AMERICAN KENNEL CLUB Delegates Meeting March 10, Dennis B. Sprung, President in the Chair, called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m.

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1 AMERICAN KENNEL CLUB Delegates Meeting March 10, 2009 Dennis B. Sprung, President in the Chair, called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. Mr. Sprung: The meeting will come to order. Good morning. Beginning with this meeting, we are recording Delegates' attendance by computer as opposed to having you sign your cards. If there is any Delegate present who has not given their name to one of the computer operators at the desk outside of this meeting room, please be sure to do so before leaving, as this is the official record of attendance. If a Delegate makes an amendment to a Bylaw or rule to be voted upon, please provide a written copy to the Executive Secretary. It is most important that the Chair have the specific wording, as this will greatly enhance our ability to project the precise words to be considered on the screens. The Chair would like to introduce the people seated with me on the dais. On my immediate left is Chairman Ronald Menaker. To his left is the Vice Chairman David Merriam. On my right is Doris Abbate, Professional Registered Parliamentarian. To her right is Jim Crowley, the Executive Secretary. And to Mr. Crowley's right is Rhea Villanti, the court reporter. Today is the annual election of Directors. The Executive Secretary will now read the report of the nominating committee and the report on additional nominations. Mr. Crowley: Pursuant to Article VIII of the Bylaws of the American Kennel Club, the nominating committee, Erik Bergishagen, Chair, Detroit Kennel Club; Rey Burgos, Chihuahua Club of America; Blackie H. Nygood, Mispillion Kennel Club; Harry G. Ottmann, Fort Worth Kennel Club; and Jack G. Smith, Great Western Terrier Association, appointed by the Board of Directors on August 11, 2008, has nominated the following Delegates as candidates for such vacancies on the Board of Directors as are to be filled at the next annual meeting of the club on March 10, There are four vacancies for the Class of 2013: Lee Arnold, representing the Southern Colorado Kennel Club; Alan Kalter, representing the American Bullmastiff Association; John P. Nielsen, representing the English Setter Association of America; and Dr. Robert D. Smith, representing Memphis Kennel Club. Pursuant to Article VIII of the Bylaws of the American Kennel Club, the following Delegates have been endorsed in writing by the required number of Delegates as candidates for vacancies on the Board of Directors for the Class of 2013 to be filled at the annual meeting of the Club on March 10, Class of 2013, Carl C. Ashby III, representing the United States Kerry Blue Terrier Club; Dr. Fred C. Bock II, representing Key City Kennel Club; Judith V. Daniels, representing Mt. Baker Kennel Club; Carl E. Gomes, representing the Pacific Coast Boston Terrier Club. Mr. Sprung: The ballots provide that no nominations may be made from the floor. Nominations, therefore, closed on November 14th, Delegates are reminded that elections are held in accordance with Robert's Rules of Order, which require a majority vote to elect. There are four vacancies to be elected today. When more than four candidates receive a majority vote, the four receiving the highest number of votes are elected. 1

2 When less than four candidates receive a majority vote, the candidates receiving a majority vote are elected, and all other candidates remain on the ballot for the necessary repeat balloting. Vote for no more than four. Only one vote per candidate will be counted. A totally blank ballot is not counted towards the majority. A ballot with more than four votes is invalid, but does count towards the majority. In order to facilitate the calculation of ballots, we ask that you only fold your ballot in half. After the results of each ballot are reported, the Chair will give ample time and opportunity for any candidate who wishes to withdraw. As is our practice, the election procedure will be overseen by our accounting firm, KPMG. The ballots will be scanned and calculated electronically. I have been asked, so I am clarifying the facts for you. This is a secret ballot. No one knows how you voted except yourself. There is no record of your vote. When you have voted, please return to your seats so that we can proceed with the meeting. All candidates have been offered the opportunity to observe the election procedures. After it appears that everyone who wishes to vote has done so, the Chair will inquire whether anyone else wishes to vote, and the polls will be then declared closed. Additional ballots, if necessary, will be cast before we proceed to lunch. We will recess for lunch at a convenient time. Delegates are reminded there are eight polling stations along the back wall. Please line up by your last name. Give your last name and your club name to the teller. The staff will now distribute the ballots, and the polls are now open. (Voting) Mr. Sprung: Is there anyone who wishes to vote who has not done so? The Chair declares that the polls are closed. We will now continue with the meeting. New Delegates have been requested to submit individual photographs for publication in the AKC GAZETTE. Any Delegate who has not submitted a photograph and wishes to do so, please see the photographer during recess or following adjournment. It is my sad duty to inform you of the passing of several Delegates. LaVerne Andersen, Delegate for the Southeast Arkansas Kennel Club since December 9, 1980, died on February 2nd. Roberta Brady, Delegate for the Central Ohio Kennel Club since October 11, 2004, died on February the 6th. On December 20th we lost Diane Albers. She was president of the Central Florida Kennel Club and their Delegate since March 9, She was also president of the Florida Association of Kennel Clubs since 1979, and under her leadership, FAKC became a powerful vehicle for improving and protecting the interest of dogs and fanciers in many matters, including animal welfare, state and local legislation, and disaster relief. The Chair called on the Executive Secretary to read the names of Delegates seated since the last meeting. Mr. Crowley: These Delegates have been seated since the last meeting: William J. Berry, Parsippany, NJ, Garden State All Terrier Club Judy Corbett, Columbus, WI, Kettle Moraine Kennel Club Stephanie Crawford, Binghamton, NY, Staffordshire Terrier Club of America Pam Davis, Plymouth Meeting, PA, Cairn Terrier Club of America Marilynn Ellis, Victoria, TX, San Antonio Kennel Club Sandra Groeschel, Dayton, OH, Dayton Kennel Club Kathleen Kinney, Ashtabula, OH, Ashtabula, Kennel Club Sidney L. Marx, Colorado Springs, CO, Colorado Springs Kennel Club 2

