THE NINTY-FIRST MEETING OF THE DELEGATE PARENT CLUB COMMITTEE Sunday, June 12, 2016

Transcription

1 THE NINTY-FIRST MEETING OF THE DELEGATE PARENT CLUB COMMITTEE Sunday, June 12, 2016 The June 12, 2016 meeting of the Delegate Parent Club Committee was called to order by the Chairman, Pat Laurans, at 9:00 A.M. at the Doubletree Newark Hotel in Newark, New Jersey. Committee Members Present: Anne Bowes Karen Burgess Connie Butherus Don James Pat Laurans Karen Mays John Nielsen Peter Piusz Helen Prince Larry Sorenson Also Present: Bill Feeney Alan Kalter Carl Ashby Carmen Battaglia Pat Cruz Charles Garvin Karolynne McAteer Harvey Wooding Mari Beth O Neill Steve Pessah Liz Sorota Guests: James Ashton Roberta Berman Bob Brown John Buddie Suzanne Burgess Duane Butherus Kathi Brown Marge Calltharp Becky Campbell Katie Campbell April Clyde Cindy Collins Ann Mariah Cook Ruth Crumb Marilyn Curry Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club of America Greater Clark County Kennel Club Afghan Hound Club of America Leonberger Club of America German Wirehaired Pointer Club of America Windward Hawaiian Dog Fanciers Association English Setter Association of America American Rottweiler Club Scottish Terrier Club of America Dachshund Club of America Liaison Liaison AKC Staff Liaison AKC Staff AKC Staff Obedience Training Club of Rhode Island American Manchester Terrier Club Great Pyrenees Club of America Collie Club of America English Spring Spaniel Field Trial Association Delaware Water Gap Kennel Club Ladies Dog Club Chinese Shar Pei Club of America Mastiff Club of America Basenji Club of America California Airedale Terrier Club Genessee County Kennel Club Siberian Husky Club of America Magic Valley Kennel Club American Chinese Crested Club 1

2 Tom Davies Virginia Denninger Margaret DiCorleto Margaret Doster Jeffrey Drogin Bob Eisele William Ellis Linda Flynn Lynn Garvin Richard Grant Claudia Grunstra-Pierro Steve Hamblin Keith Hanson Ellen Hardin Stephen Hersey Eugenia Hunter Sheila Kenyon Patte Kleccan Gary Koeppel Gail LaBerge Stacey LaForge Linda LaFrance Louise Leone Karen Luckey Jack McDaniel Betty McDonnell Elizabeth Milan Aletta Moore Jeannette O Hanlon Mary Lou Olszewski Elizabeth Omeara Nicky Patterson Diane Pearson Patricia Peel Carole Plesur Billie Ponton Thomas Powers Richasrd Rohbacher John Ronald Cathy Rubens Kenny Saenz Patricia Sample Gary Sarvinas Kitty Sarvinas Barbara Schwartz Maureen Setter Susan Sholar Springfield Kennel Club Genesee Valley Kennel Club The Chow Chow Club Kennel Club of Buffalo Eastern German Shorthaired Pointer Club Suffolk County Kennel Club Plum Creek Kennel Club of Colorado South Shore Kennel Club Marion Ohio Kennel Club Providence County Kennel Club Yorkshire Terrier Club of America Pacific Coast Pekingese Club Bichon Frise Club of America Golden Retriever Club of America Skye Terrier Club of America Irish Wolfhound Club of America Old English Sheepdog Club of America American Bouvier des Flandres Club Parson Russell Terrier Association of America Atlanta Obedience Club Tibetan Terrier Club of America Greater Ocala Dog Club Colorado Kennel Club Spinone Club of America Irish Water Spaniel Club of America Norwich Terrier Club of America Bulldog Club of Philadelphia Airedale Terrier Club of America Staffordshire Terrier Club of America American Bloodhound Club Rhode Island Kennel Club Middlesex County Kennel Club Bedlington Terrier Club of America Alaskan Malamute Club of America Italian Greyhound Club of America Northwest Connecticut Dog Club Kennel Club of Beverly Hills Welsh Springer Spaniel Club of America Samoyed Club of America Fayetteville Kennel Club Chihuahua Club of America Anderson Obedience Training Club Maryland Kennel Club Dog Owners Training Club of Maryland German Shorthaired Pointer Club of America Cleveland All-Breed Training Club Black Russian Terrier Club of America 2

3 Gino Sisneros Nance Olson Skoglund Cindy Stansell Patti Staub Daniel Stolz Sharon Stuckler Rick Su Maggie Strouse Chris Sweetwood Laura Trainor Bob Urban Bruce VanDeman Marilyn Vinson Marile Waterstraat Doren Weintraub Kat Whitaker Linda Willson Lynn Worth-Smith American Pomeranian Club Gordon Setter Club of America Finnish Spitz Club of America Greater Fredericksburg Kennel Club Clearwater Kennel Club American Boxer Club Keeshond Club of America National Shiba Club of America Trap Falls Kennel Club Susque-Nango Kennel Club American Black & Tan Coonhound Club English Toy Spaniel Club of America S.E. Iowa Kennel Club Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever Club (USA) Kenilworth Kennel Club Greyhound Club of America South Jersey Kennel Club Vizsla Club of America On behalf of the committee Pat Laurans thanked Tom Powers for all his contributions to this committee