If your club has attracted media to event, are you prepared to talk about your club? By creating talking points and practicing them with your family or fellow club member, you'll be able to smoothly share pertinent information about your club and its activities in any interview.

Below, you will find some sample talking points. We encourage you to tailor these to relate specifically to your club and/or event.

• Your event or program builds greater public awareness about ___________ (i.e. training, breeding, responsible dog ownership, etc.)
• Your kennel club has been part of the community for ___ years, has over ____ members (name any prominent community members such as politicians, clergy, etc.) and hosts ___ events annually.
• The annual event provides a fun, safe community activity for local families and is good for the local economy. Depending on show size, a weekend dog show could inject as much as $1,075,000 into the community.
  
  (Learn more about the Economic Benefits of Dog Shows here)
  (You can also look up State Economic Statistics here)
• Dogs provide many services to the community including therapy and assistance programs.
• Your kennel club is a member of (or licensed by) the AKC.

Following are some general messages and talking points about the AKC and the sport.

• The AKC is an organization for people who love dogs. The AKC is a not-for-profit organization established in 1884, and is the principal registry for purebred dogs in the U.S.
• The AKC encourages the enhanced enjoyment of your dog through activities that you can both participate in, sanctioning more than 20,000 events annually, including conformation, agility, obedience, tracking, herding, lure coursing, hunt test, and field and earthdog trials.
• AKC registration fees help support numerous programs and services that benefit all dog owners. The AKC is a "club of clubs" not a club of individuals. The AKC and its nearly 5,000 affiliated clubs educate the general public and support canine causes through programs such as encouraging basic training for all dogs, promoting the proper care of your dog and supporting health research that benefits all dogs.
• The AKC web site — www.akc.org — features everything you want to know about dogs, including breed profiles, training tips, how to pick the right dog for you, breeder referral and much more.