Big Cliff

I'd be happy to help you anyway I can. I have worked with several field dogs and own a GSP; Katiebow's Andy CKC-FDJ,FD, Canadian Show Champion. NAVHDA-NA, UT. Plus a wall full of ribbons and awards. (doesn't mean I'm smart but he sure is LOL). (P.S., I didn't train him, he taught me how to tell him what I wanted and how to ask for it.) Andy is now 10 and we don't push each other too hard anymore but 30 seconds of "OK lets do some work and have some fun" and he remembers every trick he ever learned and most of the ones I've forgotten! What sort of dog do you have and what do you want to accomplish? How old is it and is it male or female? What experience do you have working with dogs?

As per the title of the thread; "This is what makes OFC great!"

I had a 97 polaris Explorer 300, it wasn't fast but boy could it work, I had a few very minor problems with it over the years, the coolong fan had to be replaced about 4 times (mostly my fault, got branches jamed in it.....) I would probably still have it today except I was being a bit of a show off last summer. Three friends and I were on a ride and came to a big mud hole.... They all stoped and I said "I've been through worse than this"..... Ya, well as they threw me a rope; get the picture. Wouldn't have been too bad if it was just water but it was more like a slurry and it got into every part of the engine. I did take it to a dealer and get everything flushed but the mechanic warned me that silt had gotten into the bearings and everything and it's days were numbered. I traded it in and got a 2006 Polaris Sportsman 450, I'd have probably have stayed with a smaller bike but wanted something big enough to be able to put in some food plots with. Nice ride better clearance than the Explorer, plenty of power but I haven't had a chance to really get out and work with it yet. Whatever you get, take the time to service it properly, they do need a lote of preventitive maintainance, most machines will last you many years if you just take good care of them.

You are a good man Tony, Thank you!

I hope you will show him these replies when he does get home. Hearing it is one thing, seeing it is better! I am so very proud of the young people in our Canadian armed forces! I will stand and salute them with the pride and honor they deserve! former PFC with the RCR 2nd batallion Delta Company.

JR already said he would help but so far everything is king of fragmented as to who can/will do what (partly my fault, some of the stuff is on my computer at work). Perhaps we could get something pinned: "Donations for the Tyler G2G" then it would all be in one place for all to see?

I bet if cross a couple of wires and hook an old sewing machine motor up to it with a little nitro we can get it to do 0-60. (Tim The Tool Man is my hero LOL). One or two good runs and camo won't be needed anymore

The saussages were a really big hit last year, they were the first thing we ran out of, Hot dogs were the next thing to go, we actually did reasonably with the burgers and I believe we sold gave away the last of those shortly before the prize draws started. I would think on planning on about 150 - 200 people would be quite reasonable. I would like to see us have: (but I'm not a caterer so I'm just guessing) 100 ea mild & medium saussages 100 Hotdogs 100 burgers Buns for above and condiments; sauerkraut, mustard, relish, ketchup, chopped onion. Paper towles, plates, napkins, foil, plastic utensils for the condiments. Cups and supplies for the coffee and hot coco. And anything else (those chicken breasts sound good Tony but would they be a burger like thing?) We have to remember that it could be quite cold that day and people may have to be eating with gloves on and stuff. I'm not sure the chicken wings are doable but wide open to suggestions. All input gratefully accepted!!!!!! I can provide a small table top BBQ again this year and a couple of the small tanks to run it. I do have an 11 lb tank too that I will bring with me but I don't have the hose or regulator to go with it. Moe I was hoping to put a nice prize on the table this year.... best I can do is a day fishing in the Kawarthas at our place but I'm not set up for muskie so it would just be bass, walleye (or carp if prefered). Sorry I can't offer more at this time. Anyway, I do need commitments on the food stuff because I have to make sure we will have what we need. So don't try to do it all but pick one, post it on here so everyone can see what is still needed and be sure you can get it there or arange to get it there by the morning of the 24th. Cliff

I am so happy to hear that news, people like your brother-in-law are what makes me proud to be a Canadian.

Now I have to go into town and buy some clorox LOL.

In 1983 I walked away from a $100,000.00/ year job and started my own business. It wasn't easy, there were a few times I had to make my mortgage payment on my VISA card but I worked at it. At one point I even took a full time job on afternoon shift and ran my business during the day. It took time but it gradually grew to the point where I was making a very comfortable living and had 12 people working for me. Should you do it or not...... that isn't something I can answer for you without knowing a lot more about you and what you are planning. The one big thing to consider is..... If you do this and a year later can't work for three months... would you still have an income? As a business owner you won't be eligable for EI or anything. Also, as others have mentioned, you can't walk out the door at 5 and leave it all behind and if you think that by owning a business you will be your own boss. Think again, the government will tell you what you have to pay and when, your customers will tell you what they want and when they want to pay for it, your suppliers will tell you what you can have and when you have to pay for it and if you ever get employees..... well, lets not even go there. I sold my business in 2003 because I got offered a lot of money for it and I realized that if anything were to happen to me 3-6 months down the road I really wouldn't have much to fall back on. (better a bird in the hand...) I could start another business today if I wanted to but would be much happier working for someone else. If you do want to sit down with me and go over everything I'd be happy to do it for you. I have a pretty good track record and a lot of experience. I've held middle or senior management positions with national companies since I was in my 20s, been involved in the start up of 5 companies (all very successful) and played a significant role in the growth of a couple of others. I have a bit of time on my hands for the next week or two and would be happy to share my experience with you if it will help. Cliff

Way to go Kirk and Anna. See, all it took was practice Kirk!

