The first meeting of the Heart of America Bulldog Club was held on January 22, 1950 in Kansas City, MO.  The Acting Chairman was Mr. Carter Emert and the Acting Secretary was Lanie Catalano.  The dues agreed upon were $5 for an individual membership and $2 for each additional member of the same family.  Communications were read from the AKC and the BCA giving permission for the HABC to be formed.  The Constitution and by-laws as provided in sample form by the AKC, were amended and finally accepted on February 5, 1950. As of July 30, 1950, the HABC consisted of 37 active members on the roster. 

 The first Sanctioned Match was held October 8, 1950, and judged by Mr. C.D. Richardson.  The first HABC Specialty Show was held in conjunction with an Associated (or Combined) Specialty Show at the American Royal Bldg., Kansas City, MO on October 21, 1951; an entry of 52 bulldogs were judged by Frank Caroline.

 Items of educational interest at the first meetings consisted of bringing a bulldog to the meetings and handing out score cards to allow each member to “judge” the dog, along with having speakers from various dog-related vocations address the club.  Various ideas for generating new memberships were also the topic of discussion at most of the club meetings.

 The Heart of America Bulldog Club has been honored to have the most highly regarded judges in our breed judge our specialty shows in years past,  as well as having had the most respected dogs in the Bulldog world win Best of Breed honors at our shows.   In 1986 our club hosted the BCA National Specialty Show and Sweepstakes, held over Thanksgiving weekend at the Executive Park Place Hotel.  Jeanne Zalud judged an entry of 92 dogs and Buster Wilson judged an entry of 110 bitches that year. Dan Powers judged the Sweepstakes entry of 122 puppies.

 The HABC was one of the first clubs in the BCA to form a “rescue” committee, and with the assistance of a local animal shelter, created the first adoption contract and rescue surrender form, which were later provided to the BCA to be utilized in the formation of the BCA Rescue contracts and questionnaires. 

 The members of the Heart of America Bulldog Club faced one of the biggest challenges in the history of the Club when notice of a local “dog auction” was received in September 1994.  The auction was to include 21 bulldogs.  A special meeting was held in regards to this auction and the HABC’s role in the purchasing and re-homing of these bulldogs in an effort to prevent them from ending up in puppy mills.  Resulting from this experience was the decision by the HABC that we would be no longer purchase bulldogs from puppy mills or dog auctions.

  The HABC is very fortunate that the founding officers of the club kept extremely well written minutes and club documents dating back to the first meeting.  And with the exception of a few sporadic years, the HABC officers of today are continuing this tradition.

 The HABC voted to amend the Constitution and By-laws as recently as March 5, 2002, after extensive discussions during club meetings, in regards to the election of the Board of Directors.  We currently have approximately 40 members on the roster, and still hold our annual Fun Match and Specialty Shows, and continue to educate the public on the responsibilities, attributes, health issues and benefits of owning and exhibiting a bulldog.