and to the parent clubs in general. During his four year tenure as a Board Liaison to this committee Tom actively worked to keep us all apprised of Board and Staff thoughts and actions on topics that concerned parent clubs and our committee and how to make them move forward. Pat had thanked Mike Liosis at our last meeting and introduced our new Staff Liaison, Mari Beth O Neill. She has done so much for parent clubs and for AKC whether it be individually or collectively and we are fortunate to have her as our new Liaison. Mari Beth stated she is a member of three parent clubs and is aware of their issues. Pat also introduced our new Board Liaison, Alan Kalter, who has been active with parent clubs for many years and whose heart is with the parent clubs and AKC in general. In addition, she welcomed back Bill Feeney who has been our second Board Liaison for several years. Committee members introduced themselves. As there were no additions or corrections, on a motion by Larry Sorenson, the March 7, 2016 meeting minutes were approved as printed. Parent Clubs and AKC.org/AKC Marketplace, Peter Piusz and Liz Sorota: Peter introduced Liz Sorota who joined the AKC at the end of February. She and Steve Pessah, who is the Project Manager on Marketplace, are here to bring everyone up-to-speed on what s happening with Marketplace, how it works, how it has been doing since it was launched in December, and to share some exciting changes. They will continue to make changes as they go forward and listen to the feedback they are receiving that has been quite encouraging. How does Marketplace work? All breeders who are in good standing and have registered AKC litters are allowed to advertise on Marketplace. There are three different advertising options. You can choose just to advertise your litter for ninety days at a cost of $ You can choose an ongoing subscription for a fee of $10.00/month or $99.00 a year. There are some breeders who many not currently have a litter who can advertise just to get their name out there so that when they do have a litter they already have customers waiting. What they have found us that 82% will opt for the 90 day program. Another 18% opt for the on-going subscription, either by month or yearly. What is the requirement? The litter must be registered in order to be eligible to advertise on Marketplace. 79% of the breeders who are advertising on Marketplace are actually opting in during the 3

4 litter registration process. You must also provide the litter registration number, the dam and sire registration numbers, and the issue date. This information is verified in the database before they are eligible to advertise to make sure that all litters are AKC registered as are the dams and sires. One of the advantages of Marketplace is the flexibility of what can be placed there. This includes pictures, videos, documentation such as pedigrees, information about their own web site, and an open forum to talk about their litters. Any information specific to the sire and the dam is provided by the AKC and is automatically loaded. The breeder cannot enter that specific information. After the breeder registers their litter and opts in on Marketplace they have the option of filling out a 13 question Breeder Profile. This covers a lot of the information important to our parent clubs and specialty clubs. They can tell the prospective buyer that they will provide documentation, that they are a Breeder of Merit and a member of a parent club, that all health screenings have been performed, that they will provide a Bill of Sale as well as responsibilities for the buyer and seller, that they will take the puppy back, that they will provide the puppy buyer information on socialization, exercise training, immunizations, that they provide a guarantee for the puppies they sell, that they permanently identify all breeding stock by microchip or tattoo, that they enroll in AKC Reunite, that their dogs compete in AKC events, and that the breeder has been breeding for X number of years. Breeders that have a Breeder of Merit or Breeder with Heart designation are uploaded automatically from the AKC database to the Marketplace. They don t have the opportunity to specify that they are a Breeder of Merit. This is something that is automatically identified with the registration. The designation Breeder of Merit is specific to the breeder and not specific to the litter. Marketplace provides a lot of value for breeders. It provides a modern platform for breeders within the website allowing them to advertise their breeding program and also giving them a format that works across a multitude of different devices. As a benefit, all Breeders of Merit get their listing for free. How has Marketplace done in its first five months since its introduction? AKC is quite proud of the results. They currently see 11% of all litters opting into the Marketplace and this continues to increase every single month. Since the launch in December, revenues are up 44% and they currently get more than 25,000 visitors a day. They recently conducted a survey among all breeders who had participated in Marketplace and most were satisfied. 