BUFFALO/NIAGARA 2009
American Dairy Goat Association
105th Annual Meeting and Convention
Adam’s Mark Hotel
Buffalo, New York
October 10-17, 2009
We invite you to put on your best dancin’ shoes and “Shuffle
off to Buffalo” for the 105th annual meeting and convention of the
American Dairy Goat Association. The
convention will be held at the Adam’s Mark Hotel in downtown Buffalo, New York during
the week of October 10-17th.
This event is being hosted by the New York State Dairy Goat Breeders
Association, Inc along with several other clubs and breeders throughout
District II as well as Ontario, Canada.
An ADGA convention is a very
unique event. Throughout the week you
will have the opportunity to experience many educational and informative
seminars and workshops given by several nationally known and professional
presenters and veterinarians, participate in programming geared especially for
youth, experience the Board of Directors meeting, visit the vendor area where
you will find anything and everything related to goats, go through a training
conference process to become a licensed judge, attend breed club meetings,
artificial insemination workshops, cheese and soap making workshops, attend
continuing education programming for the Association of Small Ruminant
Practitioners, attend the Pioneer Program presentation, take planned tours of
several historical and fun places throughout western New York and the Niagara
region, attend the several dinners planned throughout the week, and then, wrap
up the week with the exciting Spotlight Sale!
For many the favorite part of the week is the entertainment and
socializing that takes place where you catch up with old friends and make new
ones from throughout the country………all with the same interest in common………dairy
goats!!
Buffalo is situated in the
westernmost part of New York state, right on the easternmost shores of Lake
Erie and the border with Canada. The
mouth of the mighty Niagara River forms at Buffalo where it flows about 15
miles downstream to “Goat Island” which creates the American and Canadian sides
of one of the great natural wonders of the world………Niagara Falls!! Many have
heard of the legendary daredevils who have tried their luck going over the
falls in a barrel……which still occasionally happens today……hence the theme of
our unique logo! October in New York is
beautiful. It is harvest time when the
days are warm and sunny and the nights are cool and crisp. Its also the magical time of year when the leaves
change their color which makes for a very vibrant and scenic time with the
gently rolling hills that make up this part of the state.
Buffalo is a very historic city
with many places of interest that include the terminus of the Erie Canal, the
inauguration site of President Theodore Roosevelt and the Buffalo Naval Park
which are all within walking distance of the hotel. There are several trendy neighborhoods to
explore including historic Allentown, Delaware Ave, the eclectic Elmwood Strip
and Hertel Ave to name a few where you will find a variety of very unique and
one-of-a-kind restaurants, shops, theaters, galleries, museums, the zoo and
unlimited nightly entertainment. Be sure
you make time to visit the “Anchor
Bar”……..home of the original world-famous Buffalo Chicken Wing!!..........an
experience you surely won’t want to miss!
There are tours scheduled throughout the week that will include trips to
Goat Island at Niagara Falls where you can get out and explore both the
American and Canadian sides of the Falls.
You can take a ride on an old fashioned steam engine on the historical
Arcade and Attica railroad and tour local feed mills. There are other possible tours in the
works. Check out the website for the
latest updates. There are also many
different and exciting historical and fun places to visit across the border in
Fort Erie and Niagara Falls, Ontario but for those wishing to cross the border
into Canada, please remember that you MUST
be in possession of a valid U.S. passport to return back into the U.S.
While the main focus of attending
a convention is the educational and informative seminars that are held during
the day, there is plenty to keep you busy every evening as well. The culmination of the youth events will take
place on Monday night with the YOUTH BANQUET.
The Youth Representative contest will be held at this time as well as
the finals of quiz bowl and youth awards.
Tuesday night will feature the WELCOME DINNER. We will welcome everyone to New York and
Buffalo with a tasty selection of Buffalo-styled cuisine. This will be our theme event as well. Buffalo is well known as a big sports town
with our beloved teams………..the Bills, Sabres and Bisons and we are well known
for “tail-gate” partying. We are asking
everyone who is attending to come to our tail-gate party decked out in their
favorite team apparel. Come dressed in
your favorite team sweatshirts, jerseys and ball caps and show your local pride. Lets see how many different areas of the US
and Canada will be represented! Also
included with the Tuesday night evening dinner we will have the preliminary
General Membership meeting and the 2009 edition of the Pioneer Program
presented by Sheila Nixon which salutes several breeders and herds who have
made an impact with dairy goats over time.
While there is no scheduled dinner on Wednesday evening, we encourage
everyone to get out and explore the city and try out some of our great
restaurants, delis or pizza/wing/sub shops.