Ok, so it is against the law to have more than one licence but if you loose one you have to replace it right? So you loose your licence, buy a replacement, find the one that you lost and you could be fined for finding something that you had lost? I'd much rather be standing in court trying to explain that one to a judge than trying to explain fishing without one.

Glad to hear you are getting it back, fixing the ignition is probably going to come out of your pocket but it could have been a lot worse.

I can't tell you how much all of your replys, Pms, and phone calls have ment to me. I have tried really hard to turn today into something positive. (I kind of feel like I have lost a friend or something). Talked to a Lawyer, it seems that because of my position with the company, my age, and even though I was only there 15 months, I can probably get about 3 months severance if I push for it ( I WILL be PUSHING for it!!!!!!) I have had phone calls from a couple of dealers now telling me they will not deal with the company (not because of what they did to me but they were only dealing with the company because of me). Thank you for your loyality and respect! I don't know how word is spreading so fast but one of our biggest supliers just phoned me to tell me that he couldn't believe what had happened and that they wouldn't even be in Canada if it wasn't for me. He asked if he could call me back in a week or two because he wants to "consider some options"! Tybo You sure do know how to make a man laugh! (trust me, I thought of doing it myself but I'm old enough that even if I win it still hurts LOL.) It did make me though. Thank you! To each and every one of you that took the time to reply to this thread in what ever manner; you are why I am proud to be an OFNr!

Have you ever heard the saying "work diligently, with integrity, and you will always get your reward"? Well, yetrerday I got my reward, I'm out of a job! As some of you may remember last Summer I advertised a sales position on here that was becoming available at a company I was working for. Well, we ended up hiring a person because of that posting (not an OFNr but an aquaintance of one) There are three things I expect from the people I work with; honesty, loyality, and accountability. I won't go into all the gory details but lets just say that this individual didn't waste any time demonstrating to me on more than one occasion that I couldn't expect any of the above from him. My biggest mistake was that I gave him a second and even a third chance. I couldn't believe that a man could look me in the eye, shake my hand, give me his word, and it didn't mean a thing to him except another opportunity! He does however have one thing going for him, he can crap better than anyone I have ever met. He managed to convince my boss that he is just a nice young man trying to build a future for himself and he can do no wrong. Yesterday it all came to a head and it was him or me, well, I guess crap does baffel brains and the Division that I worked so hard to build for the last fifteen months is pretty much in his control and I am out of a job. I don't know what I am going to do right now, I loved that job, I put my heart and sole into building that division, I was so proud of it! Sorry for the rant guys and gals, I'm having a bad day!

Nice report! I was thinking about you guys a lot yesterday everytime I heard a report about accidents on the 400 or 404, glad to hear that you made it safe and sound and that you got out to do some fishing.

When I worked for INCO in the late 60's guys use to brag about how many hours sleep they could get on night shift while working on the back track. Many of them wanted steady night shift because they also had day jobs. (we were getting paid well). Graft was rampant and the general attitude seemed to be "do as little as possible and get as much as you can". Those are the same people that cried like heck when INCO's costs were getting out of control and INCO went off shore and started closing down the Sudbury operations.... I wonder why INCO would do something like that? I drove nothing but Fords or GMs most of my life. Then I bought a Chev Cavalir, it was in the shop 9 times for major repairs in the first 75000 km. I contacted GM Customer Service and was told that the car had almost 80,000 km on it, I had to expect that a few little things would go wrong with it! Little things..... transmission twice, air conditioner twice, cylinder head....... fire under the dash..... I explained that in 80,000 they hadn't been able to get the thing to work right. After I threatened to paint lemons on the side of it and park it in front of the dealership (it now had 80,000) they finally agreed that they would have the dealership go over the car one more time and fix it but that was it! Cost them $1820.00 just in parts and I dumped the car the next day. In 1998 I bought a Mazda 626; still runs like new, has cost me a total of $412.00 in repairs (not including normal maintainance... tires, oil changes...) Paint is still in excellent condition, doors, windows and everything else on the car still fits and works like the day it did when I drove it off the lot. I also own a Nissan, I had some problems with my first one but they bent over backwards to take care of me, they even loaned me the managers new fully loaded truck to drive while they sorted out what was wrong with mine and when they finally got everything working perfectly, the credited me with seven weeks of lease payments to compensate me for my inconvenience. When my lease was up on that Nissan guess where I went to get my next one! Friends went to buy a car from this same Nissan dealership. They couldn't get the car in for three weeks so the dealership LOANED, not leased, LOANED them a car until their new one got there. When the big 3 learn to deliver that kind of quality and service I'll be happy to buy their products again but until then, I'll spend my money where I get the best value!

You are doing a fine job of getting old Jack. Keep up the good work!

Super report, glad to hear you had such a good time! Thanks for sharing.

Ahhhh I'm getting all excited, the thought of getting to see many old friends again and meeting up with some new ones.......the chance to contribute to such a worthwhile cause........

Is that likely to cause any problems with us having food available Moe? Just wondering is they will have venders there who might get upset that we are giving it away free (donations much appreciated). Also, does that mean that the washrooms will be open?

I feel your pain misfish Roy, last time I asked Sue if she thought I should go ice fishing or stay in bed and cuddle she just said "dress warm sweetie"..... Sue never was a morning person LOL.

I remember when Sue and I bought our first house, $40,000.00 mortage and we woried our selves sick over the "what ifs". LOL. Was the smartest thing we could have done! Don't worry, be happy! Good luck!

Thanks Tony! Let us know as soon as you can about the food, we ran out last year and don't want that to happen again. Just let us know what you can supply then we can work from there. Thanks Cliff