70% indicated they would recommend this site to other breeders. Among consumers, approximately three out of four indicated they already had or would consider purchasing a puppy from marketplace. Those who were not satisfied had tried to contact breeders and got no response. It is felt that as Marketplace continues to grow this will be less of a problem since there will be more puppies available and more litters up on the web site. Steve Pessch explained what they have planned for Marketplace over the next several months. They are eliminating the program for clubs sites on the Marketplace because there was poor participation and a lack of visibility and functionality. Research has indicated that Marketplace is better served by being single-focused on commerce since there was a lack of capability and functionality. Club information is going to be optimized on the event pages. It will be easier to get directly to the events you are looking for by going to the event calendar so the pet owner can get involved by attending events in their area. They will be providing a zip code finder to make it easier to find events nearer to them. They will also be increasing their marketing to help provide this awareness. At the end of July they will be making refunds to all the clubs that were on Marketplace, shutting down the program and making all the changes mentioned. The club information that is going to be placed on the event pages is all going to be free. This is all as a result of the feedback they received. The Rescue Network is currently in the Marketplace and this is a great opportunity to have a rescue page. This will be featured in a separate pad so there can be a distinction between breeders and the rescue network and this will also be free of charge. They have a lot of information on Marketplace and plan to make it easier for breeders to provide more information and 4

5 to understand what the site is all about. They are including information on the trustworthiness and code of ethics of our breeders by showing testimonials about what the breeders are saying and what consumers are experiencing by getting a puppy from the Marketplace. Breeders of Merit are automatically pulled from the AKC database and are not something that is checked off by the breeder. The Breeder of Merit designation does not refer to an individual breed, but the overall breeder. All AKC registered litters are eligible to be placed in Marketplace. If a litter has a puppy that has a color or marking disqualification this will be noted in Marketplace and the AKC Registration. If someone is misrepresenting themselves on Marketplace, the services team will take action and rectify the issue. AKC sees Marketplace as an opportunity to bring consumers into the ranks and help them to understand the importance of AKC and the value of an AKC registered dog. Karolynne McAteer, Irish Setter Club of America, questioned the criteria for Breeder of Merit. Alan Kalter explained there has been quite a bit of discussion regarding this topic. This is not breed-specific but will be sent back to the Board for further review. Don James, Leonberger Club of America, felt the 13 questions asked of breeders should be required, not optional. Liz Sorota indicated they have been thinking along these same lines but don t want any more hurdles for breeders to list their litters in Marketplace. They are considering multiple choices so you have to make a selection. Carl Ashby, United States Kerry Blue Terrier Club, suggested there be an order by which breeders are listed on Marketplace with Breeders of Merit listed at the top. Marilyn Vinson, Southeastern Iowa Kennel Club, asked if there would be a place to designate if a puppy has a disqualifying color and that this dog should not be bred. Pat Laurans explained that AKC registers puppies from AKC registered sires and dams. The DQ s that are in conformation do not pertain to other events. In a perfect world, people would like to get all the information that is possible to get. There may be other ways we can do this without having that kind of notification such as asking people to read the standard to see what an applicable color is if they want to show in conformation, etc. There are certain caveats that have to do with what s going on in the real world, i.e. a registered sire and registered dam equals an AKC registered dog. Jeffrey