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Well here we are, nearly five years after the two-to-one ABC membership vote to move the ABC National to the center of the country, confronted by the need to make a selection among three "non-choices": The Abbey Resort, in Fontana, WI; the Drawbridge Inn, in Fort Mitchell, KY; and the Hurstbourne Hotel, Louisville, KY.

None of the three sites is in – or even remotely near – the center of the USA. Two of the three – The Abbey and the Hurstbourne – are poorly served by the nearest airports. The Abbey is 80 miles from Chicago Int’l, 50 miles from Milwaukee; and the Hurstbourne is not served by an international airport. The Drawbridge doesn’t have enough RV parking, and according to Larry Hughes, co-chair of the ABC Site Selection Committee (SSC), its parking lot is hilly and will require RV’ers to do lots of blocking and leveling. The Abbey may not even be available in 2004/05, due to planned renovation; and the Hurstbourne is not available for our regular show date – we’d have to change the show to the second week in May.

So what’s a poor ABC member to do??? Judy Voran, ABC webmaster, has efficiently posted the site comparison data to the ABC Web Site. Just click on http://americanboxerclub.org/abctbc/abcfrx.html and decide which location will work best for you. I’ve already decided which location I think will work best for the club: The Drawbridge Inn. Here’s why:

It’s plain that most of our far-western members will have little alternative but to fly to ANY of the three sites, and the Greater Cincinnati Int’l Airport is only 8 miles from the Drawbridge, with free shuttle service to and from the airport for guests, and fee-based shuttle service available for guests with dogs and crates.

Except for the lack of adequate RV parking, the Drawbridge appears to offer more amenities than the other two sites, has much more experience in hosting big national specialty shows, and will definitely be available for our 2004 show. Plus, the owner wants our business.

So check out the ABC Web Site and make your own "non-choice," but remember: Your ballot MUST be postmarked no later than December 16, and the sites should be marked "1" "2" and "3," in order of your preference.

Here’s hoping that the ABC Selection Committee – created as a permanent, standing committee at the Oct. ’02 Regional board meeting and chaired by two exceptionally able ABC members, Larry Hughes and Cheryl Robbins – will have some real choices for us for the 2005 ABC.