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Eileen Stein inducted into ABCA Hall of Fame at annual meeting


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Many of you do not know Eileen Stein but the oldtimers here likely do. Eileen has been a tireless proponent and protector of the working-bred Border Collie. She's been a cornerstone of the United States Border Collie Club (USBCC, under whose auspices this forum was founded); the moderator of this forum; a President of the American Border Collie Association (ABCA); the current President of the ABCA Health and Education Foundation; a pro-bono legal consultant for the United States Border Collie Handlers Association (USBCHA) and ABCA; an investigator for ABCA into fraudulent registration practices; and, in numerous other ways, a defender of the working-bred Border Collie for a number of years and supporter of research into health issues that affect the breed.

 

It is a rare and great honor to be elected to the ABCA Hall of Fame, and Eileen was chosen for this honor, which was bestowed upon her at the annual meeting held during the 2017 National Sheepdog Finals. Mark Billadeau and C. Denise Wall, of the ABCA HEF, wrote a moving tribute to all the many ways in which she has worked ceaselessly for the benefit of the dogs.

 

Eileen is a humble person who would never put herself forward but she has always put the welfare, integrity, and health of the dogs at the forefront of her work on behalf of the breed. I hope that everyone here can realize and recognize the contributions that Eileen has made over the years, quietly and on the sidelines, to the dogs that we all love and cherish, and think thankful thoughts about her as we enjoy, work with, and depend on our dogs in our daily lives.

 

Thank you, Eileen!

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Thank you for posting this, Sue. I'm sorry that I was unable to attend the ABCA meeting at the Finals and witness Eileen getting the recognition that she certainly deserves.

 

Regards,

nancy

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The accomplishments of many HOF recipients have been well known mostly because of their high profile trial performances. But there are other important ways of earning the honor of ABCA hall of fame recipient and in those ways this years recipient has clearly shown her excellence. Her decades of time and tireless dedication to preserving and promoting the working border collie, and efforts to improve the health of our breed have mostly been behind the scenes. However she will be well known and recognized for these exceptional efforts by many. This person is Eileen Stein.

 

Her accomplishments are too many to name here but some of Eileens accomplishments include:

 

President of the US Border Collie Club for 20 years. This organization was formed in 1975 to resist recognition by the AKC, promote preservation of the working ability, and to educate the public about the breed. Back before FaceBook, the US Border Collie Club brought us the Border Collie Boards internet forum. Eileen has been and continues to be the Administrator the BC Boards, has provided financial support for this site, and has created and fostered content that supported and educated the public on the working Border Collie.

 

Eileen became an ABCA director in 2003 and has served a total of 12 years; 4 of those years as president. While president she oversaw the smooth transition from the original to the current registrar of the ABCA, a major accomplishment. She has been a member of the Health & Genetics committee since 2003. As a reference point in time, 2003 was right after Optigen launched the CEA test. As the first major DNA genetics test for working border collies, careful integration of this test into a useful tool for breeders and buyers while preserving the diversity of the working gene pool was an extremely delicate and important task. Eileen was part of the team educating breeders and establishing the ABCAs guidance for the use of this test.

 

As an open handler for about 20 years she knows the importance of the finals and just like this year, Eileen has traveled to most of the Finals to work at or run the health clinics provided by the ABCA; starting when they were eye clinics and now with the BAER clinics.

 

Eileen has also been involved with 6 breeder investigations for fraudulent registrations; these investigations were needed to help preserve the integrity of the pedigree information, which is the central purpose of any registry. This included onsite investigations of 3 kennels. DNA samples needed to be collected at these kennels and at other locations to prove the registrations were falsified. As a lawyer, Eileen understands the demands for proof and was willing to endure the depressing and sometimes dangerous task of visiting these kennels.

 

Eileen has willingly provided free legal advice to the ABCA and the USBCHA for a number of issues over the years.

 

Eileens most recent accomplishment was the establishment of the ABCA Health and Education Foundation, a 501C organization. She recognized we needed a means by which others besides the registry could fund health studies and education efforts. She established and arranged the effort to get this organization started and obtained seed money for the ABCA to get it off the ground. Eileen is a founding director and the current president of the ABCA HEF Foundation.

 

Please join me in recognizing this years inductee into the HOF.

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Congratulations and thanks, Eileen. Had it not been for your work in educating the public, I’m sure there are others who, like me, would not have understood what a true Border Collie is—a breed defined by its work, not its appearance.

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Huge congratulations, Eileen. I can't think of a more deserving inductee, nor a more selfless benefactor of the working Border Collie. Thanks for all you have done, and for all you continue to do.

 

Amy

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Congratulations, Eileen.

This is very well deserved, and I among all the others am very grateful to you for all that you do and have done over the years.

 

Your actions have made a huge positive difference in the lives of thousands of border collies and human beings both.

 

Thank you so much.

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  • 2 weeks later...

THANK YOU, Eileen! I really enjoyed getting a chance to thank you personally at the Billadeau's trial recently about that plagiarism incident in which you provided invaluable legal assistance. Super pleased to see you being recognized for ALL you've done!

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  • 3 weeks later...

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