Drogin, Eastern German Shorthaired Pointer Club, feels AKC should not foster questions regarding a fenced yard, where you live, if you live in an apartment, etc. People should be able to buy puppies wherever you live. Many of these questions would completely eliminate him if he answered them. Marge Calltharp, Chinese Shar Pei Club of America, has used the site and feels it is very useful and easy to get into. Liz Sorota indicated they would be adding a list of top 10 questions to ask a breeder to inform the buyer what they should be asking. For those who might wish to contact Liz her address is eas@akc.org. Lynn Garvin, Marion Ohio Kennel Club, asked how a dog becomes eligible for the AKC Rescue Network. Peter Piusz explained that the Network is made up of rescue organizations of purebred dogs that have been acknowledged by their parent clubs. It is the organization, not the dog. Peggy Doster, Kennel Club of Buffalo, is concerned that there are parent clubs that do not have a functioning rescue and she wondered if outside rescue organizations were going to be approved and listed or could individual AKC breeders list a dog that they have and need to find a home for. Peter emphasized that the function of the Rescue Network is to support organizations that do purebred rescue and when you start talking about people posting individual dogs you have no idea who they are, if they have insurance, etc. This is an extremely difficult situation that needs to be worked on. It will take a long time to get to the point where it is actually working and where AKC is comfortable and the parent clubs are comfortable. 5

6 Parent Club Conference and Parent Club Delegate Lists, Pat Laurans: Pat reminded us that these lists deal with parent clubs exclusively. Both of these entities allow us to share information from one club to another in terms of practices, policies and procedures and so far they have been very helpful. Anyone not on these lists are encouraged to contact John Nielsen, The Conference List is open to all officers of your parent club so you might encourage them to become a part of this group. Bred with Heart, Bill Feeney and Mark Dunn: Peter Piusz asked when the health statements will appear on the web site. Mark explained that the health tests are all listed but there is some re-tooling being done on AKC.org and this may take some time. Pat again requested that this is an important issue and that it needs to be addressed sooner than later. Peter indicated that he will continue to do mailings to the parent clubs and will publish what is received. There are currently 131 parent club health statements that have been received. Mark s focus was to bring in the highest volume breeders. Out of the top 50 breeds there are 8 breeds that have not participated. #1 is the Labrador Retriever, #8 the Yorkshire Terrier, #30 the Cocker Spaniel, #31 the Coton de Tulear, #40 the Border Collie, #41 the Chesapeake Bay Retriever, #43 the Papillion, and #48 the Cane Corso. There is a lot less participation from the smaller breeds. Mark Dunn clarified that if a clubs has not submitted a letter they then use the hierarchy of existing information. They start with the club s Code of Ethics or similar code if there were health tests required in them. If there is nothing in the Code of Ethics they go to CHIC and if there is nothing in CHIC they go to the web page. If there is nothing, then the answer is none. When a letter is returned to Peter, that information super-cedes anything that was already listed. If a club s information changes the process is the same; they simply send a new letter from the club s Board of Directors. Peter is not checking for content but that the letter is on the club letterhead, that it specifically states that it is approved by your club s Board of Directors, and that there is a contact person if there are questions. The letter then goes to Mark and is synced up with the two data bases. CGC Title Numbers, Alan Kalter and Bill Feeney: As of May 1 st there are 46,000 CGC titles. The numbers continue to grow. Parent Club Rescue Alliance L Group, Peter Piusz: We have picked up eight more representatives for the Parent Club Rescue Alliance. They are about to do a mass mailing. As the Marketplace goes forward they hope to acquire more participation. Dock and Crop, Peter Piusz: This month s topics will be Health Studies. They need to find more information and to find people who have access to university and medical libraries. Alan Kalter asked if the Dock and Crop Committee was coordinating with Dr. Jerry Klein. This has not yet been done but could prove helpful. Pet Disaster Trailer, Pat Laurans: As of June 9 th 328 clubs are participating. We have received $978, in donations, $250, funded by AKC