Collie Club of America Foundation
President’s Trophy

The CHF President’s Award is given annually to a member who has delivered outstanding service to the Collie through a commitment to the Health Foundation. The names on the plaques are a who’s who of Foundation contributors and the award can only be won once in a lifetime.

Presented in appreciation of those who made the Foundation possible
Ralph L. Rickenbaugh, Harold W. Sundstrom, Sarak K. Myers and Alexander F. Draper

2021 President’s Trophy Winner

Every year it is the President’s privilege to recognize the dedication of one Collie Health Foundation volunteer with the President’s Trophy. This is not an easy task as many individuals give so much to the Foundation. This year’s trophy winner has gone above and beyond by giving so much extra time to the Foundation on an on-going basis. Because of her dedication to the goals of the Foundation I feel she is as deserving of this award as those who have received it before her.

This year’s winner has been in Collies for almost 50 years. She has volunteered with the Collie Club of America for years but decided to help out the Foundation Family too, about five years ago. She started her volunteer work behind the auction tables and helping out in the clinics we put on.

From the beginning I knew this person had aspirations to help at the Board level. I told her. you have to work and prove your worth before people will think you’re ready to be a Director. I could see this person was serious because she stepped up to help when we needed it most. As the years went by, I learned she was a retired nurse and educator.

Last year. we found ourselves in need of a volunteer for the very big job of Assistant Treasurer. I knew immediately who we needed to fill the shoes of the retiring volunteer. The job was about to evolve and become more all-encompassing. CHF needed someone who could change with the process. Our winner fit the bill and has gone above and beyond what we expected. Along with this job, she became a committee member on the Educational and Grant Sample Submission Committee.

This busy lady still enjoys showing her Collies under her longtime kennel name, Silverthread. Lately, she has been working her line with this year’s BOB judge, Nancy Anstruther’s line, Tallywood. At this year’s National, she’s working double duty as Nancy’s ring steward and helping CHF tables in her spare time. Why am I not surprised?

If you don’t know who our winner is, it’s the incredible Isabel Ososki. She has taken pride and ownership in her work at CHF. Thank you for all you do and congratulations for being the 2021 President’s Trophy Award Winner.

2020 President’s Trophy Winner

I remember the first time I noticed this year’s winner. She was sitting alone at the CHF auction table busily working on something. I remember saying, “Hi I’m Robette, why don’t you go watch for a while, I’ll watch the table”. She told me her name and said she was SIMPLY fine. I said, “but you’ve been here all morning!” She said she didn’t mind.

A few more years went by and there she was, always helping at the auction table and frequently putting in a lot more time than she was scheduled to do. During this same time, she was remarkably busy handling a major job with the Collie Club of America. Knowing this volunteer was reliable I always kept my eye on her for future possibilities in the Foundation because she was obviously dedicated to the Foundation. I would later find out that she joined the CCA in 1988 and became a member of CHF in 1991. She cared about the Collie and the health of the Collie.

In her Collie life she owned several Collies, roughs, and smooths under the Nordic name. She started in Collies in 1987 and finished her first Champion, Brittany, in 1991. Her passion for health started here with her first champion who could have been a PRA carrier. This person found success with her dogs in the breed ring and worked hard to breed healthy Collies with good temperament.

When I moved back to California in 2004, I started getting to know our star a bit better. Our winner is a refreshingly honest and open person who would give the shirt off her back to you. She became a CHF Corporator in 2014. After I become President of the Collie Health foundation, the Treasurer’s position opened. I started going through the names I could think of and before I got too far along, I thought who I could trust and who could do the job. Her name popped into my head. The job was big then, but I knew it was only going to get bigger! This person gave me little doubt that she would be the best person for job as we moved forward with the foundation. The funny thing was she was interested in the job and is a CPA which I did not even know until my phone call to ask her to be Treasurer. The rest is history.

Our volunteer works tirelessly to put our records in good order and keep them there. We brought the Foundation further along than I dreamed was possible because of our winner’s help. If that wasn’t enough, our winner brought her sister into the Collie Health Foundation Family. Before I knew it, we had a second up and comer with the same devotion.

Why did our winner have to wait so many years for this important recognition? Well, most of it was a plan on my part. I thought it would be nice for her to win it in front of her friends in California. Surprise! If you do not know who it is, please congratulate Karen Anderson!