the 3 day Ohio National (ON) meet. Not only were the entries of bantams record setting but entries for geese, turkeys, ducks, pigeons and large fowl chickens was equally incredible. 



The American class of Large fowl was well represented with record numbers of Rhode Island Reds, White Rocks, Dominiques and Buckeyes to name a few.  The Buckeye class was one of the largest groups of Buckeyes assembled in modern times with nearly 70 entries overall.  The American Buckeye Club (ABC) had several members from ALL over the USA with entries as well and lots of folks came out to support their club.

In addition to the birds being displayed the American Buckeye Club had a display table that received a great deal of traffic and visitors from all over the USA and Canada.  Nearly 100 new members were signed up during the event and many more sent completed applications afterward as well.  All three days were very busy for the ABC directors, family and members who worked the table and show.

The ABC had several raffles and prizes that were awarded at the show and that also contributed to the crowds around the table each day!  The BIG GRAND PRIZE was the enormous Gift Basket, valued at over $200, assembled by ABC members and directors which overflowed with a number of great items.  When the raffle concluded Robert Rhodes of MA was the winner of the raffle and took the basket back to New England!  A fitting win to a man who has been a legend in the Buckeye community for many, many years.  Robert Rhodes has been breeding and keeping Buckeyes perhaps longer than any other Buckeye breeder alive and his son has now stepped up to keep the legacy alive and well.

No poultry event as large as the ON with a huge gathering of Buckeye enthusiasts would be complete without giving away some Buckeye birds. This year, ABC President Joe Shumaker provided a Trio of Buckeye Bantams for one lucky winner and that winner was Dawson Latham of Lima, Ohio.  Young Mr. Latham is a Junior exhibitor of Buckeyes and other breeds who is also a member of the American Buckeye Club, congratulations to Dawson!




Finally, we want to thank everyone who came out to the Ohio National and helped the ABC kick off our membership drive for 2015 and beyond.  The ON is a great place to visit, meet new friends and visit with long time friends as well, it’s a place to share info and buy or sell a few birds that might produce the next season’s big winner!  With the launch of a new board of directors the ABC is poised for tremendous growth and with well over 1100 members in the club we expect great things in the coming years.


 

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