Reunite, for a total of $1, which is quite commendable in this short period of time. Forty-seven trailers have been delivered to 23 states. There are 9 trailers in the pipeline. There are 16 more fund-raising clubs underway. Kenny Saenz, Chihuahua Club of America, would like to see a link to show what the trailer does and to show spectators what the trailer actually does. If there was a link, clubs could supply a screen to show this. Pat recommended Kenny contact Tom Sharp since there is an explanation on the site. Helen Prince belongs to two clubs that have trailers. They have people assigned to the trailers to talk to people about them. They had someone from Animal Control there to tell visitors how they use the trailer. This is more effective than just having the video. As experienced dog people they have people on call to answer 6

7 questions. Pat explained that every time there a disaster, people are contacted to see if there is a need for a trailer. Helen Prince would like to see pictures and documentation for our records every time a trailer is deployed. Katie Campbell Basenji Club of America, stated they just finished funding their second trailer. What made this successful is that she got a corporate sponsor to pledge $5, They had a matching fund program so that they could target the small clubs local clubs so their club could be placed on a small logo. To come up with the necessary funds, individuals could write a personal check that would be donated through their local club so that they could meet the financial requirement. They were able to come up with the $5, that was matched by the corporate sponsor that added up to $10, Parent Club of Excellence, Larry Sorenson: There are 56 clubs that have participated. Connie Butherus has compiled some statistics. The possible score is 130. The scores ranged from 125 to 37, with a median score of 99. Interesting things were reported. All but one parent club has their Constitution and By-laws in conformity with the AKC recommendation. Only one club was not incorporated and only one club did not have a Code of Ethics. Under Membership and Awards, 23 of the clubs have increased their membership from 1% to 5% in the past year which the committee feels is significant. About a third of the clubs have a Junior Scholarship Program. Approximately half of the clubs have a Junior Program of Recognition. Approximately half of the clubs support the full litter registration and the Breeder of Merit Program. Over 50 of the clubs have Judges Education. Almost as many have mentoring programs for prospective judges. Forty-six have a brochure that goes out with the AKC registration papers. Forty-nine reported a health program and funding for health research and health screenings. The majority support Rescue. Nearly all have a monitored E-list for their membership. Virtually all of them participate in AKC events. Six of the clubs participate only in conformation. Some clubs have their educational material on their web sites. One club reported having a substantial DNA bank. All of this indicates clubs are doing more than just putting on a National Specialty. Larry will place this information on the Parent Club List and will follow up with the Self-Evaluation Form. Larry then moved that the Parent Club of Excellence title be changed to the Parent Club Self-Evaluation Program. The motion passed. Archives, Helen Prince: There hasn t been much action on this. Helen is concerned that there have been no new questions and she would welcome them. There was a follow-up sent out after our first session with no response. She surmises that clubs are not interested in this. Specialty Show Campaign, Peter Piusz: In December, 2015, there was a small pilot program designed for specialty clubs to drive up event entries using an AKC system. Nineteen clubs participated around the country in 28 of their events. s were distributed to owners of specified breeds in the AKC database within a 100 mile radius of the event. The focus was on participation and contained the following three links: The Friend listing on AKC.org, Getting Started in AKC Events, and An Introduction to AKC Sports. Peter plans to publish Liz Sorota s report since it is complex and there is a lot of information in it. In summary, based on feedback from the 19 club surveys, four respondents noted an increase in inquiries, one club saw significant changes in terms of attendance, but the majority did not see anything that increased attendance. The Staff started discussing this in April and the Rottweiler National was coming up in May and they requested that this program be applied to them. There were approximately 100 more people who were either newbies or who had not attended in several years, mostly for special attractions. The American Rottweiler Club felt this program was very effective, but not in the way they expected. Next year s National is in Nevada and they do not know what to expect. Larry Sorenson s Dachshund club has been utilizing this program for the past three years with 120 people showing up as a result of the program. 7

