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AKC DELEGATE
REPORT CLAUDIA FRANK |
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LEGISLATIVE CAUCUS
PARENT CLUB MEETING
HERDING-EARTHDOG-COURSING COMMITTEE
DELEGATE'S CAUCUS
DELEGATE'S MEETING
MONDAY
Legislative Caucus – Narrated by Nancy Fisk
I was really impressed with this group. They had carefully defined their focus which was for this particular meeting “legislative vocabulary".”
As dog sport oriented citizens it is our job to let the legislative body of our government, both state and federal, know where we stand on canine legislation. Each club should have a Legislative Liaison with the AKC. Programs about canine legislation should be part of club programming. There needs to be a PASSION to save dog owners rights. The Legislative Liaisons need to have resources to be effective. They must be proactive and respond to legislative issues before they become bills and be totally aware of the impact of specific words in the legislative language.
If bills that would have a negative impact on dog owners/breeders becomes apparent opposition must be expressed. A list of AKC dog owners in the problem geographic area is available from the AKC. These owners can be notified of the bill and its impact on them to gain support for the opposition. A letter of opposition should be personally delivered to the legislative bodies and the governor.
Animal Rights blurs words and meanings.
Animal welfare is defined as promoting stewardship of animals, supports raising of animals for food and animal activities on farms and ranches. They promote scientific approach to wild animal management and reinforces the bond of animals and humans. Examples: AKC, clubs, 4H, zoos.
Animal rights opposes animal interaction for any purpose. They raise crisis which vilifies man to keep animals separate. They manipulate the laws to deprive people of animals. They play on the sympathy of animal lovers but may be involved in criminal activity. Exampes: PETA, HSUS, Animal Protection Groups.
There are three types of breeders.
1. Non Commercial
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Concerned with health, temperament and breed type
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They are responsible dog owners
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They are breed fanciers that enjoy dog sports
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They are “casual breeders” selling directly to the public
The “Backyard Breeder” falls into this category except that they lack knowledge, have no club connections and contribute to irresponsible dog ownership
2. Commercial Breeders
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They are inspected by the US Department of Agriculture
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They must abide by their regulations
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Problems are reported
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Sales over the internet are not regulated
3. Puppy Mills
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Not good situations for dogs
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AKC can suspend their license for poor conditions and inaccurate record keeping
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Their existence is bad for everyone as news reports of such situations brought before the public eye lead them to believe all breeders keep their dogs in such conditions.
A companion is a person, relative, or spouse. A dog should remain a PET in the eyes of the law. Do we OWN the dogs or are they on loan from the government? Pets are considered personal property. There is a “guardianship” campaign by the animal rights movements to equate pets to slaves.
The term “adoption” of a pet is a marketing tool to make it more acceptable by humane society. The term “adoption” is for children. We “purchase” an animal.
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What do we do after the legislative bill becomes law? There needs to be a huge AKC and UKC presence.
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Always use the full name of a breed… never “pit bull.”
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A “definition” may be changed in governmental rules and regulations if they are not a law.
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At the county level form an “Animal Advisory Board” with breeders, pet owners and local humane groups. Become involved in offering advise on needs and wording before a crisis arises.
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Check your own insurance company to make sure they are not guilty of breed profiling.
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The biggest point made is to be PRO-ACTIVE!
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See article entitled “Language Makes A Difference!” This would be good in the “BL”.
Parent Club Meeting – Pat Laurens Chairman
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The Parent Club Conference on July 20-22 was discussed. Comments made regarding the conference; 1) Legal aspects of rescue will be covered; 2) information at this conference provides a foundation for our clubs; 3) Clubs should send new representatives, no repeats; 4) There will be a great deal of educational material available.
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Specialty Site Locator is on the AKC site. (Has BCSA provided any information about the Purina show site for the Locator? ) If there are any questions regarding this site contact SMR@akc.org.
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Ways to increase club membership was discussed.
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New Titles of Record to clubs was meant as a way to increase membership. It is available by zip code also. (Is BCSA using the New Titles of Record list to increase membership? It was recommended that the new title winners be contacted by parent clubs either directly or through club publicity mailings. This could be something that the Membership Chairman could do each time the List is issued.) Regional Clubs should look for new members in All-Breed clubs whose members have your breed. Training classes of some type also attract new members. Clubs need to be relevant!
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The authority to define “group descriptions” such terms as “terrier temperament” was left to parent clubs rather than this committee.
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Parent club authorized 501c3 rescue groups will not be posted on the AKC web site.
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Generate income for the AKC was the theme of a letter read from a parent club that outlined some ways the AKC should consider.
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AKC Archives was presented in a slide show narrated by AKC Archivist Norma Rosado-Blake. The AKC archives are to provide an enduring memory. For questions her email is nrb@akc.org.