3 Linda J. Souza, San Martin, CA, Irish Wolfhound Club of America Michael Teeling, Corfu, NY, Rhodesian Ridgeback Club of the United States Meg W. Weitz, Yanceyville, NC, Devon Dog Show Association Larry Wilson, Lansdale, PA, Philadelphia Dog Training Club Kelly Yarish, Brighton, CO, Terry-All Kennel Club The following Delegates, who were attending their first meeting since approval, were introduced from the floor: Judy Corbett, Columbus, WI, Kettle Moraine Kennel Club Pam Davis, Plymouth Meeting, PA, Cairn Terrier Club of America Kathleen Kinney, Ashtabula, OH, Ashtabula, Kennel Club Sidney L. Marx, Colorado Springs, CO, Colorado Springs Kennel Club Linda J. Souza, San Martin, CA, Irish Wolfhound Club of America Meg W. Weitz, Yanceyville, NC, Devon Dog Show Association Larry Wilson, Lansdale, PA, Philadelphia Dog Training Club Kelly Yarish, Brighton, CO, Terry-All Kennel Club Mr. Sprung: The minutes of the December 16, 2008 Delegate meeting were published in the January 2009 AKC GAZETTE, and the complete transcript is published on the Delegate Portal. If there are no corrections, the minutes will stand approved as published. Hearing no corrections, the minutes stand approved. The next item is on the approval of new member clubs. The following clubs have been approved by your Board of Directors, and will be voted upon at this meeting: Harrier Club of America, Norfolk Terrier Club, North Florida Amateur Retriever Club. In accordance with the Bylaws, a written ballot shall be required if requested in writing by at least five Delegates, made to the Executive Secretary seven days prior to the start of the meeting at which such election is scheduled. The Chair has been advised by the Executive Secretary that no such request has been received. We will, therefore, proceed with the vote. An affirmative vote of four-fifths of all Delegates is required to elect. The question is on the election of the Harrier Club of America as a member of the American Kennel Club. Those in favor, please raise your hand. Thank you. Those opposed, please raise your hand. Thank you. There were four-fifths in the affirmative, and the Chair declares the Harrier Club of America has been duly elected a member of the American Kennel Club. The question is on the election of the Norfolk Terrier Club as a member of the AKC. Those in favor, please raise your hand. Thank you. Those opposed, please raise your hand. Thank you. There were four-fifths in the affirmative. The Chair declares that the Norfolk Terrier Club has been duly elected a member of the American Kennel Club. The question is on the election of the North Florida Amateur Retriever Club as a member club. Those in favor, please raise your hand. Thank you. Those opposed, please raise your hand. Thank you. There were four-fifths in the affirmative. The Chair declares the North Florida Amateur Retriever Club has been duly elected a member of the American Kennel Club. Next on the agenda is the President's report. 3

4 As we all know from our personal lives, professions, and our dog world associations, the economy is playing havoc with each one of us. Even in this first quarter of 2009, some companies we have dealt with for years, have contracts with and anticipated income from, have or are going bankrupt. However, I assure you that despite the revenue-based challenges facing AKC, we remain financially sound and managed prudently. We are committed to working with our constituency to ensure another 125 years of passion for our sport. AKC is currently positioned to withstand the economic turbulence. Unfortunately, the stock market in 2008 has reclaimed most of our prior years' paper gains; however, we have generated actual operating profits in each of the last five years totaling almost $25 million. No one can predict the economic future and we know, looking forward, the road will be difficult to navigate, and teamwork between Board, staff, Delegates, Judges, clubs, breeders, and exhibitors will remain essential. Some experts state the worst is yet to come. I can promise you that the same dedication, loyalty, and creativity by the Board, management, and staff that provided positive financial operating results will remain in place for the well-being of the sport and the organization we all cherish. And now I have appointed a staff member to the role of Vice President and have waited until this Delegate Meeting to publicly make the announcement. It is with great pride that I introduce a dedicated and knowledgeable dog person who began with us in 1996, after 30 years of participation in the sport. He started out as an exhibitor and later became a successful breeder of Cocker Spaniels and Bichon Frise. After spending a number of years apprenticing under Ted Young, Jr. of Tedwin Kennels and learning the trade from experts such as Terry Stacy, he and his wife Ellen launched a successful career as professional handlers in their own right. This experienced dog person's areas of responsibility include registration and customer service. Congratulations to David Roberts on your well-earned promotion. I am sure you remember that last March, I was privileged to honor three long-term employees for their outstanding service to your clubs and for their lifetime commitment to the American Kennel Club. This morning I will recognize three additional outstanding employees. Our first honoree has been with AKC since In the sport for over 30 years, he began with Labrador Retrievers and later became a professional handler. After 13 years in customer service, in 2001, he was promoted to the Manager of Event Plans. In 2004 he became the Director of Event Operations, overseeing show events, show records, and companion events operations. I am sure that during the course of his career he has assisted virtually every AKC member club in one way or another. Bobby Birdsong, will you please join me on the podium. Our next honoree is a familiar face to most of you, Darrell Hayes, please come to the podium. AKC has been fortunate to have Darrell on our team for the last 15 years; so have I. Darrell began as an Executive Field Representative in Three years later he was named director of judges operations. In 2001 he was again promoted to assistant vice 4

