Welcome to the Junior's section of the A.S.S.A.

This section is intended to keep Juniors interested in the Shetland Sheepdog up to date on upcoming events and scholarships.

On this page you will find information on scholarship information, and Westminster/Eukanuba sponsorship. The scholarship and sponsorship awards are funded by the A.S.S.A. Foundation, through the generous donations of A.S.S.A. members and the sheltie fancy. We also need your input and feedback on the website and information you find here. It would be great if juniors would provide us with news and photos of themselves. You can support the juniors by sponsoring a juniors’ trophy at the upcoming National. Please contact Jennie Hynes for additional details.

If you would like to help support the Junior Program you can do so by sending a check to:

Al Bianchi, Treasurer
A.S.S.A. Foundation
500 Millstone Road
Chesapeake, VA, 23322-4367

Make check payable to: A.S.S.A. Foundation, with notation that the check is to go to the Junior Showmanship Program.

ASSA JUNIOR SHOWMAN SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM

Scholarship Criteria
Juniors - please be advised that the statistical source for determining rankings and sponsorship eligibility, Junior News and Views (http://www.jnewsandviews.com) is experiencing financial difficulties and is not available, therefore, we must rely on you for assistance. We will need you to submit your show records as of August 1 of each year. Remember that only shows in which you competed with a sheltie count and you must show a sheltie if you are sponsored. We will compile rankings based on your records and our own research and will post those rankings on the ASSA web site in the Juniors section. Submitt your application to:  Meredith Hector, 1100 SE 128th Dr., Davies, FL 33325. If you have any questions please contact her at Meredith Hector or call her at 954-593-2324

All other submission and selection criteria remain the same and appear below:

WHAT: $2,000 college scholarships (to be applied to undergraduate studies) for the children of A.S.S.A. members in good standing. The number of scholarships will be determined by the number and quality of applications received and the funds available through the A.S.S.A Foundation. Typically two to three scholarships are awarded each year.

WHO: High school seniors and undergraduate college students (age 17-24) who are involved with Shetland Sheepdogs and in any venue within the sport of pure-bred dogs.

To be eligible, students must be the child of an A.S.S.A. members in good standing and already be enrolled in college or must be a high school senior who has applied to, and been accepted at an accredited institution of higher education (any two or four year school) at time of application. Applicants should have an average grad point average of 3.0 or higher.

HOW: Simply complete the application form and submit four (4) copies of the application and all supporting documents (official transcript, letter of recommendation, personal essay).

DEADLINE: no later than August 1 of the current year

SELECTION: Scholarship recipients will be selected by the A.S.S.A. Junior Showmanship Committee
(Sondra Mauzy, Marjorie Tuff, and the chair). The committee's decision will be based primarily on the strength of the applicants personal essay and their letters of recommendation. Grade point average and participation in community service and extracurricular activities will be secondary selection factors. Please note that the President of the A.S.S.A. and the members of the A.S.S.A. Junior Showmanship Committee cannot serve as references for scholarship applicants.

WHEN: Fund decisions will be made, and applicants notified of the decision no later than September 30,of the current year. Scholarship monies will be awarded to the applicant and should be utilized for college related expenses (i.e. tuition, books, housing, meal plans).

Scholarship winners are asked to submit a brief report to the Junior Showmanship chair, by March 1, of the following year, detailing how the scholarship monies were used, and the impact those monies have had on their educational experience.

Download Application

SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS

2011

Shaina Goldberg
Atana Mauzy of Deer Park, WA

2010
Morgan Parisek of Elgin, IL
2009
Leah Escalante of Madison, WI

ASSA SPONSORSHIP TO ATTEND WESTMINSTER OR AKC/EUKANUBA INVITATIONAL

The A.S.S.A. will provide three (3) $500 sponsorship to the first ranked Open handlers (Junior, Intermediate, or Senior) - one from each of the three A.S.S.A. geographic zones (East, Central and West) based on the junior showmanship statistics complied for the Junior Showmanship Awards as of October 11 of each year for Eukanuba and as of December 1 of each year for Westminster.

In the event the first ranked junior in A zone does not qualify for Westminster or AKC/Eukanuba Invitational entry (qualifications for each show appear below), the second ranked junior in that zone will be sponsored if he/she qualified for Westminster or the Invitational. Only the top two ranked Open handlers in each zone will be considered. If none of these six individuals is qualified for Westminster entry, no sponsorship will be awarded.

20112

Tanner Clark
Samantha Heiser

Holly Pemble

ASSA JUNIOR ADVISOR PROGRAM

The ASSA is pleased to announce a new Juniors Advisor program. Modeled after the Judges mentoring requirement, to ensure that individuals working with juniors are held to a similarly high standard. Juniors' advisors must be ASSA members and may perform a variety of activities, including but not limited to: sessions about care, grooming, handling, breed knowledge and breed history. Such activities could take place at shows or around local club meetings and will only take place in public settings with full parental knowledge and approval.

Juniors' Advisors meet ASSA's qualifications to provide advice to juniors. Please contact any of the advisors listed below to arrange a session. ASSA advisors agree to:

* use ASSA materials when advising

* keep the tone positive and objective when advising

* concentrate on virtues rather than faults when discussing dogs

* share their knowledge and experience in such a way that it inspires young people to learn more about the

Sheltie not to use his/her status as an ASSA advisor for self-promotion or advertising in any way

* conduct himself/herself appropriately as a representative of ASSA

To find out more about the requirements to become an ASSA Juniors Advisor or to make an application, download the application form here. Juniors you are responsible for taking the initiative to contact potential advisors with skill sets that meet your needs. If you need assistance to find a suitable advisor, the juniors committee will work with you to suggest match ups. The list of eligible advisor list will be published and updated here on the ASSA website as a resource as it is for Judge's mentors.

JUNIOR EMAIL and FACEBOOK GROUP

** Email Group **

There is a new Yahoo group for juniors, Shelties_Juniors is a resource for juniors (age 17and younger) exhibitors of Shetland Sheepdogs in any AKC venue - conformation, junior showmanship, obedience, agility, herding, tracking and rally. It is a source of peer networking an support a place to share accomplishments, meet fellow juniors, and ask and answer questions related to exhibiting and caring for shelties. The list is member-moderated. Parents and guardians of current juniors and former junior handlers are also welcome to join this group. To join go to sheltie_juniors-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

**FACEBOOK GROUP**

To join the Facebook group just go to your own facebook page and do a search for ASSA Juniors.

If you have any questions on either group contact Sondra Mauzy sondra@cbnorth.com