Materials are saved for future preservation
The collections are professional managed
There is NO cost to clubs – shipping is reimbursed
Collections used for research and education
The processing of the material –
Material entered into an accession log
A preliminary inventory is made
A letter of acknowledgement is sent and a Deed of Gift must be signed by club
The material is arranged and preserved
There is a “finding aid” on the web site
A list of what is accepted is on the Parent Club List web site
Items are LEGALLY transferred
There are some “copyright” situations (Breed Standards are copyrighted by the Parent Club.)
(Is the Border Collie Standard copyrighted by the BCSA? If not this should be obtained.)
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Show Eligibility Requirements were discussed with Robin Stansell present who declared that as part of the Strategic Plan part of the focus will be on the Specialty Clubs and their obligation for outreach. Each Specialty Club can now host two shows in one day. They can go as far away as 200 miles from their designated territory. The club giving goal should be to promote their breed and bring people into the sport of dogs. The new Eligibility Requirements must be met by the end of 2008 for shows that will be held in 2009. The new requirements are aimed at attracting new members to the clubs. Breed specific events would be counted toward the requirements… such as herding instinct tests.
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Questions regarding the raise in Event Fees was directed at Robin Stancell. The steep raise in fees would negatively impact Specialty Clubs producing two events in one day. Stancell commented that the AKC had not thought about that situation and said if clubs would contact him that were in that position he would look into the problem further. I shared a cab with friend, Maureen Setter, who had attended the Obedience, Tracking and Agility Committee meeting. She said the raise in fees was an issue there too. Apparently Stancell went from our meeting to theirs talking about the same topic. Maureen has secretaried for many events both large and very small. She commented to him that after an initial fee the balance of the fee should be on a sliding scale per number of dogs or per entry. Then the fee would be proportionate to the number of dogs entered.
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The importance of a club knowing what its “club territory” is has become very important especially in highly populated areas. There are currently 594 Clubs. They have a city, town or district assigned to the club. The focal point for the group is considered the center point. If clubs question their territory they should request the information from mal@akc.org. The AKC encourages Regional Club Councils to plan the dates and locations of shows in a specific area. An event produced by regional specialty clubs together would have their territory stated in their original correspondence or it might be provided by the AKC. The AKC may choose to relax the 200 mile rule in some situations. (It seemed quite important to know a club’s territory. BCSA might want to inform the affiliated clubs to make sure they have their territory’s defined by AKC.)
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There was a reminder that clubs must have their current officers updated to AKC every year. AKC sends out and “Officer Form” before each election. It was pointed out to Robin Stancell that the AKC departments do not share the membership lists that are submitted by the clubs as required by the AKC. Stancell stated that each department may use them independently and it is necessary to send the club’s membership list to each department that may need it. (Does BCSA actually receive this form?)
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The AKC/Eukanuba Invitational BBE requirement of the breeder finishing the championship to be eligible does not include points won out of the Puppy Class. The AKC was asked to look into a way to be able to use points won in the Puppy Class toward the BBE requirements for the AKC/Eukanuba Invitational.
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According to the AKC catalogs cannot be sold before the day of judging. This makes specialty catalogs rule breakers as they often contain many events on a weeks worth of days. Robin Stancell said that, though it is breaking the rule to have catalogs that have a full weeks of events in them he doesn’t mind so there is no problem. (Did BCSA realize that our catalogs were technically breaking the rules with our catalog?)
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There are 97 “Group Clubs” that have nearly completed the requirements to become AKC Member Clubs. Two such clubs are all ready member clubs and two more were voted in the next day at the Delegates’ Meeting. There are 165-170 Parent Clubs. The Delegates were asked to look at the long range view for the acceptance of these clubs. (My feeling is that the group club is the same as part of an all-breed club and don’t see them as an issue.)
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If the AKC receives an inquiry by a reporter they notify the parent club of the breed in question.
Herding, Earthdog and Coursing Committee – Don Smith Chairman
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Doug Lundgren who is new to the AKC and is now the Director of Performance Events was introduced. After the meeting I was able to introduce myself to him and we had a few minutes for general discussion.
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The 2006 Herding Advisory Committee was discussed. The mechanics indicate that for acceptability sake the changes be put into a three column format where the original material is on the left, changes in the middle and rationale in the right column. Lack of participation by members was discussed. It was felt that perhaps the lack of participation was due to lack of internet skills and the frustration level of AKC lack of responsiveness to past HACs might be the problem. Several ways to encourage participation were mentioned including conference calls. The bottom line however was that those that were active, about 5 people would just go ahead and do the changes they had volunteered to take on and then just go ahead with the others. Gerard and I spent quite a bit of extra time that evening and the next morning working through some of the questions including the new Ranch Course D.
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The Performance Judges List should have the corrections finished by September 1st. After that the judges will receive a letter to confirm the information on the Judges List yearly by the AKC.
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There is or will be a new H-E-C List where people can present problems in the areas of herding, earthdog and coursing on a list. Each President, Secretary and Delegate for a club that is in these sports will receive a letter written by this committee inviting them to join the list. The AKC will actually do the mailing. This committee has only an advisory capacity but is hoping to act as a conduit between questions clubs have and the AKC.