5 president of dog show judges and in 2006 he was appointed to his current role as vice president of dog show judges. Darrell has dedicated his life to our sport. A professional handler for 25 years, he attained his handler's license in 1977 and owned, bred, and exhibited numerous breeds. Among his responsibilities today are judges, registered handlers, an in-house staff, and of course a team of great Executive Field Representatives. We are most fortunate to have Darrell as a leader in the AKC family. And finally, last but certainly not least, our longtime friend Paula Spector. Though most people don't believe it, this lady has been with us for 38 years. Paula started at AKC working during her summers off from school as a file clerk in 1969 and She began as a full-time employee in Paula served in a variety of important roles, including circulations director, manager of communication services, director of printing services, and since 1995 director of conference and travel. Every function that AKC holds has that very special Paula touch. Her dedication to our organization is second to none. Thank you, Paula. During my career at AKC, I have had the good fortune of implementing a number of other recognition programs to honor members of the fancy. These include the 25-year medallion programs for Delegates, judges, and show chairs, the bred-by medallion program, lifetime achievement awards, and the outstanding sportsmanship award. When I presented awards to staff last year, I immediately started thinking about another way of thanking the many individuals from among the Delegate body for the important role each of you play. I would like to call forward three Delegates who have made outstanding contributions as long-term members of the fancy on behalf of purebred dogs, the sport, and the organization. AKC is proud to be able to publicly thank them here today for their dedication and contributions: Lou Auslander, Connie Vanacore, Nelson Sills Lou Auslander has been involved in the sport since He became an AKC-approved judge in 1970 and has served as the Delegate for the International Kennel Club of Chicago since Mr. Auslander was a member of the AKC Museum of the Dog Board of Directors, and served as Chairman of their steering committee. He was a member of the AKC Board of Directors from 1984 through 1992, and was our Chairman from 1987 to In May of 1990, Lou, while Chairman, was appointed as interim president. He is the only individual in AKC's 125-year history to simultaneously hold both titles. In November of 2007 he was elected to the Board of AKC's Political Action Committee. Lou Thank you for your service to the sport and the AKC. Connie Vanacore has been an AKC Delegate for 26 years, first representing the Hollywood Dog Obedience Club from 1983 through 1998, and since 1999 the Irish Setter Club of America. She is past president of the Irish Setter Club and the current chairperson of the ISCA Health Foundation and the ISCA Foundation. Connie is chairperson of the AKC's Delegate canine health committee, a role she has held since

6 Connie has authored countless articles and multiple books, including The New Complete Irish Setter, Dog Showing: An Owner s Guide, The New Guide to Junior Showmanship, and Who's Who In Dogs, as well as co-author of The Winning Edge: Show Ring Secrets with George Alston. Connie, thank you for your many contributions. Nelson Sills has served as the Delegate for the Labrador Retriever Club for the last 29 years. He served as president of both the National Retriever Club and the Del Bay Retriever Club. In 1964 Nelson won the National Amateur Retriever Championship and went on to judge both the 1967 and 1975 national opens. In 1974 he was voted judge of the year by the Professional Retriever Trainers Association. Mr. Sills served as AKC treasurer from 1992 through 1995, and was on the AKC's Board of Directors for 15 years, from 1980 through He is the founder of the AKC Retriever Hunting Test Program, and was founder of the Master National Retriever Stake. He is a member of the Birddog Hall of Fame, a recipient of the Master National Retriever Club Vision Award, and the winner of the 2001 AKC Lifetime Achievement Award in the Category of Performance. Nelson, we thank you for all of your service to the sport. And now our Board Chairman, Ronald Menaker, will present to each of you a medallion in recognition of your service and great accomplishments. A round of applause for our friends. The Chair now calls on Jim Stevens, CFO, for the annual financial report. Mr. Stevens: While I ve had the pleasure of reporting excellent financial results to you over the past few years, clearly much has changed in Last year was an extremely difficult year from a financial perspective. I suspect that I might have been a couple of inches taller with a lot less gray hair before 2008 began. We ve previously reviewed at the March meeting each year our annual audited financials, which had combined AKC s and CAR s results s consolidated audited financial statements now also include the AKC Humane Fund and AKC s Political Action Committee. This treatment is required by generally accepted accounting principles. Jim Crowley previously notified you that the 2008 audited financials were available for your review on the delegates portal. If you had the opportunity to read these, I m sure you found it was a definite cure for insomnia..given all of the new accounting rules and added disclosures, these are not easy to digest. In order keep things relatively simple and provide you with some transparency, we ll cover only AKC s separate results with you today. We ll try not to dwell too much on the negatives, but also point out some of the positive developments which occurred last year. Let s start by reviewing how our operations performed in AKC s operations produced an operating profit of $2.9 million last year. Given the economic climate, we were pleased with this favorable result. By the way of comparison, 2008 s total revenues were approximately $1 million less than the previous year, while expenses were 2.6% higher than Unfortunately, the rate of erosion in our core revenues accelerated last year. The percentage decline in registrations was more than twice the amount of the prior year. Dog registrations dropped by 12% and litters were 10% less than The total 6

