Birth of the IRC

BIRTH of the INTERNATIONAL RAGDOLL CONGRESS

In March of 1996 Kathy Cassidy a Ragdoll breeder who was the show manager for the Prairie State TICA Cat Club, decided to hold a Ragdoll Congress and Genetic Seminar in conjunction with their show October 26-27, 1996.  She wrote me a letter asking if I as the new President of RFCI would attend, and if the RFCI would be willing to help support a Ragdoll Championship Congress & Genetic Seminar they were hosting in conjunction with the cat show.  The Genetic Seminar was to be conducted by Robin Pickering, and Lorna Wallace would be joining him for the Seminar.  They are two of the authors of the book "Definitive Guide to Ragdolls."  I wrote her back that I would be glad to attend and that I was sure that the RFCI would be willing to help support the congress and the seminar.

The Prairie State Cat Show turned out to be an extraordinary event.  There were more than 40 Ragdoll breeders there.  Kathy did an outstanding job of putting on the Ragdoll Congress and the Genetic Seminar.  There were a total of 64 Ragdolls in the show, 32 in the Championship Congress, their were even 6 Lynx entered in NBC class.  For many breeders this was the first time any of them had seen a Lynx Ragdoll. 

It was during this Ragdoll Congress that during a short break I joined Charlie Myers and Lorna Wallace who were talking about possibly having a true International Ragdoll Congress.  After a lengthly discussion we agreed to hold an International Ragdoll Congress in either 1997 or 1998.  Our vision was to put on a Ragdoll Congress where Ragdoll breeders from all over the world could come and see 100 Ragdolls all in one show. 

We wanted it to be a show where a large group of Ragdoll breeders could come together and discuss the many issues facing the Ragdoll breed.  We wanted to put together an Educational Seminar on various topics concerning breeding and health issue taught by experts in their fields.

It was decided early on that the International Ragdoll Congress  (IRC) would be a non-partisan congress open to all Ragdoll owners and Ragdoll Clubs worldwide.  They would be welcomed to participate on whatever level they choose.  The IRC would be totally independent of any Ragdoll club or any one Cat Association.

During the remainder of 1996 an IRC Committee was formed consisting of Charlie Myers, Lorna Wallace and Wain Pearce.  The first task was to find a location and a date for the congress.  Charlie knew Christ Unangst who put on cat shows on the East Coast.  A lady in Seattle said that her club in Seattle would love to put on the Congress.  Before we picked the site we felt that it was necessary to lay out a criteria for selecting the site.  What we came up with was:  That it would be a TICA cat club that would be willing to work with the IRC Committee.  Had a three day show with a minimum of 14 rings.  Had an International Airport close to the show hotel.  Denver, Dallas, and Chicago were rejected as they only had  ten ring shows at that time.  The only two sites that matched our criteria were Seattle Washington and Secaucus New Jersey.  A vote was taken and Secaucus won by a vote of 28-18.

Lorna Wallace took on the job of Chairperson of Europe.  Her job was to stir up interest among the Europeans to attend the IRC.  She also would work to raise support for the IRC by having various European Ragdoll Clubs and individuals donate trophies and sponsor some of the events.

Charlie Myers would act as the liaison between the IRC Committee and Chris Unangst, as he knew Chris.  Being as he lived closest to where the congress was going to be held, he agreed to hold down things on that end.  He also handled the job of finding a speaker for the Educational Seminar.

My job would be to plan and organize everything and hope that it would all come together at showtime.  A International Ragdoll Congress of this magnitude had never been done before and it was very important that we work harmoniously with the Penn-Jersey Cat Club that was hosting the show.  It was necessary that I set up committees for the congress.  We wanted to have a Welcome Committee, a Hospitality committee, a Banquet Committee, Seminar Committee, and a Financial Committee.

Finally it all came together on April 2-5, 1998.  To say that it was a success would be an understatement, There were close to 75 Ragdoll breeders and 109 Ragdolls entered in the show.  Dreams do sometimes come true.

The First International Ragdoll Congress was sponsored by the Ragdoll Fanciers Club International and hosted by the Penn-Jersey Cat Club.

Wain Pearce