Greater Panama City Dog Fanciers’ Association, Inc. (GPCDFA) is a not-for-profit organization based in Panama City Florida. GPCDFA was chartered by the AKC and incorporated in the state of Florida in 1972. The founders and charter members included Mr. Gus Tingle, Mrs. Evelyn Tingle, Mrs. Barbara Bryan, Mrs. Betty Christian, Lt. Col. James Christian, Mr. Jim Vagenas, and Mrs. Helen Shuh. The first president was Mr. Gus Tingle. Other past presidents include Lester Doty, Florence Doty, Mary Bratsen, Mary Ann Olson, James Christian, Biff Hunt, Polly Hunt, Judy Purvis, Kathi Edwards, Jim Vagenas, Jean Moseley, Richard Robbins and Margaret Adcock. Melissa Frye is the club’s current president for her eight terms.
The first competitive match was held in 1973 for local and surrounding area dogs and the club was approved for regular point shows by the AKC after successfully completing 3 of these matches. The club’s first AKC licensed regular point Conformation show was held in Panama City in 1975, with Lester Doty as the first Show Chairman. Dogs from 48 states and many foreign countries were entered to earn show points towards becoming an AKC champion of record.
The Greater Panama City Dog Fanciers is also known as the Northwest Florida Foxhunters' Association (NWFFA). The NWFFA was started in the 1940's as a fox hunting club. The club's present location is the original location of the NWFFA in fact our club house is the NWFFA's original hunting lodge. Over the years as people moved in to the area, fox hunting lost interest and began to fade away. But the members of the NWFFA still had dogs and really wanted to do some type of sports with those dogs. Slowly those members switch from hunting to competitive dog sports like obedience and eventually conformation. Eventually they formed the GPCDFA so that the members could not only participate but offer dog trials (shows) as well. Today, the Northwest Florida Foxhunters' Association and the Greater Panama City Dog Fanciers are essentially one and the same club. We keep the NWFFA name in honor of those great folks that had the vision to start this organization.
Since the club’s inception, our activities have expanded to include puppy handling classes, educational programs at meetings, Pet Week poster contests through the Bay County schools, Halloween Dog-O-Ween costume contests, Oktoberfest Weiner Dog contests, Panama City Christmas Parade, St. Andres Bay Centers' Spring Fling, the Scottish Festival, and we are an active supporter of area pet rescue organizations such as the Humane Society of Bay County. The club has won national recognition for its community education and outreach programs.