7 number of dogs registered last year was 716,000. There were 352,000 litters registered last year. Frankly, it s a tremendous challenge for any organization to continue to absorb such significant reductions to its major source of revenue. What this means in dollar terms was that our total registration revenues declined by $2.1 million in Revenues from the sale of pedigrees were over $1 million less which was clearly related to the lower registrations. In addition, our royalties were approximately $1 million lower than the prior year. These were also impaired by fewer registrations. Fortunately, 2008 s revenues from event fees were $3 ½ million higher. This helped to largely offset the aforementioned decreases in our other revenues. You might be interested to know that, despite the higher revenues from event fees, the 22,000 events sanctioned by the AKC in 2008 produced an aggregate loss of $8 million for the AKC. Although this is a very significant amount, there has been an improvement over the past few years in that the loss from events has been reduced from $13 million five years ago. Nevertheless, we must be concerned about whether our seriously declining registrations will be able to adequately subsidize the loss from events in the future. While you re thinking about that, let s shift gears into the world of investments. I ll bet you can t wait to hear what we have to say about that. As many of you may recall, we ve reaped the benefit of some excellent investment returns over the past few years. Despite that success, we did caution you not to expect similar results in the future. However, no one could ve envisioned how badly the markets performed last year. Unless you ve been living on Mars, we re all painfully aware of how dreadful the stock market rollercoaster was last year. There s hardly a day that goes by without the media drawing attention to how the markets performed. It s no surprise that many people remain somewhat shell shocked as a result. The market value of AKC s investments depreciated by $19.4 million or almost 31% last year. By comparison, the major market indices declined from 32% to 43% percent as you can see here. Stocks on average fell about 40% and the average mutual fund was also down 40% last year. Although we outperformed the market in relative terms, we re obviously disenchanted with the end result s poor investment results meant that we ve given back our investment gains of the past six years. So we re essentially back to where we started in I d like to remind everyone once again that we are not market timers regarding our investments. In other words, we don t trade in and out of the market in an attempt to maximize annual returns. We ve carefully constructed a strategic diversified investment portfolio which is designed to produce superior returns over the long term. Although we re disappointed with the last year s short term performance, we remain focused on the long term. The good news is since our operations are generating a positive cash flow, we are not dependent on our investments to fund our current operations. We d next like to make a few observations concerning our balance sheet at the end of last year. At the end of 2007 we were fortunate to be in the small minority of companies with an overfunded pension plan. This was reflected on our balance sheet as a prepaid asset of $15.6 million. Unfortunately, one year later we ve joined the large majority of companies with an underfunded plan at the end of Therefore, we no longer have an asset, but instead a liability of $13.9 million. This situation arose due to the market value of the pension plan s assets being reduced by 30% due to the market s terrible performance last year. Fortunately, there is no need for us to make any current contribution to the plan. Congress is presently exploring proposals to provide some relief for the many companies that are now in this situation. 7

8 Recent changes to the accounting for pension plans require the plan s liability to be reflected in our audited financials. This accounting treatment has generated a $29.5 million non-operating expense in our 2008 consolidated financials. This amount represents the change from a $15.6 million asset in 2007 to a $13.9 million liability in We point this out to you since it represents a significant non-operating item on the audited financials. Please note that this is a non-cash expense and has nothing to do with our operations. You should also be aware of the fact that we have been proactive in reducing some of the pension plan s benefits to control the future liability of the plan. AKC s bylaws require that the amount of the Board s expenses be reported to the delegates. The total amount of such expenses in 2008 was $318,809. For your information, the total of all expenses incurred last year related to delegate activities was $640,886. We continue to be fiscally prudent by maintaining reserve balances as we have in prior years. At the end of last year, the operating reserve balance was $32 million and the endowment reserve amount was $10.4 million. So after hearing all of this, you might ask what does this all mean? One could say that we experienced the perfect storm last year. As we noted, the rate of decline in the volume of registrations more than doubled from the prior year. If you then compound this with our investments being hammered by the worst performance of the stock market in over 75 years, it doesn t result in a very pretty financial picture for the year. I m not sure how many of you may have seen the movie, The Perfect Storm. If you have, the difference between George Clooney s experience in this movie and AKC s results for last year is that we re still very much afloat, while he and his crew sadly perished in the storm. In conclusion, we experienced some plusses and minuses from a financial perspective during We re certainly pleased that we ended the year with approximately a $3 million operating profit in this very challenging economic environment. According to our accountants, KPMG, most of their not-for-profit clients would have been thrilled with this result for last year. Nevertheless, that was then and this is now. Let me assure you that we remain extremely focused on managing our current and prospective finances to ensure the continued viability of the organization and the Sport. Mr. Sprung: Thank you, Jim. Before proceeding to voting on the proposed amendments, let's review the process to help all Delegates consider the amendments. AKC staff will project the proposed amendments the Delegates have been asked to consider on the screens. The proposed amendment will be typed and shown on the screens. If an amendment is adopted, the screen will reflect the proposal as amended. If an amendment is not adopted, the screen will project the originally proposed amendment. Delegates continue consideration of the proposed amendment, as thus amended or not amended. The Chair intends to take a standing vote, as a two-thirds vote is required to adopt a Bylaw or Rule amendment. If necessary, the Chair will take an additional counted vote. Today's first vote is on the proposed amendment to Chapter 9, Section 6 of Beagle Field Trial Rules and Standard Procedures for Brace, Small Pack Option Field Trials, and Two- Couple Pack Hunting Tests. The proposed amendment was approved at the 70th annual Beagle Advisory Committee meeting, and is recommended by the Board of Directors. 8

