2026 National Meet Bids

[Russ Blair]

As you saw in our newsletter it is getting time to solicit bids to host our 2026 Ameraucana Alliance National Meet. I am posting the stipulations currently written in our Meet Policy;

National Meets – There will be at least one and not more than two annual National Meets. Our National meets are true national events, of equal importance, and not to be considered merely regional events. They may include themed titles to differentiate them, such as “Ameraucana National Celebration”, “Ameraucana National Challenge”, etc. Any member may solicit bids/offers from poultry show clubs wishing to host an Ameraucana National Meet or make on offer to host a private Ameraucana only ABA and APA sanctioned show and submit them to the President. Bids must be received by November first to be considered for the club’s National Meets to be held the following fall/winter. At least two members, that plan to attend the show, must agree to organize our National Meet there before a bid is considered. The President shall share the list of bids with the Board members for discussion. The President will then ask for the Board to vote on the show club bids before November 15th. The meet(s) will be promoted in the Winter Newsletter. If a show is cancelled for whatever reason, the President will ask the Board to consider an alternate venue as soon as possible. Club sponsored awards offered at the annual Ameraucana National Meets will be the same and determined by the Board of Director

I have included a PDF and docx file of a National Meet Bid sheet that contains some very helpful questions that will help the board of directors in deciding which bids to accept. Feel free to download them and send them in to your favorite show's secretary when asking them to place a bid to host our 2026 Ameraucana National. 

Thanks, I look forward to receiving bids from your favorite shows.

[Russ Blair]

I would like to bump this topic, I have not received any bids to host our National Meet and November 1 is fast approaching. If you have asked any show clubs to submit a bid to me you might want to remind them of our deadline. I would also ask them to CC you in the email they send me, that way you know it has been sent.

[Mike Gilbert]

Russ, there will be a bid coming from the Minnesota club.  They just met Friday night and decided on the particulars.  I have not seen it yet, but expect to very soon.

[Mike Gilbert]

Russ, there will be a bid coming from the Minnesota club.  They just met Friday night and decided on the particulars.  I have not seen it yet, but expect to very soon.

A good bid has been received from the Minnesota State Poultry Association.  Show Dates: October 24 & 25, 2026
Show Location: Hutchinson, MN (McLeod County Fairgrounds)   The 2025 show had 1,801 entries.   A final decision will be made by the Alliance Board of Directors by November 15th. 

[Russ Blair]

As of right now I have received bids from these show clubs and members:

Michigan Poultry Fanciers, Fowl Fest in Chesaning MI- John Blehm & Russ Blair

Minnesota State Poultry Assoc, Hutchison MN- Mike Gilbert & Ann Dunn

Anderson Poultry Club, Pendleton SC- Stan Alder & Becky Pelton

Beaver Pigeon and Bantam Club, Jefferson WI- Kyle Porosky & Rachel Dunn

Ill-Mo, Highland Ill- Carl Cook & Michael Muenks

If you requested a bid to be submitted and do not see it mentioned above please contact the show superintendent and remind them I need all bids submitted by November 1, 2025 😊

[Kyle Porosky]

Beaver Pigeon & Bantam Club could use support in 2026, whether they get the national meet or not. The show was shut down (this year) by the state of Wisconsin on setup day and they were unable to get money back for the venue and other things. Huge hit to the club

[John W Blehm]

Fowl Fest, October 10-11, 2026, has resubmitted the same great standing offer that has been made over the past few years.

[Russ Blair]

I have attached PDF files of all the National Meet Bids below. If I receive any other bids today, I will also post them as well.

[Mike Gilbert]

When we have only one national meet, I feel it's best to move it around to different parts of the country from year to year.  Here is a link to our website that shows the locations for all our past nationals.   https://ameraucana.org/DnLd/Ameraucana%20National%20Meets.pdf    Minnesota has not had one since 2008, and that is one reason I'm leaning towards their bid.  Having shown there the past few years, I feel it is a prime venue to gain new Alliance members.   South Carolina would be my second choice, but I believe the bid from Minnesota is a little better in several respects. (lower entry fees, single judged show, Ameraucana large fowl judged first instead of last) It does not show in their bid, but they have a second champion row just for breed club national meets.   They had one for CFI in the past, and also for the Cochin national meet this year.   But my mind is open and could possibly be changed with persuasive reasons.

[Laurie Ashley - Selah Farms]

Something to consider would be entry requirements for states for NPIP/AI testing requirements, I know some states require AI testing within 14 days of the show date, which can prove problematic for out of state exhibition when often times you can't rely on getting test results back that quickly always. 

[Russ Blair]

The board of directors have voted to accept two national meet bids. I hope to call a vote on which two bids will be accepted by Friday. There will be 2 National meets in 2026 thanks to our members that not only requested bids to be sent, but also agreed to co-ordinate the national meets themselves. 

[Russ Blair]

I am pleased to announce that the board of directors have voted to accept the Anderson SC bid and the Hutchinson MN bid for our 2026 National Meets. So start making your plans to attend one or both of these meets. I am sure both committees will do an outstanding job.

[Laurie Ashley - Selah Farms]

ohh exciting! 
How can I be put to use, to help?