Roy Swafford to Manage UKC Beagle Programs

Join UKC in welcoming Roy Swafford to our team!

March 7, 2018

United Kennel Club is pleased to announce the addition of Roy Swafford to the Field Operations Department as the new Beagle Programs Manager.

Roy was one of the first Field Reps selected by UKC for the Hunting Beagle Program years ago. With a wealth of experience and knowledge in the field, Roy is well suited to take on the tasks and responsibilities of UKCs Beagle Programs and serve as the director in that department. His vibrant and positive personality is known to resonate well with those around him in the field. These qualifications, along with his excellent communication skills, assure Swaffords' leadership will be an asset to UKC and the sport.

Roy and Danica Swafford have been married for 24 years. They have two daughters, Ashlyn and Kaydee. Ashlyn recently graduated from Saginaw Valley State University with a bachelors degree in exercise science and is currently working as a pharmaceutical technician. Shell be attending Wake Forest University in North Carolina in their graduate program and earning her masters degree in exercise science. Kaydee just started her college and is currently in her second semester at Saginaw Valley State University. Kaydee is studying to become an elementary teacher. She finished her first semester with Deans List honors. Roy says he and Danica are "very proud and humbled" by both of their daughters' achievements.

Roy Swafford, UKC Beagle Programs Manager

Roy grew up with coonhounds and Beagles, but the little hounds were always his dog of choice. He started hunting in 1991 with a hound named Swaffords Ace. He was the hound that put him on the map, so to speak, as Ace won the very first UKC Hunting Beagle Nationals in 1992. In 1995 Roy was able to win the Nationals again with a dog off of Ace and Dailey's Abbey, named Swafford's Harry.

Roy also had a dog in the final cast of the world in 2000, 2001, and 2002 where he placed 4th, 3rd and 2nd respectively with Taylors Black Magic Ace, and Taylors Black Magic Ginger. The overall win just seemed to elude him. He stepped away from the trials soon after that and started coaching softball; the sport both of his daughters were very actively involved in. However, in 2009, he was finally able to win the hunt (which he didnt think was possible), with Brankos Chubby Checkers, co-owned by Denny Dugan. To finally win the hunt that had eluded him several times in the past "was a feeling I will never forget," says Roy. After that, trialing was again put on hold again due to his daughters' high school softball endeavors.

Roy notes, "The opportunity to work at UKC, as the Beagle Programs Manager, is something that I had not actively pursued and will take some time to set in that it is actually happening. Ive met some of the finest people in the world through this sport who have become life-long friends. I would like thank Tanya, Todd and Allen for this opportunity to work in a program that has already given me a lifetime of memories. UKC Beaglers are some of the best people anywhere and Im looking forward to working with them and helping continue to make UKC, its programs, and events, the best they can be."

As Senior Director of Field Operations, Allen Gingerich stated, "Giving up some of my responsibilities with UKCs Beagle Programs is certainly bitter sweet. Working with so many good folks, who share the same passion about the sport and these hounds as I do is the bitter part. The sweet part is the confidence in knowing that Roy has the same passion and desire to see the Beagle programs be as strong as they can be. With his help, UKC as a whole, the Beagle programs, and my responsibilities with other programs, are better served with the addition of Roy in the Field Operations Department. I look forward to working with Roy and wish him all the best in this role."

Please join us in saying a warm welcome to Mr. Swafford!

A Kalamazoo, Michigan-based company founded in 1898, United Kennel Club is the largest all-breed performance-dog registry in the world, registering dogs from all 50 states and 25 foreign countries. Celebrating the unique Total Dog philosophy, UKC events highlight the instincts and heritage of dogs that look and perform equally well, as more than 60 percent of its annually licensed events are tests of hunting ability, training, and instinct. United Kennel Club prides itself on its family-oriented, friendly, educational events, welcoming both purebred dogs and dogs of unknown ancestry.