|
September 17, 2007
Dear Delegates and Parent Clubs:
The letter from Mr. Ferguson to the Delegates and Parent Clubs (see
links at end of letter) contained many inaccuracies and distortions
of fact. As such, it requires a factual response.
The proposal of the AKC to have a one-third presence on the AKC/CHF
Board was the unanimous decision of the AKC Board. It was explicitly
stated that we did not seek a majority or controlling board
position. Mr. Ferguson's allegations about a "hostile takeover" are
absolutely false.
If the AKC/CHF board is 30, we would expect AKC to have 10. If they
reduce their board to 15, we would have five.
At present there is only one AKC director, Mrs. Nina Schaefer, on
the CHF Board and she was appointed by the Foundation Board. At the
Canine Health Foundation’s last meeting, they rejected the
nomination of Mr. Steve Gladstone.
AKC, which donates approximately 1.2 million dollars a year, should
have a more significant representation. This donation of 1.2 million
dollars constitutes approximately one-third of the CHF annual
income.
Mr. Ferguson wrote that we gave CHF an '"ultimatum" and then refused
to meet with them again. This is absolutely false. We gave no
ultimatum and of course we are willing to meet with the entire CHF
Board to achieve a solution to this apparent impasse. What we did
say was that if this drifting apart continued, the results would be
very serious and could cause the CHF's loss of AKC identity and
support. We founded the CHF for the well-being of dogs and have
already donated almost 16 million dollars to it. We want it to
thrive and succeed.
We are concerned with the drifting apart of our two organizations
and offered a proposal to reverse that drift. At our meeting on
September 9th, we discussed our concerns which included:
• Difficulty in obtaining financial reports
• Numerous acts of poor governance
• Complaints we have received from CHF directors about its governing
Attached to this correspondence is a letter from some CHF Directors
detailing some of their difficulties in working with Mr. Ferguson.
The secrecy about the Lynch lawsuit costs continues to be troubling.
The lack of current and audited financial statements is troubling.
Ongoing personnel issues are troubling. In his final paragraph, Mr.
Ferguson speaks of preserving the independent status of the CHF. Mr.
Ferguson’s preoccupation with CHF independence should not supersede
a commitment to the health of dogs.
The Board of Directors of AKC has a fiduciary duty to insure that
the funds it grants to other organizations are wisely used. Our
proposal will make that oversight possible. We seek not to control
CHF but rather to contribute to its improvement so that we and the
purebred fancy can regain confidence in it. It is in this spirit
that AKC has offered an additional million dollars for the CHF
Endowment Fund.
Ronald H. Menaker
David C. Merriam
Chairman
Vice Chairman
For Additional Information:
Hostile Takeover of CHF by AKC
Response letter from CHF Executive Committee and Board Members
AKC Response letter to it's Delegates and Parent Clubs re:CHF
comments or news
to contact@thedogpress.com
|
Back