9 This recommendation differentiates the Beagle Field Championship Title by the three distinct hunting styles demonstrated in different field events. This proposal, and the one that follows, was read at the September 2008 meeting, and the scheduled December vote was postponed when it was learned, just prior to the December meeting, that the parent club had reversed its position of support for these amendments. The AKC Board still supports the amendment, as does the Beagle Advisory Committee, and its position is explained in the white paper that was in the meeting package mailed to you, and which is also at your seats. The amendment has been published in two issues of the GAZETTE and is on the canary colored worksheet. The Board recommends its approval. A two-thirds affirmative vote is required for adoption. Is there any discussion? The Chair recognized David Bagaley, Delegate for Central Beagle Club, who spoke as follows: I am sure what I will say to you could be better said by the Delegate from the Parent Club, the National Beagle Club, but I understand Eddie Dziuk is in China, so you're going to have to suffer with a pinch-hitter. But I suspect with modern technology as it is, if I misbehave this badge is probably set up like a shock collar, and they'll put me in my place. All of you, as AKC Delegates, did receive some background information to be reviewed prior to voting on this amendment, the Chapter 9, Section 6 of the Beagle Field Trial Rules. It's basically the same idea, although it appears there twice, because it appears in two separate publications. The data you received is in response, I'm sure, to numerous inquiries concerning the beagle recommendations that have been pushed and pulled before the AKC Delegate body at recent quarterly meetings. I would say to you that the characterization of the entities involved, specifically with respect to the Parent Club, are not quite correct. Differentiating the Beagle Field Champion Title is an action the AKC refused to consider when gundog events were necessarily instituted some 25 years ago. The AKC would not change that field champion prefix title to match the performance of the dogs in the field. All beagles were to compete under the same written standard of performance for the breed and address the rules and regulations for the specific format if they were to achieve field champion status. At that point, and I would agree, it was bravo, bravo, but now the AKC is, in fact, reversing its position. Why should anyone be confused or request clarification? The Beagle Advisory Committee recommendations were published and delivered with three distinct parts. The first and third parts were relatively benign as recognized by the Parent Club. The second part, however, has the ability to do irreparable damage to a hundred year old field champion prefix title. It should be noted the recommendations from the Beagle Advisory Committee did not receive a unanimous vote from the directors of the Parent Club. Important questions were never answered when AKC employees delivered their listing to the National Beagle Club. As a member of the National Beagle Club, I can tell you that the National Beagle Club hosts two AKC Small Pack Option Field Trials, as does every beagle club across the country. The National Beagle Club runs search and rescue programs. Yes, they do have formal pack. They do have specialty dog shows. For you to have read, "The NBC has no significant involvement with AKC field events," has to be troublesome. If you were a member of the National Beagle Club, as I am, I think you would read that and the hair would stand up on the back of your neck. 9

10 My friends at the Parent Club ask that these amendments be pulled or discarded, or in terms of our Delegate body, we would say they're asking that we please vote these down. They are very suspect, and they feel they can be very damaging. I thank you. The Chair recognized Doug Ljungren, Assistant Vice-President of Performance Events, who spoke as follows: I'd like to address the issue of no significant involvement by the Parent Club. Every beagler knows this is true, and I'd like to try to demonstrate it to the Delegate body. I have here an application for a beagle field trial, which will be held by the National Beagle Club in two weeks. The officers listed are not the officers of the National Beagle Club. I don't know what they're the officers of. The trial is being run under the name National Beagle Club but the National Beagle Club is not significantly involved. Each club also submits a list of their membership. I've taken the opportunity to review the names of the people in the National Beagle Club to determine how many have placed a beagle in an AKC field trial in the last ten years. They have 253 members according to their list. Only three of them have placed a Beagle in a field trial in the last ten years. I think that is a pretty clear definition of not significantly involved. This is an unusual situation where the Parent Club of a very large breed of our largest performance event is simply not significantly involved in the sport. Now, we should look to a Parent Club to provide us direction and input, under the assumption that they have the insight and wisdom borne of experience and a deep-seeded commitment to the sport. Our willingness to follow their direction should be tempered by the degree to which we perceive these assumptions to be true. Mr. Sprung: Thank you. Is there any further discussion? The Chair recognized Christopher Keenan, Delegate for the Empire Beagle Club, who spoke as follows: I'm proud to say the Empire Beagle Club will celebrate its 100th anniversary in the year I'd also like to say that we have current members at this time that participate in Traditional Brace, Gundog Brace, Small Pack Option, and we have two members that participate in the formal pack with the Chatham (?) pack. I'm standing in support of this change. Thank you. The Chair recognized Art Boger, Delegate for Wolverine Beagle Club, who spoke as follows: I have been a beagler for 45 years. I've run dogs in field trials for 45 years. I finished field champions. I've bred field champions. I have been elected to the Beagle Hall of Fame, and I am a member of the Beagle Advisory Committee. My position and my club's position is that there has been adequate representation for everyone on this issue to have input. Every time this has come to a vote, with one exception, it has overwhelmingly been supported by beaglers throughout this country. The Wolverine Beagle Club would really appreciate your support of this proposal. Thank you very much. The Chair recognized Richard Scranton, Delegate for the Northern Ohio Beagle Club, who spoke as follows: Our beagle club was incorporated in I've been running dogs, field champions, for 30 years. We are all actively involved in our sport. I can tell you that the beagling public in Ohio looks to the Beagle Advisory Committee to sort out all the issues and changes in our sport, and that's been the practice for 70 years. Our beagle club has been quite 10