We will all gather afterwards for the annual KARAOKE NIGHT dedicated in
memory of one of the most diehard convention goers there ever was and past ADGA
President Lelia Berry who passed away not long after last years
convention. Lets salute and remember
Lelia by bringing out those big feather boas that she was so well known for at
so many ADGA banquets!!! The karaoke
night has proven to be a popular event the last few years so plan to stay up
late and sing your heart out!!!!!
Thursday
night will be the culmination of the cheese, soap, and products judging with
the PRODUCTS RECEPTION. Goat cheeses
from producers all over the U.S. and Canada will be showcased at this event and
when paired up with a selection of local wines from the world famous Finger
Lakes and Niagara regions of New York State will make for a very elegant
evening. The awards from the cheese and
products judging will be presented at this event as well as the auctioning of
the entries from the “Get Your Goat” art competition and the “Flashlight Sale”
of youth art crafts.
The Friday night BANQUET
AND BALL will be the night you surely won’t want to miss. Dig back in those closets and find those
tux’s and ball gowns and come “Dressed to Impress”!!! Many awards will be handed out this evening,
among them, the prestigious Mary L Farley award and several Historic
Herdnames. Now is when those dancin’
shoes will come in handy as we dance the night away to the live band, the
“Earthquakers”!! (www.earthquakers.com) These guys have played for us at several past
banquets and they have proven to be very popular. Don’t miss this night!!
Saturday morning will begin with the wrap-up
of the General Membership meeting and then we all gather to enjoy the CHAMPAGNE
BRUNCH. At precisely 11:00 the auctioneer’s gavel
will signal the start of the SPOTLIGHT SALE!!
Seventeen of the highest quality animals consigned by herds from coast
to coast will be paraded across the stage, in glitter and glam, to be sold to
the highest bidder. The bidding can get
frenzied and the excitement it creates is a great way to close out the week!
No convention would be complete
without an extensive vendor and display area.
Vendors offering everything from trinkets and knick-knacks to supplies,
books, milking equipment, AI supplies and semen to a wide variety of equipment.
will be available. If you are interested
in being a vendor, contact Pete Snyder pgsnyder13@yahoo.com
for a vendor form. Several raffles will
be held as well. One that is sure to be
very popular this year is a “memory quilt” that was hand made by a local Amish
woman and the squares feature logos of many past ADGA conventions. This surely is something that will appeal to any ADGA member. Tickets will of course be available during
the convention or can be found on the convention website for those that aren’t
able to attend.
We rely heavily on sponsorships
to help us keep registration costs down for our attendees. Our generous sponsors are given tremendous
publicity throughout the week. If you
would like to be a sponsor, or know of someone who would, please contact Patty
Davis silverwood_farm@yahoo.com
or Shirley McKenzie adgascm@aol.com for an
application. We are offering mini-sponsorships
this year to breeders at $25 and $50 levels.
Other commercial sponsorships begin at only $100 so no matter how small
or large your business or herd is, you have the opportunity to support the ADGA
convention with your sponsorship.
The Adam’s Mark Hotel (120 Church
St, Buffalo, NY 14202) is a very
spacious facility which includes an indoor pool, a spa, health club, fitness
area, lounge and a first rate restaurant.
There will be nightly entertainment each night for all attendees
featuring a DJ and dance area. Buffalo
and the Adam’s Mark are easily accessible by vehicle via Interstate 90 in New
York or the QEW in Ontario. The hotel is
an easy 15 minute drive from the Buffalo/Niagara International airport which
serves the following airlines: AirTran, American, Delta, Continental, JetBlue,
Northwest, Southwest, United and US Air. Taxi and shuttle service to the hotel
is available for a fee. (Plan on sharing a taxi fare with other convention
attendees to get the best savings). Toronto is a very easy one hour drive along
the QEW for those Canadians planning on attending. The hotel is serviced by a
parking garage with free parking for all registered hotel guests. There is limited outdoor parking on the hotel
property for large trucks, RV’s and stock trailers. Off site parking is available.
Room rates at the Adam’s Mark are
$98.50/night. This special rate is only
available to ADGA members until September
9th. So get those
reservations made today by going to the ADGA website www.adga.org and clicking on the
Buffalo/Niagara 2009 logo and then click on the “hotel information”
option. Or if you prefer calling
1-800-444-ADAM and tell them you are with ADGA for the reduced rates. Don’t forget, the convention registration
fees must be postmarked by September 25th to ADGA to avoid late
fees.
The 2009 ADGA convention promises
to be a great time. The members of the NYSDGBA look forward to welcoming you to
Buffalo and the “Empire State” as you prepare to experience all the educational
and informational sessions as well as the entertainment and social events which
make an ADGA convention a memorable experience for one and all!!!
Don't forget if you are planning on crossing the Border into Canada you will need to have a passport. Passport's can take several weeks to get back, so plan ahead.