8 DCA Public Outreach Program, Larry Sorenson: Four years ago Larry got the statistics on the number of Dachshund litter registrations and he was astounded by the precipitous drop. In 1971there were 60,954 litters registered dropping to a low of 8,834 in What could be done? Dachshunds are popular with the public and they felt it was up to DCA to promote the breed. The purchased a booth that could be shipped around to their events. They also use it for Meet the Breeds. On the day of the show the booth is placed in a prominent location and they staff it with knowledgeable breeders who can talk with the people. They are given a tour of the show explaining what is going on, taken to vendors row to see what is available to purchase, and are provided with some AKC materials such as the Guide to Dog Shows. They are taken to the grooming area so that they can interact with the dogs. Larry also gets breeders to fill out a breeder-referral sheet indicating if they have puppies available. The first year they had this in Sacramento they had phenomenal coverage. Seventy-seven people turned out for this show. This year in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania they had approximately 120 people turn out to see Dachshunds. They plan to continue this program at future shows. AKC has found that the AKC Marketplace is the best way to handle this. Peter will put this information up on the List. Larry will come up with an article for Perspectives. Alan Kalter explained that AKC did some research on people who owned purebred dogs and would like to attend a show but are not aware of events in their area. Katie Campbell emphasized that we need to be fastidious in receiving the newcomers to our show; greeting them and welcoming them to our events. This program is available to all specialty clubs, not just the National. AKC is in the process of developing a program that would enable them to the public who might be interested in any AKC event. Some information is already going out to new puppy owners. The Board will be talking about the formalization of the 4-6 month puppy program in July and this could be of interest to new puppy owners. Kathi Brown, Ladies Dog Club, felt we need to be prepared to offer something to these new people who come into the sport. Their members are prepared to welcome new attendees to their events and to make sure they have a good time and have a positive experience. Future Parent Club Conferences Possible Avenues, Peter Piusz and Pat Laurans: Pat questioned whether we want to do another Parent Club Conference or if this could be done as a part of an AKC Conference. The Committee was polled and all agreed they would be willing to work on another Conference. It was posed whether this could be done regionally or nationally and whether this would be face-to-face or if this could possibly be done electronically. Alan Kalter felt the proceedings should be recorded for dissemination and asked that the Board be given ideas on key issues. A compendium of past topics will be available and we will have input at the next meeting. Peter Piusz volunteered to spearhead this. Campaign to Get More Parent Clubs to Join AKC, Anne Bowes: Anne thanked her Committee members; Helen Prince, Don James, Karen Burgess, Whitney Coombs and Mari-Beth O Neill for their wonderful participation on this Committee. They sent out initial letters to 36 licensed clubs. Some have responded and others have not. Mari-Beth then followed up and sent a second letter to those that did not respond to the first. More have responded to her but there are still a number they have not heard from. They will continue to try to contact them. Four of the clubs on their list, Lagotto Romagnolo, Irish Red and White Setters, Berger Picard, and Cesky Terrier and very close to achieving member status. They hope to be welcoming their delegates into our delegate body in the not-too-distant future. Legislative, Anne Bowes: Anne has been working with Sheila Goff and Mari-Beth O Neill. AKC Government Relations sent invitations to 274 Parent Club Delegates and Legislative Liaisons on Tuesday, March 1 st to join the new Facebook group. As of Friday, June 2 nd, 94 individuals had joined the group. 8

