History
For over 52 years the association has worked with groomers throughout the world promoting and encouraging professionalism and education in order to upgrade the image of the pet grooming profession. Our goal is to unite groomers through membership, to promote communication with colleagues, to set recognized grooming standards and to offer those seeking a higher level of professional recognition the opportunity to have their grooming skills certified.
Company Profile
NDGAA was established in 1969 by Robert D. Reynolds in the hopes of uniting pet groomers through membership. Upon his passing in 1985, the Executive Director role was taken over by his son Jeff Reynolds with his wife Mary Ann coming on board as association secretary later that year.
We are a professional membership association of persons engaged in the grooming and care of dogs for the promotion of excellence in professional standards. Our curriculum of activities include educational workshops and certification testing, conduction of meetings, seminars, trade shows and grooming competitions.
To benefit our registered & certified members, we began the process of federally registering two of our well recognized and long used service marks, the dog/striped pole logo and the National Certified Master Groomer® phrase. On May 14, 1993 the NDGAA "Striped Pole and Poodle Logo" was issued Registration No. 1,755,787 on the Principle Register at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The National Certified Master Groomer phrase was issued on October 11, 1994, Registration No. 1,858,295 on the Supplemental Register at the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It is a violation to use said logo or state Certified or Registered Membership without the permission of the National Dog Groomers Association of America, Inc. Registration of these marks provide the legal leverage to enforce our rights and stop unauthorized use of the logo and NCMG phrase. In this way we can ensure that our symbol & certification signify the highest quality grooming services available and that these high standards are maintained for the future of the profession. NDGAA remains the only organization to solidify their trademarks to protect our members professional integrity.
Continuing educational workshop and Certification testing were launched in 1988. Our educational programs are an important addition to the pet grooming industry. With 12+ workshop/testing sites conducted annually, NDGAA maintains the busiest and most impressive schedule of activities.