Others Who Have Helped GLBR and GLC Flourish
Liz Isham Cory
Liz has played a pivotal leadership role in keeping the club robust and the continued growth of its shows. A former editor for Breyer’s Just About Horses, she started collecting in 1962 and joined the fledgling hobby in 1967. A participant as well as a committee member for Marney’s Congress, Liz brought that experience with her to Great Lakes Congress and has been invaluable to the club. In fact, Kerri Johnson calls Liz “the pillar of GLC.”
Liz was invited to share how she came to become such an integral part of GLC. She responded, “I was brought in as treasurer in 2003. I have been treasurer and a member of the board since. I became the Registered Agent several years ago.
“I left the hobby to build my career in television and radio news in the 1980s. I married in 1986, and, after the illness and death of my first husband, I returned to the hobby in 1991. There was so much emptiness in so many parts of my life at that time, and I remember feeling so happy to experience that familiar, fond feeling, of being a part of something fun and positive again.
Liz Isham Cory
Liz has played a pivotal leadership role in keeping the club robust and the continued growth of its shows. A former editor for Breyer’s Just About Horses, she started collecting in 1962 and joined the fledgling hobby in 1967. A participant as well as a committee member for Marney’s Congress, Liz brought that experience with her to Great Lakes Congress and has been invaluable to the club. In fact, Kerri Johnson calls Liz “the pillar of GLC.”
(Photo contributed by Liz Cory.)
“I left the hobby to build my career in television and radio news in the 1980s. I married in 1986, and, after the illness and death of my first husband, I returned to the hobby in 1991. There was so much emptiness in so many parts of my life at that time, and I remember feeling so happy to experience that familiar, fond feeling, of being a part of something fun and positive again.
“I started going to BreyerFest, where I used my video background to help anchor and create videos of the event, and locally, I started visiting the GLC annual shows as an observer. I became very involved with Bentley Sales as an assistant at their vendor shows, and I eventually started vending the Bentley product at the GLC shows. Kerri wooed me into the fold by encouraging me to join the board. I’ve been with the organization ever since, and it has truly become a part of me.”
Liz and her husband, Sam Cory, set up and tear down all the No Frills shows. She is always looking for ways to improve the club as well as the mentoring of new and young showers.
Jamie Rott
Despite a busy life as a civil engineer with a husband and daughter at home, Jamie is a dedicated leader of the club. After occasionally showing at the GLBR/GLC shows, she was introduced to the club by Ellen Vogel. She attended one meeting and that began her official involvement as a volunteer.
Jamie Rott and her mother, Yvonne Rott (Photo courtesy of Jamie Rott.)
In 2006 Jamie became the secretary of Great Lakes Congress and then in 2007, president, a position she still holds twelve years later! Jamie deflects any accolades about her contributions to the club, instead giving credit to other volunteers, but she, too, is a pivotal leader.
Two of Jamie’s focuses are the educational/mentoring aspect of GLC and then making sure that the No Frills shows are friendly and welcoming. Liz Cory says of her, “Jamie also works very hard with the class list, creating specialty shows, and introducing pot lucks and other fun ways to bring people together.”
Jamie says, “Our shows are constantly changing and upgrading which is a product of the board members and their dedication to making the GLC series the best in the area! I don’t think many people realize how special our show series truly is. There is no other organization or group that has the longevity that GLC has and it’s difficult to find another region that offers so many shows per year! Every person that has volunteered has brought something special to the club and has played a role in keeping GLC living.”
Jamie is almost always accompanied to No Frills shows by her mother, Yvonne Rott. Like Liz and Jamie, she sits behind the show table and helps things run smoothly. A collector herself, Yvonne leaves her models at home so that she can pitch in and help out. The two are a sort of “dynamic duo” and provide support not only for the club at large, but for the showers as well.
Stu and Arlene Bentley
Stu and Arlene Bentley, owners of Bentley Sales Company, were a major distributor of Breyer model horses, especially in the early days of the hobby. Stu’s father (Stu Sr.) had worked with Sam Stone, Peter Stone’s father and owner of the Breyer Molding Company. Stu Sr. founded Bentley Sales, and when he retired, passed the company on to his son Stu Jr. and Stu’s wife, Arlene. For many, many years, their company was the go-to source when buying model horses. The Bentleys were easy to work with, fast, and had a wide variety of not only regular run model horses, but special runs, as well.
Both Kerri and Liz were adamant that the support that Stu and Arlene Bentley provided GLC was very important to the club. According to Kerri, “The Bentleys were huge supporters and have always been so. In every stage of the club, Stu and Arlene were very supportive, donating boxes of stuff for raffles and auctions or giveaways. They always came to the show and GLC might not have gotten as far as it did without their support. They were always asking, ‘What do you need? What can we do for you?’”
Two of Jamie’s focuses are the educational/mentoring aspect of GLC and then making sure that the No Frills shows are friendly and welcoming. Liz Cory says of her, “Jamie also works very hard with the class list, creating specialty shows, and introducing pot lucks and other fun ways to bring people together.”
Jamie says, “Our shows are constantly changing and upgrading which is a product of the board members and their dedication to making the GLC series the best in the area! I don’t think many people realize how special our show series truly is. There is no other organization or group that has the longevity that GLC has and it’s difficult to find another region that offers so many shows per year! Every person that has volunteered has brought something special to the club and has played a role in keeping GLC living.”
Jamie is almost always accompanied to No Frills shows by her mother, Yvonne Rott. Like Liz and Jamie, she sits behind the show table and helps things run smoothly. A collector herself, Yvonne leaves her models at home so that she can pitch in and help out. The two are a sort of “dynamic duo” and provide support not only for the club at large, but for the showers as well.
Stu and Arlene Bentley
Stu and Arlene Bentley, owners of Bentley Sales Company, were a major distributor of Breyer model horses, especially in the early days of the hobby. Stu’s father (Stu Sr.) had worked with Sam Stone, Peter Stone’s father and owner of the Breyer Molding Company. Stu Sr. founded Bentley Sales, and when he retired, passed the company on to his son Stu Jr. and Stu’s wife, Arlene. For many, many years, their company was the go-to source when buying model horses. The Bentleys were easy to work with, fast, and had a wide variety of not only regular run model horses, but special runs, as well.
(Photo of Stu and Arlene Bentley courtesy of Sande Schneider.)
Liz Cory and other club members agree that the Bentleys’ strong support helped the club in all aspects of its focus. Sadly, Arlene Bentley passed away in the fall of 2018.
(Part four will be posted tomorrow.)
(Part four will be posted tomorrow.)
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