11 upset by the chain of events, and we wish you to support these resolutions as a sport. Thank you. The Chair recognized Mario Palumbo, Delegate for the New England Beagle Club, who spoke as follows: The New England Beagle Club is the second oldest beagle club in the country. We voted for this amendment, and it was relayed to John Prianti who was on the Beagle Advisory Committee, that we were in favor of this Chapter 9 change. Thank you very much. The Chair recognized Louis Schmitt, Delegate for New Jersey Beagle Club, who spoke as follows: We wholeheartedly support this proposal. You never hear of any national beagle member participating in a license or member trial. We have been and are the only New Jersey beagle club that's a member of AKC, and we highly recommend that we pass this. Thank you. The Chair recognized: Dr. J. A. Humphrey, Delegate for the Ohio Valley Beagle Club, who spoke as follows: I am a longtime beagler, for 50 years or better, and member of the Beagle Hall of Fame, as well as a representative for Ohio Valley Beagle Club, and the people that I represent whole heartedly support this proposal. Thank you. The Chair recognized Dr. J. Charles Garvin, Delegate for the Marion Ohio Kennel Club and member of the AKC Board of Directors, who spoke as follows: I am not a beagler, don't have beagles, and I've never shown beagles. However, the thing I am interested in is representation, and this, as it's been pointed out, is a very unusual situation. I've been a long-time advocate of the Parent Club, and a 12-term president of Dalmatian Club of America, so the default position usually is, do what the Parent Club recommends. However, in this situation, I recall that many years ago, when I asked a question about a performance event, Marshall Simonds very publicly explained to me my ignorance regarding the Advisory Committees and their role in this sport. At the Board of Directors' level we've had this issue come to us several times, both before and after the position of the National Beagle Club was made known. And so we've examined it very carefully and very thoroughly from the perspective of who speaks for the beaglers that would be affected by this change. The Board of Directors twice voted in support of this change, and I believe both of those votes were unanimous. And the Beagle Advisory Committee, as David Bagaley pointed out, was not unanimous, it was 12 to 1, in their support for this amendment. So to overly simplify this very complex situation, it is, in my opinion, best for the Delegate body to support the Beagle Advisory Committee, and vote in favor of these amendments. Thank you. Mr. Bagaley: I would point out that there is a single member from the Parent Club on the Beagle Advisory Committee. That individual, yes, voted no as to these recommendations, so that's the 11 or 12 to 1 vote that you're talking about. However, when these recommendations were presented to the directors of the Parent Club, it was not just 11 or 12 to 1. There was some serious people there, beaglers who were concerned, and did, in fact, as we're witnessing here, have asked to have this waived on or voted down. 11

12 Yet, you're correct. We're weighing between an Advisory Committee, which is put together by AKC staff, and the Parent Club. And so you're being asked to cast a vote along those lines. Now, I can promise you there are going to be proposals with respect to the beagle breed brought up in the future. I mean, this is obviously, you know, not just a one-shot deal, and that's it. Some people are looking at it that way. There is a future proposal coming - Mr. Sprung: Let's discuss what's on the floor. Mr. Bagaley: So what I am saying to you is, again, it's weighing here the Parent Club versus an Advisory Committee, and I am presenting to you, if I may, the position of the Parent Club. The Chair recognized Steven D. Gladstone, Delegate for the Reno Kennel Club, and member of the AKC Board of Directors, spoke as follows: It's taken probably about eight years but Charlie and I are absolutely of one mind in this respect. I, too, am President of my Parent Club, and I, too, believe that Parent Clubs are entitled to a huge amount of deference because the beagle sport has been guided and controlled throughout most of the history of the AKC by its Advisory Committee. And certainly I was persuaded by the information that was given to me, that is, that the Advisory Committee really does represent these field trial beagles. So I agree with Charlie, and I urge you to support the recommendation of the advisory committee and the Board of Directors. The Chair recognized Rebecca Stanevich, Delegate for the Mountaineer Kennel Club, who spoke as follows: I'd rather not deal with politics, so I need to have more information on the issue itself. And to prove how little I know about this, the only comparison I can make is that in obedience and agility you have different classes but one championship. So can somebody please explain to me why we have to have three championships here? Mr. Ljungren: AKC provides different field trial events for each of the three different hunting styles of Beagles. There will not be a Gundog Beagle competing at a Brace Beagle trial. Two separate trials for, dogs with different hunting styles. So that's why we're suggesting if we provide events for different types of dogs, we then accordingly provide titles for those different types of dogs. The Chair recognized Luis Sosa, Delegate for the Louisiana Kennel Club, who spoke as follows: I would like to call for the question. A Delegate: Second. Mr. Sprung: We have a second on the floor, and we have to, without objection, vote whether to call the question. It's a two-thirds vote. All those in favor of calling the question, raise your hand. Thank you. Those opposed? Thank you. The question is on Chapter 9, Section 6, the Beagle Field Trial Rules and Standard Procedures for Brace, Small Pack Option Field Trials, and Two- Couple Pack Hunting Tests. Those in favor, please stand. Thank you. Those opposed, please stand. Thank you. There are two-thirds in the affirmative. The amendment is adopted and will be effective January 1,

