The 'Sonny Tougas' National Bursary Program Post-Secondary Scholarship

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the individuals and Clubs who have supported The Sonny Fund. Your generosity has made it possible for us to acknowledge the outstanding achievements of these young people.

Maurice 'Sonny' Tougas was an All Breed Judge, a CKC life member, whose life embodied honesty, integrity and sportsmanship. Sonny was the consummate teacher, always willing to lend a hand, offer advice or freely share his knowledge. He was the 'best' dinner companion, whose stories were filled with laughter, perhaps even some embellishment. He shared his adventures to the delight of his many friends and never failed to entertain, or be at a loss for words.

The 'Sonny Tougas' National Bursary Program (STNBP) recognizes that many youngsters of the dog fancy have contributed greatly to the sport of pure-bred dogs through participation in events such as conformation shows, obedience trials as well as other performance events sanctioned by The Canadian Kennel Club.

To honour the memory of 'Sonny' Tougas, this program is designed to aid a deserving student in support of his / her educational objectives in the form of a post-secondary scholarship.

This year we received applications from an outstanding group of individuals.

Not only are all of these youngsters are above average students, but they share the same passion as those of you who are here tonight. And that is our love of purebred dogs. I think it ironic that there are some who think our sport is in trouble when we have youngsters such as these sharing our passion.

This year because of the exceptional group of applicants, we have decide to expand our bursary award to include an additional award of $500.00.

Coincidentally both recipients are from Nova Scotia this year.

The award of $500.00 goes to Victoria Salt, a grade 12 student at Glace Bay High School in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia.

Victoria volunteers for the Girl Guides, 4H Canada, the Cape Breton Kennel Club and participates in Obedience and Rally-O. She has worked at the Sydney Animal Hospital and looks forward to a career in Veterinary Science.

The $1,000.00 bursary is awarded to Katherine McGinn.

Katherine entered the world of pure-bred dogs at the age of seven and has never looked back. She has participated in Junior Handling eventually representing Canada at Cruft’s at the International Junior Handling Competition. Katherine is currently studying at the University of Toronto majoring in Human Biology: Health and Disease with minors in Physiology and Immunology.

In her application, Katherine wrote:
‘If it weren’t for dogs shows I would never be able to balance a part time job and a full-time course load at university. As John Maxwell once said. “Dreams don’t work unless you do” and I am going to work harder each day to accomplish those dreams’.

Sounds like something Tougas would say!

Sincere congratulations to both winners!

Larry Kereluke
Director, The Sonny Fund
lkereluk@mymts.net