9 The Facebook format, which is designed to replace the Parent Club Legislative Liaison yahoo group, allows group members to engage in real-time discussions on legislative bills and issues, to solicit feedback on events and to post articles for feedback. Most recently AKC Government Relations posted the new AKC PAC video, and a special invitation for these delegates to attend our biennial, invitationonly Legislative Conference in Raleigh on July 22-24, The revised position statements which were adopted in April were also posted and discussed. Members have posted news articles relevant to canine legislation and brainstormed ways to best reach and motivate club members to get involved in local and state issues. The group is a secret group which means that those not in the group, or who have not been sent the link cannot see the group or its discussions This is done to ensure that this is a safe and private place for discussions about issues, legislation and strategy. If any club or member wishes to add an individual to the group they need to contact AKC Government Relations at doglaw@akc.org since the administrator must approve all requests. AKC GR will moderate this page and will add members as needed. Sheila is also speaking at the Delegate s Forum tomorrow. Her topic is Working Together to Combat Anti-Dog/Anti Breeder Legislation. Showing Spayed and Neutered Dogs, Pat Laurans Group Discussion: Larry Sorenson commented that at Specialties, the only class that permits neutered dogs is the Veteran Class. He would like for this to extend to the non-regular classes at Independent Specialties and allow for winners to compete for Best of Breed. Larry and Connie Butherus will put together the wording for a recommendation that will be sent to the Rules Committee for their consideration. This will be sent to our Committee for their input. The Committee would also appreciate outside comments. Group Realignment, Karen Burgess: As a member of the Group Realignment Committee that was previously disbanded, Karen has been working on this since At our March Committee Meeting we asked our Board Liaisons to take this topic back to the Board to see where we stood and if this can be reconstituted. Bill Feeney explained there were a lot of issues the last time this was proposed. We do have more and more breeds that are being recognized and some of the groups are getting quite large. When we had this issue several years ago so many people questioned where their breed was being placed. Karen feels the Board should clearly define their mission since it was not as clearly defined in the past. Tom Davies commented this was a project they were very seriously interested in. What he would like is for people who are interested in the realignment process to give the committee their thoughts, where they want to go, etc. The committee needs input that they didn t receive the last time. The people who complained they didn t like where they were put were mostly people who didn t provide any input. They need to start with a broad base group of interested people. If you are interested, get involved and they will be happy to reconstitute the concept. There is a list for Group Realignment. Access this and place your comments on it. If you would like to get an invitation to be part of the yahoo list contact Karen Burgess, dakaaresp@yahoo.com. Another Thank-you to Tom Powers, Pat Laurans: Pat went back to an earlier part of the meeting giving Tom Powers thanks for all his contributions to our Committee and the parent clubs. Juniors, Mari-Beth O Neill: There was a recent survey that went out to Juniors seeking to find more information about ways to support youth in our sport. The data is consistent with how entries have declined since Junior numbers have decreased along with other entries. Mari-Beth is interested in some of the information obtained from the Parent Clubs of Excellence Program. 9

10 Veterinary Outreach, Mari-Beth O Neill: Another will be going out to all clubs, not just parent clubs, seeking information from them as well regarding what they are doing for Juniors in the form of scholarships, support programs, and scholarships for veterinary students. There are a lot of unknowns at the veterinary schools about what we, as purebred dog fanciers, do to support these programs. Amongst ourselves we know that many of us in our sport are very generous with the veterinary schools in terms of scholarships, etc. This is not information that is shared among their students and there is a very negative attitude in the veterinary schools about breeders. One of the programs Mari-Beth is involved with is the Veterinary Outreach Program. One thing to get the students attention is to provide their lunch at which point they will come and she can coordinate to have a local AKC Ambassador to represent the AKC. She provides them with a presentation. Anne Bowes did one for us at Tufts and they try to dispel some of the misinformation they have about purebred dogs and purebred