13 We are now going to call on the Chair of the Tellers Committee, Kim Johnson of KPMG, to read the results of the balloting for the Class of Ms. Johnson: Good morning. The total number of ballots cast was 389; therefore, the majority to elect would be 195 ballots. The results of the ballots are as follows: Lee Arnold, 195; Carl Ashby, 253; Dr. Fred Bock, 78; Judith Daniels, 172; Carl Gomes, 48; Alan Kalter, 290; John P. Nielsen, 135; and Dr. Robert D. Smith, 190. Mr. Sprung: The Chair declares that Lee Arnold, Carl Ashby III, and Alan Kalter have been duly elected as members of the Class There is still one vacancy for the Class of 2013, so we will proceed with another ballot. If there are any withdrawals, now would be the appropriate time to indicate this. (no withdrawals) There is only one vacancy left in this class, vote for no more than one. You may vote for Dr. Fred Bock, Judith Daniels, Carl Gomes, John Nielsen, or Dr. Robert Smith. Do not vote for Lee Arnold, Carl Ashby, or Alan Kalter, as they are already elected. Will the tellers please go to their stations. The staff is distributing the ballots, and the polls are open. (Voting) Mr. Sprung: Are there any Delegates wishing to vote who have not done so? The polls are closed. We will resume with the meeting. Next is the vote on the proposed amendment to Chapter 9, Section 6 of Beagle Field Trial Rules and Standard Procedures for Large Pack Field Trials. The proposed amendment was approved at the 70th annual Beagle Advisory Committee meeting, and recommended by the Board of Directors, and approved by the Beagle Advisory Committee. This recommendation differentiates the field championship title by the three distinct hunting styles demonstrated in different field events. It has been published twice in the AKC GAZETTE, and is on the pink worksheet. The Board recommends its approval. A two-thirds vote is required for adoption. Is there any discussion? The question is on Chapter 9, Section 6 of Beagle Field Trial Rules and Standard Procedures for Large Pack Field Trials. Those in favor, please stand. Thank you. Those opposed, please stand. Thank you. There were two-thirds in the affirmative, and the amendment is adopted and will be effective January 1, I would like to call on Gina DiNardo, Assistant Executive Secretary, for an announcement to the Delegates. Ms. DiNardo: Good morning. We are pleased to announce that the first stand alone AKC Meet the Breeds event will take place at the Javits Center in New York City on October 17th and 18th, We're also delighted that despite these challenging economic times, we have secured PetPartners, Inc. as our anchor sponsor for the event. And in addition, we are working closely with the Cat Fanciers Association to expand AKC Meet the Breeds to include 41 breeds of cats. 13

14 Enhancing this event will help create an even stronger educational experience for the public, promoting responsible pet ownership for both dogs and cats. Thank you. Mr. Sprung: Thank you, Gina The Chair now calls on John Lyons, CEO, for the Community Achievement Awards. Mr. Lyons: Thank you, Dennis. I am pleased to announce the first quarter 2009 AKC Community Achievement Awards. This award is given to clubs, AKC federations, and their members who have made outstanding contributions to public education or canine legislative activities. Each honoree receives an AKC certificate of recognition, and the AKC donates $1,000 to each honoree's club or federation. Details about the honoree's accomplishments are published in the AKC GAZETTE and featured on the AKC web site. The first quarter honorees are: the Boca Raton Kennel Club; Ann Humphreys of the Heart of the Plains Kennel Club, Delegate Patricia M. Cruz; and the Olympic Kennel Club, Delegate Harvey A. Mueller. Please join me in congratulating this quarter's honorees. Mr. Sprung: Thank you, John. The Chair now calls on Sheila Goffe, Manager of Public Education, to give an update on Canine Legislation. Ms. Goffe: Good morning. I know I have a very brief amount of time here but I wanted to take the time to talk to you a little bit about AKC government relations and canine legislation, and the question that we are hearing a lot is, What is AKC doing about all this bad dog law that's out there? To start with, I want to tell you a little about the AKC government relations department, what my team does, and what we can do to help you guys who are out there on the forefront fighting these dangerous -- what I'm calling dangerous dog laws and negative dog laws. To start with, government relations is discussed, I would say, when you look at the AKC mission statement. We need to protect the rights of all dog owners and to promote responsible dog ownership. That is the crux, that is basically what government relations focuses on, that's what we're all about. So why is government relations needed? As you know, we're seeing an incredible increase in anti-dog, anti-breeder legislation. It's threatening our dogs, and it's threatening our way of life. It's not only about commercial breeders. It's not only about crop and dock. It's not only about mandatory spay and neuter. It's at the point where it's going to impact and affect every one of us. Not only that, when we see a law and say, Oh, well, you know, yeah, I see they have a limit of 30 dogs but I only have 10 dogs, why do I care about canine legislation? We know from animal rights Groups their stated policy is that their law making is incremental in nature. Today the limit may be 30 dogs, tomorrow it's going to be 15 or 5. What we're looking at when we talk about incrementalism, it is a lot easier when making a law to start off with a high number and then change it. So what is AKC doing? In 2008, we monitored approximately 800 laws. This is monitoring, watching where they're going, reacting as necessary. The nature of what's going on today, we're looking at 615 laws in March. So we're seeing an incredible 14

