President's Message:
Summer has finally arrived...I hope you and all of your four legged friends enjoy lots of fun time together outdoors.
The Wachusett Kennel Club's "peak season" is upon us. Our three-day August shows start off with our Rally trial Friday evening, August 20, followed by our back-to-back all breed shows and obedience trials on August 21 and 22. They will again be held at the Central Massachusetts Expo Center at the Courtyard by Marriott Fitchburg. Five weeks later, our back-to-back Agility trials will return to the Lancaster Fairgrounds on September 25 and 26. We will organize another "Meet the Breeds" event on Sunday afternoon in recognition of AKC's Responsible Dog Ownership Day.
We rely on the help of our members and friends to make these events the success area exhibitors have come to expect from our club. Please volunteer to help in the area that interests you most. Contact our Agility Chairperson, Christie McNamara, if you want to help with agility trials, and Wendy or Keri if you want to participate in our "Meet the Breeds".
A huge "Thank You" goes out to our club member and Secretary, Joanne Williamson, and her husband Greg for offering their home and beautiful grounds to host our Members' Match on June 16. Thanks also to Susan Watson for volunteering to coordinate the match and member reservations for the event this year.
Finally, as required by our Constitution and By-Laws, a nominating committee was appointed at our June meeting to select the Officers, three Board Members, and our AKC Delegate. Terry Sadler is Chairperson of the Committee, with members Jean Gamble and Dottie Boyatzi. Please contact one of them if you have feedback on the club or its leadership they should consider as they do their work during July and early-August.
I hope you all have a wonderful summer. I'll see you at upcoming area shows and trials, our August shows, and September agility trials.
John W. Seeley
AKC Delegate's Message:
The quarterly Delegates meeting was held on June 7, 2010 in Atlanta, GA. I was not able to attend in person due to the Ladies'/Framingham show weekend. Below is a condensed report from the report that is available online from the AKC website.
Dennis B. Sprung, President in the Chair, called the meeting to order at 10:10 a.m.
The minutes of the March, 2010 Delegates meeting which were published in the April, 2010 AKC Gazette, were approved.
The following club was approved as a member Club: Glen of Imaal Terrier Club.
The Chair called on Ron Menaker, who gave the Chairman's Report as follows:
Good Morning. I'm pleased to report that this year across all event types - conformation, companion and performance - each one now offers a brand new AKC title.
The conformation and performance titles will appeal to the long-time exhibitor while the companion title will help bring along the novice handler or inexperienced dog.
Last month, conformation added the Grand Champion title.
The President gave his report as follows:
Last month the Board approved a fee for Conformation Judges excluding Delegates and those approved only for Junior Showmanship. The reason for this fee traces back to revenue, which has changed significantly since you and I began in this sport.
As we know, the decline in registration is not a new issue for us to face as a community; it started in 1992, and for the last 18 years no one has discovered the silver bullet to change the slide.
Each of us is aware of the increase in services and programs we have developed over the last number of years, which is an especially positive accomplishment considering that all of these enhancements were made while revenue fell; in fact, today less than half of our total revenue comes from registration. We must be flexible enough to guarantee our future and work collectively to support one another. Perhaps the original judges' fee was too much too soon, but to suggest no fee is not appropriate either. It was adopted with the best long-term interests of the organization.
A number of fees have already been implemented including Registered Handlers, CGC evaluators and the event service fees which impact clubs and exhibitors. These fees have allowed us to maintain and enhance the level of service our core constituents deserve and expect while paving the way for the future.
The Board and staff listened to the concerns expressed and swiftly decided to withdraw the judges fees structure and perform additional due diligence. In my opinion, we will be able to formulate a fee structure that is both fair and reasonable, and also perceived as such. We will accomplish this by following the Board's direction to prepare a document and share details and the reasons for the recommendations with the fancy. This process welcomes your input.
James Stevens, the Chief Financial Officer, gave the Financial Report. A summary follows: Total revenues for the five months ended May, 2010 were $1.9 million or 7% lower than the prior year. Total operating expenses during this same time period were 4% below 2009. This resulted in an operating deficit of $100,000 for five months.
There was a vote on a proposed amendment to Chapter 14, additional wording on National Championship Events of the Field Trial Rules and Standard Procedure for Pointing Breeds - Rules for Pointing Breed Field Trials. This amendment establishes minimum standards for National Championship events. It was published in two issues of the AKC Gazette. The amendment was adopted by a two-thirds vote.
The Chair called on John Lyons, Chief Operating Officer, to announce several awards. Mr. Lyons spoke as follows: I am pleased to announce the second quarter recipients of AKC 2010 Community Achievement Awards. This award is given to clubs and AKC federations and their members who have made outstanding contributions to public education or canine legislation 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 honorees' accomplishments are published in the AKC Gazette and featured on the AKC website.
The second quarter honorees are: Lawrenceville Kennel Club, Robert LaBerge, Delegate; Belle-City Kennel Club.
I am also pleased to announce the winner of the Inaugural Walter Bebout Award for Leadership in Canine Legislation. Named for the late Director of AKC Government Relations, this award honors federations and organizations that have been actively involved in educating legislators about responsible dog ownership issues and have worked to preserve the rights of responsible owners and breeders.
The winner of our very first Bebout Award for Leadership in Canine Legislation is the North Carolina Federation of Dog Clubs.
Mr. Sprung informed the Delegates that the September, 2010 Delegates meeting will be held at the Sheraton Newark Airport Hotel on Tuesday, September 14.
The December Delegates meeting will be held in Long Beach, California. The meeting will be held at the Hyatt Regency Long Beach Hotel on Tuesday, December 7, 2010.
There being no further business to come before the Delegate Body, the meeting was adjourned 11:39 a.m.
I look forward to and welcome your thoughts, questions, and comments!
Respectfully submitted,
Suzanne Gray
dirigodogs@comcast.net
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