breeders. Having now a Chief Veterinary Officer has been a great proponent. Having material residencies has also helped to see a little change in some attitudes. This year we have our eight veterinary scholarship awarded to those who have participated in the sport in some way. One is a Breeder of Merit and two of them have been Juniors. Mari-Beth is appreciative of the Board approving Junior Scholarships this year. This is very positive PR. The other thing she wants to share is in reference to a program the Board approved last month regarding the AKC Junior Participation and Ranking Program. This is something they hope will provide us with a lot more information about Juniors who are participating in all events. We know who the Juniors are who are participating in Conformation. Since 2000 Juniors who have participated in Companion and Performance events do receive a title or a recognition certificate for handling a dog to its title but that requires manual work on their part and a submission of forms. Hopefully this will incent a lot more participation. Mari-Beth is looking for input on ways to continue to enhance what we do for young people so we have someone to take our place in the future. Kitty Sarvinas, Dog Owners Training Club of Maryland, commended the Board for approving the Pee Wee Program. She had the opportunity to judge this at Burlington. The exhibitors were enthusiastic about getting into the ring and a good time was had by all. Educating Individuals who are Being Asked to Judge Specialties, Pat Laurans: Jo Ellen Gregory, Otterhound Club of America, is concerned that there are judges assigned to their breed that have never participated in any club education program. This came as a result of a judge having been assigned to judge a Regional Specialty who had never attended any breed education and was clearly unaware of the ideosyncracies of judging their breed. One of the suggestions was that each club make sure that if you have educational information or presentations that are available on line that when someone is assigned to your breed or you invite someone to judge that you automatically forward that information to the person who will be judging your specialty. That is one way that we can start to get this information out. Archives (revisited), Don James: Don was assigned to spearhead this project as a member of the Leonberger Club of America s Board of Directors. There are four or five people in his club that possess information that is critical historically and they are worried about what will happen to this when these people pass along because they are getting up there. AKC does provide this service to parent clubs and Don has been in contact with AKC about the possibility of using this service. Don would be happy to share his experiences with what happens to them as they proceed through this process. Sometime in the near future your club is going to be faced with the same situation and it would be helpful if you would share their information. Steve Hamblin, Pacific Coast Pekingese Club, stated his club is rebuilding their history through catalogs stored in the archives. Roberta Berman, American Manchester Terrier Club, has come into possession of an album from prominent kennels of their breed. She would like to find an inexpensive way to place this in a video format. Helen Prince, stated this is not as expensive as you 10

11 might think and that you should ask the AKC Archivist if they could do it or suggest someone to do this. Photos are unstable and will begin to deteriorate. Karolyn McAteer recommended this be placed on a CD and not a video. Costco has the means to do this. Pat Laurans asked if someone on the Board could look into this and that would help the parent clubs. There needs to be a repository, not the clubs, or information will be lost. Where can this material be stored so that people in the future can access the information? Susanne Burgess, English Springer Spaniel Field Trial Association, stated their health foundation is also interested in archiving their material. They have also started scanning in all of their catalogs and printing them on their Foundation Website for anyone who wants to look at them. Helen Prince is going to have Don James write an article about his experience with the AKC Archivist. If you have any questions, send them to Helen so that we can see how other clubs handle this. Pat Laurans added that if you have processes that some of you have talked about, send them to Helen so this information can be compiled. Helen was asked to put this request on the Delegate and Conference lists. On a motion by Connie Butherus, the meeting was adjourned at 11:35 A.M. Respectfully submitted, Karen Mays, Windward Hawaiian Dog Fanciers Association Secretary 11