The IFC and The Forum at the Falls

[Nancy]

The needs of the ferret community are changing. While there are
several excellent organizations in the community, none of these organizations have the singular goal of education. This is one of the most important aspects in the ferret community now, as ferrets are gaining in popularity as companion animals. As they gain in popularity, the problems associated with this increase. The number of abuse cases increase. The number of large scale rescue operations increase, and the threat of ADV hangs over our head. The need for education is greater now than it has ever been in the ferret community.
Fortunately, in the ferret community, we have a deep well of
information sources to draw from. We have some of the best veterinarians in the world working on ways to protect our ferrets and improve the quality of their lives. We have people pushing laws through to get our ferrets the same protective rights afforded to cats and dogs. And we have people capable of executing a large scale rescue operation with the speed and precision required to remove the animals from harm.
We need to be able to draw upon the knowledge these people possess to not only educate ourselves, but to aid us in educating the new ferret owner.
It is only through education that we will ever be able to improve the quality of life for ALL ferrets.
With this is mind, the International Ferret Congress (IFC) has been
born. The primary goal of the IFC will be to provide and promote a series of educational forums including the 2003 International Ferret
Symposium-which is currently in the early planning stages. Possible speakers have been contacted and locations are being researched.
It is our hope, that the IFC will fill a need in the ferret community by not only offering educational opportunities, but also by promoting unity among ferret owners. Myself, Julie Fossa and Linda Iroff want the lines of communication to remain open in the ferret community. We will be available to listen to the needs of the community and we will be guided in this effort by advisors such as Troy Lynn Eckart and Sukie Crandall.
We will also be drawing on the wisdom of Bill Gruber, Bob Church and a host of other leaders in the ferret community.
In addition to the International Ferret Symposium, we will be hosting a series of educational events each geared toward providing ferret owners with information relevant to issues occurring in the ferret community today.
The first of such events will be 'The Forum at the Falls' on Sept 21st 2002, in Niagara Falls, NY. Complete details on this event will be announced in the following days so mark your calendar and be watching for the announcement.
Any comments or questions should be directed to either myself at
whizbang@midohio.net, Julie Fossa julie_fossa@yahoo.com, or Linda
Iroff at symcom@yahoogroups.com.
For Our Ferrets,
Judy Cooke
Co-Director IFC

[buggirl19]

Can you tell me if there are ever any events that you know of in Arkansas? I'm on many message boards and I never see any events in my area.

[Nancy]

Most ferret show have taken place on the east coast--tho they've had a few on the West Coast and in Japan. We've travelled 2-3 states away to attend ferret shows, with the exception of the one year they had one up in my area(LI)--that took a lot of coercing on my part of friends of mine in the ferret org I helped get that one organized. I checked the show/event listings and there's nothing listed that's in your state(or the surrounding ones). What you could do, is check with the local ferret shelters and see if they'd be interested in organizing a small show, maybe a ferret fun day type of event to start with. They usually won't put a major championship show on in an area unless they know it will have a good turn out. So they usually start off with something small. I can check around if you'd like.

[buggirl19]

Thanks! I would really appreiate it. I will ask my vet and look for some shelters. There are only 2 that I know of in the whole state. I guess ferrets are not that popular here. I only have one ferret (petstore/Marshall) but when ferret math strikes I will be going to the shelters.

[Nancy]

Linda Iroff <Linda.Iroff@OBERLIN.EDU>

Subject: Forum at the Falls presented by International Ferret Congress The International Ferret Congress is pleased to announce the "Forum at the Falls", to be held Saturday, September 21, 2002 in Niagara Falls, NY.
The Forum at the Falls is a one day event with educational sessions, table topics, and plenty of time for socializing and sightseeing with ferret friends.
Featured sessions include Alicia Drakiotes on "Building Better Local Laws for Ferret Protection", and Mary McCarthy and Jeanne Stadmiller on "Alternative Methods in Sheltering".
Tentative schedule (subject to change)

Friday Sept 20
7 pm Informal Meet and Greet, poolside at the Palm Court, Holiday Inn Select
Saturday Sept 21
10 and 11 am Informal Falls tours, meet in Holiday Inn Select lobby
4:15 pm Registration, vendor and raffle tables open
5 - 6 pm Mary McCarthy & Jeanne Stadtmiller
6 - 7:15 pm Buffet dinner, table topics
7:15 pm Raffle
7:30 - 8:45 Alicia Drakiotes

Registration includes all sessions and a buffet dinner. Registration fee by August 1 is $35. Registration fee after August 1 is $42.50. Deadline for all payments is August 30.
The Forum will be held at the Holiday Inn Select. You must contact the hotel directly for reservations. There are many other hotels with a wide price range available on both the American and Canadian side.
For registration forms, please contact linda.iroff@oberlin.edu, and
specify if you prefer PDF or Word format. We will also have information and forms posted to our web site shortly, details will be posted when available.

There will be limited space for vendor tables. Please contact Julie
Fossa, julie_fossa@yahoo.com, for more information.
Also, we'd like to announce the following volunteers for the IFC:

Webmistress: Betty Janner
Publicity coordinator: Renee Downs
Education coordinator: Alicia Drakiotes
Forum at the Falls local coordinator: Linda Galloway
The IFC wants to thank these people and the many others who have already
volunteered their time and skills!
Linda Iroff
Judy Cooke
Julie Fossa
International Ferret Congress
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