15 increase in the number of laws that are out there, and these are the laws that we consider potentially dangerous to dog owners. Now, it seems -- as I said before, what is AKC doing? Well, our job, when it comes to legislation, is basically to support you. You guys are out there, you're our eyes and our ears. We are your support staff. We work with legislative liaisons. We work with state federations. And I'd just like to say, as an aside, if you folks don't have a legislative liaison in your club or don't have a state federation, please, please, please consider developing one. These are our primary points of contact when we work with people at the state level, and at the local level. We unfortunately can't be everywhere but when we have these organized Groups set up, we can go in, and we can make tremendous strides because we have that grass roots organization. So what else does AKC do? We do a lot more than meets the eye. We do legislative analysis and research. We provide model legislation. We actually do meet, we have direct contact with lawmakers. It's amazing the number of times I have lawmakers call my office and say, So, what does AKC think about this new law? We are also involved at the federal level with a bipartisan lobbying Group, you probably all heard of them by now. Our new lobby Group is Greenberg Traurig of Washington, DC. When a law is dropped, we call it introduced, or we learn that a law is being thought about, being drafted by a legislator, the first thing we do is to provide research and analysis. So there's a lot more going on here than you might think, but this is perhaps the best possible time to address canine legislation, is the very, very early stage. I consider it a tremendous success if we can talk to our legislators, to our legislative liaisons, to our state federations, to anyone who is a constituent and anyone who is a lawmaker early on to get that law changed. It's a great success, if you never hear about the law. Once we get past that sort of silent period of, Oh, okay, AKC is working on a law, AKC understands what's going on, you then start to hear from us. And this is where we provide direct assistance to the clubs, information on how to contact decision makers. We provide sample letters, letters to your lawmakers, letters to your newspaper editors, media contacts, talking points, background materials. If you ever hear about legislation locally, please do not hesitate to contact us. One of the things I wanted to say ever since I've been in this position, which isn't very long, if you have a question, please call us. Let us know what's going on because that's how we're going to fight canine legislation. We also provide lobbying training seminars, again, we let our constituents take the lead. Our long-term strategy is not for AKC to come riding up to every state on a white horse to save the day. I wish we could. It's not how it works. Our strategy is grass roots support. We're looking to you. We're saying we really want to work with you. A little bit about the canine legislation that we dealt with last year. We worked with 1,250 local clubs dealing with legislative -- and, with 30 state federations, reached over 30,000 dog owners with Taking Command. We sent out 59 legislative alerts to 6,000 organizers. Think back to the last election. You think about how President Obama was tremendously successful because he worked at the grass roots level. That's what the AKC needs to do. We don't have the money that some of our opponents legislatively have. We don't have a state director in most states but what we do have is you. You are the legislative liaisons and the state federations, and we call on you folks to really be the eyes and ears out there. 15

16 I think it would be tremendous, tremendous if every Delegate would take the opportunity to meet their local councilmen, local state representatives, their senators, their reps. These people want to hear from you. You are the experts. Yes, they like to hear from AKC on some point of policy but the reality is, we're just talking heads. You guys are the ones they really want to hear from. You are the voters. You are the ones who make small donations, maybe large donations to these folks, but they're wanting to hear from you. So our job again is to provide all the support that we can possibly give to you. When you say, Yeah, I'll take the challenge, I'll go meet with my alderman, but I don't know what to say, this is where government relations comes in. We're here to mentor you. Again, going back over my stats. Last year over 800 dog-related bills, 300 state-level bills. We conducted lobby days in five cities across the United States. And, yes, like everyone, we have challenges. Certainly one of the challenges we're seeing a lot of right now is our constituents calling for a large tenet of small breeders, large breeders, owners, people who show, so on and so forth, and declining registrations. Again, we rely on the local contacts, legislative liaisons. I'm in Raleigh, North Carolina. Unless I've got a really good person in Plano, Texas, I'm not going to hear about that municipal ordinance. But thanks to those people who let us know, we do hear about them, we can provide letters, we can provide contact, we can call these people, explain AKC's position, provide public education as to why our points are the reasonable points. We're not emotional. We have very good arguments. We have science behind our arguments. This is why mandatory spay and neuter doesn't work. A word quickly on outreach, and I apologize, I'm sort of flying through this. Some of the new things that we've done recently is, in December we launched our first Congressional newsletter in conjunction with the public relations department. Public relations put this together, and basically we helped bring it to fruition. We worked with our team in Washington, DC. This newsletter now goes to a very specific targeted audience of lawmakers in Washington, DC. But AKC is up there, and it's being seen, it's being heard from, and our federal lawmakers are aware of it. Taking Command, which I know in the past has come out regularly, is now in the process of being re-launched. I just submitted the new text of the entire one. I expect to see the first edition, which I can then edit this week, so you will be seeing that probably in about a week or two. From this point on, Taking Command is going to be coming out every month. It will be coming to everybody who is interested in it. Probably all of you are signed up on the list. If you aren't, come to the GR web site, sign up for Taking Command. We are going to be basically hitting every bill that's high impact that you are likely to see, that you are likely to hear about. We will provide bill analysis here. We will provide information on some of our strategies for fighting bills. We're going to be providing handouts. So if you want to print this information out, when you go visit your Congressmen, when you go to your dog clubs, you will have that information available. Later in the spring this year, another thing we are planning to do is change our web site a little bit so we can provide online bill tracking. This will allow you to come to the web site and basically just see an update online of all the bills that we're tracking. It's not complex but it will provide everybody an opportunity to say, Oh, wow, AKC is following this, and this is the latest. So we will be providing you the latest information on bills across the country. 16