The Garden State Bearded Collie Clan (GSBCC) was formed in August 1981 by several members from the Delaware Bearded Collie Club (no longer in existence). Although membership was relatively small, the club was active throughout the 1980's, holding annual fun matches. Membership increased in the 1990's and the club added educational events, such as herding and agility clinics. The GSBCC Constitution and By-Laws were revised in 1992-93 to comply with AKC recommendations.
The GSBCC is a local affiliate club of the Bearded Collie Club of America. Club membership is drawn primarily from Central and Northern New Jersey.
The Club meets the third Wednesday of every month from March through December. At our monthly meetings we share triumphs, occasionally have guest speakers, plan future events, and generally have a good time swapping Beardie stories and advice over a cup of coffee and a piece of chocolate anything. The meetings are held at the home of one of the members, we rotate locations every month.
In December, we end the year with our Annual Holiday Party. Good food and a fun grab-bag.
In 1995, the club was granted permission by the AKC to hold ``B" sanctioned matches. The first sanctioned ``B" match was held in 1995 and a second ``B" match was held in 1996.
In 1997, the club applied for and was granted permission to hold an ``A" sanctioned match. Our first AKC ``A" match was held on October 5, 1997. We held our second AKC ``A" Match Show and Sweepstakes on September 13, 1998.
In 2000, we held our first Bearded Collie Regional Specialty. It was a huge success! Since then we've had Regional Specialties in 2001-2003. We're planning our next Regional Specialty for August 2004!
2003 marked the first year that the Garden State Bearded Collie Clan offered the Dolores Benzing Memorial Challenge Trophy at our Regional Specialty. Each year, the Best of Breed Winner's name will be added to the base of the trophy.
Every year we try to plan one or more activities for our members and/or their Beardies. We have also hosted Public Education booths at events such as the Bonnie Brae Scottish Games.
We have a monthly Club newsletter (electronic) called Beardie Prints. The newsletter highlights the club activities and in the Brags column we get to hear about what our members and their Beardies (and non-Beardies) have been up to.