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The H-E-C Committee had contacted the AKC about the possibility of a person from herding, earthdog or coursing be considered for a place in the Performance Trial Board when an opening becomes available. Currently all members are field trial people. Steve Gladstone, our AKC Board Liaison, felt that authorities in AKC procedures did not necessarily need to be experts in the field they were asked to make a decision upon.
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It was felt that the requirement of a license renewal every three years for Herding Judges was not doable and was not consistent with the other Performance Events. The Committee requested the Performance Events Department’s Bill Speck look into having the Seminar available in video CDs and on the AKC web site as well as having the tests available on line. Perhaps having a major Seminar with trial courses and practice judging done on less frequent intervals.
Delegate’s Caucus
All the candidates sat at the front of the room and answered questions submitted by the delegates prior to the meeting. Michelle had given me a question regarding the dedication of the candidate to the Parent Club maintaining their particular breed requiring unique situations. This isn’t Michelle’s exact wording but the question was read and everyone agreed that it was important to support Parent Club’s maintaining the individuality of their breed… anyway they missed the boat on the meaning of the question I believe. It was obvious that there is going to be or has been a split in emphasis at the AKC. Do we want to remain an elite group of breeders and not incorporate big business and commercial breeders or continue to make AKC a world presents.
TUESDAY
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The entire AKC ANNUAL REPORT 2006 is available at https://www.akc.org/about/annual_report.cfm
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The entire AKC Delegate Meeting Minutes is available at https://www.akc.org/about/delegate_meeting_minutes.cfm
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Emphasis was placed on the Parent Club’s being in charge of their breeds and doing more to support their breed and dog sports in general. An example of this was but forth by a Delegate that said their club established a New Exhibitor Booth. It was designed with the Peanuts characters in mind. They had Advice for 5 cents, a crying towel, a place to write “why I was screwed by the judge” and sweets. Signs were laminated for future use. Everyone enjoyed the booth and the club members had a good time putting it together and hosting it.
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The election was held and there was only one round of voting. The winners were -
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Elected by the Delegates -Kenneth A. Marden , Dr. Patricia H. Haines and Patti L. Strand. ReElected by the Board later was Ronald H. Menaker and David C. Merriam re-elected as Chairman and Vice Chairman. (See the accompanying article about the winners and their biographies.)
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All the changes that had been requested were voted into affect.
Chairman’s
Report – Ron Menaker
Menaker reviewed the AKC’s
Compliance Department’s “care and conditions” policies. Annually, 14 staff
members performed 4,800 inspections in 2006. For the FIRST TIME ever breeders
who registered 4 to 6 litters annually with the AKC will be randomly selected
for inspection. The complete report can be found at
http://www.akc.org/about/chairmans_report.cfm
President and CEO – Dennis Sprung declared that the clubs need to do a public relations job for their breeds.
The AKC employees 406 people and has added two full time jobs – Archivist and Project Manager for Diseaster Relief. There are 597 member clubs and 3900 licensed clubs. There was an 11% increase in event entries in the last year. Bayer is the sponsor of the AKC Veterinary Outreach program. There will soon be a study implemented called “21st Century Dog Owners Study” to get baseline statistics on dog owners and the dog sports. There are 875,000 who receive the online “AKC E Newsletter”. Overall AKC has seen a 33% increase in business. Eleven AKC events were televised. There were 650 Bills reviewed by the AKC Legislative Department. 69% dropped breed specific language.
Chief Financial Officers Report – John Lyons
During 2006 there was a double gain in investments and there was less operating
costs than the previous year. In 2004-5 two-thirds of the income was operating
profit and one-third investments. This has currently changed to just the
opposite with the largest income coming from investments. Registrations continue
to drop and are now only 51% of the income. Royalties and sponsorships have
raised and event fee income has also increased. Currently 40% of those
registering their dogs are opting for the gold or silver registrations. A very
thorough report was given.
AKC Educational Matches – Robin Stancell
This event was aimed at training new exhibitors by introducing them
to dog sports. Multiple clubs worked together each fulfilling its educational
requirement to host AKC shows. This particular event combined 13 clubs. There
was an information table, entry fees were low, there were judges acting as
mentors, Canine Good Citizenship tests were given. Invitations were sent to the
2700 area people that had newly registered dogs. The event was posted on all the
community calendars and internet boards to encourage participation. There were
many club tables and vendors too. The AKC “How To” booth was visible for
support. After the entire event 150 entries were submitted to the shows that
were held locally only a few weeks away by newcomers to the sports.
AKC web site for more information
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Secretary’s Page may be found at http://www.akc.org/about/secretarys_page.cfm
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Minutes of the Board Meetings at http://www.akc.org/about/board_minutes.cfm
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Page Updated 10.22.2007