2019 – Sister Helen Negri

She is like a ray of sunshine, a gift from God above, as He also gives us faithful friends to warm our hearts with love. The Cat Fancy received this gift of Sister Helen. She brought with her a wealth of charm, support, smiles, kind words, etc. When she began showing her Maine Coons in Premiership, she saw that there was a need for stewards, so she volunteered “her girls” to help with stewarding at the cat shows in the St. Louis/Southern Illinois area. One such steward, Alex, received an award several years ago from the Midwest CFA region. Then, seeing another need in the Midwest Region, that being short of clerks, she took the classes necessary and became a clerk. You can see her love for animals when at a TGIF Show at Purina Farms Open Door Sanctuary had an elderly Persian (13+ years) up for adoption. (Rosso Persiano Smooshie). She could not get this “old soul” out of her thoughts and later in the week went to Open Door and adopted him, so he could spend the remaining years of his life in a loving home, and of course, we get to see him at the shows in the Household Pet Division. Thank you Sister Helen for taking the Midwest Cat Fancy under your wings. We are truly blessed.