The Mayflower Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club (MPWCC) first met in July, 1977 at the Farmington Valley Kennel Club Show. A group of 20 plus Corgi Fanciers got together to start a Pembroke Welsh Corgi club to service the New England and Northeast area.
The main purpose of the club was to protect the integrity of the breed, hold matches and present programs, and to assist people who are new to Corgis.
The first match was held in October of '77 at the home of Caroline Kierstead in MA with Adele Bensen judging. Following this the Club began to expand rapidly adding many varied events for both members and non-members. Over the years MPWCC became a very strong supporter of Performance Events holding trials in Obedience, Tracking, Herding and Agility. The Club also held many breed matches.
The AKC was reluctant to approve a regional breed club with such a large area. To circumvent this the "Corgi Classic" was created. This was a supported entry event with breeder judges engaged by MPWCC and held in conjunction with an all-breed show. To enhance this "Specialty" the Club had a host motel, a cocktail party, a match that mimicked a Sweepstakes and a banquet/clam bake, since it is a New England club. About this time a Corgi Rescue Committee was formed, and they are and have been very successful in performing this service.
In 1992 the AKC finally approved the Club and the first independent Specialty Show was held. The Club continues to hold many varied events in addition to its June Specialty Show, a Summer Picnic and a Winter Fun Day, which are open to all Corgi lovers.
Mayflower offers its members the opportunity to earn several unique and highly prized awards. The Lila Wolfman Achievement Award was presented for the first time in 1991. Lila, another Charter Member, was a wonderful friend to all of us, and served as our treasurer for nine years. This Award is given to honor any member-owned Corgi who has excelled in three or more levels of AKC competition/achievement. The dog must have attained an AKC Championship, earned an AKC Obedience Title, and completed the requirements for an AKC Tracking, Herding or Agility Title. The dog must have demonstrated excellence in all three of these areas: Breed, Obedience and Performance.
Versatile Performance Award. To qualify for this Award, a dog must earn a minimum of 12 points, the schedule is located in the 'Members Only' section of the website. These points may be earned cumulatively from any combination of the four performance areas, provided that one title is earned from at least two of the performance areas. These are Obedience, Tracking Herding and Agility.
Versatile Performance Award Excellent. To qualify for this Award, a dog must earn a minimum of 18 points, using the same point schedule as the Versatile Performance Award, but must earn at least one title from three different Performance Events Areas.
In addition, points may also be accumulated towards these Awards by earning one or more of the following titles: Canine Good Citizen, Therapy Dog International, Delta Society Pet Partner and Pet Therapy Work.
