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AKC REPORT, COMMENT & HIGHLIGHTS

AKC Board Of Directors Meeting - August 2011

TheDogPress presents excerpts from the Secretary's Page and/or Board Minutes

• Deceased Judges: Mr. Laurie A. Johnson | Mrs. Marilyn (Tish) M. Keating | Mrs. Janice L. Staley | Mrs. George John (Anna) Wanner

• Emeritus Judges: Mrs. M. Rosalie Anderson | Mr. Bernard Schwartz

• Event Service Fee - Staff presented a plan to offset a portion of the operating losses in the Events  areas. This was undertaken due to the fact that in 2010 AKC’s events incurred an operating loss of more than $11 million. Since registrations generated an operating profit of only $7.5 million in 2010, there was a first time shortfall of more than $3.5 million in the annual events subsidy from registration revenue. It was proposed that the Event Service Fee be raised to $5.00 for all AKC Events and that the AKC concurrently cease collecting the $.50 Recording Fee.  Following a motion by Mr. Gladstone, seconded by Mr. Ashby, its was VOTED (unanimously) to table this proposal.

• Minimize Cost of Delegate Meetings - Based on a request from the Board, Staff looked into various ways to reduce the costs associated with the quarterly Delegate meetings. Currently, the annual cost to AKC is approximately $425,000. Options explored included, not serving meals, renting a facility other than a hotel space for the meetings, reducing the number of meetings and holding all March and September meetings in Raleigh to reduce travel costs associated with Staff presence at the meetings.  Research indicates that the current structure of the Committee and Delegate meetings makes it virtually impossible to affordably use any type of facility besides a hotel due to the meeting space requirements for Committees and Delegate meetings. Staff is already negotiating the best rates and most bare-boned agreements that it can, while still providing a high-quality venue that meets all of our unique requirements.  In the interest of cost containment, it was the sense of the Board that AKC Management, beginning with the September 2011 meeting, should significantly reduce AKC Staff presence at the Delegate Meetings and eliminate Staff liaisons to Delegate Committees and Staff attendance at these meetings.  Management was also directed to eliminate the mailings made to Delegates prior to each meeting, including Perspectives, substituting electronic communications. This information will also continue to be published on the Delegate Portal. Notice of the date and location for all meetings will still be sent by mail.

• Proposal to Reduce Number of Delegate Meetings - The Board reviewed a proposal, from the Delegate Advocacy and Advancement Committee, to reduce the number of Delegate meetings from four to three per year. The proposal suggests that two of these meetings be expanded from two days to three days in order to enable increased attendance at the various Delegate committee meetings. This will be discussed further at the October meeting.

• Havanese - Proposed Breed Standard Revision - The Board VOTED to approve breed standard changes to the Havanese breed standard as proposed and voted on by the membership of the Havanese Club of America, Inc. with an effective date of September 28, 2011.

• Revision to Obedience and Tracking Training Regulation - The Board VOTED to approve suggested revisions to Chapter 1, Section 14, of the Obedience Regulations to clarify that showing under a judge is not allowed when a student /teacher training relationship exists (with or without compensation), and to place a responsibility on the judge to report such violations.

• EXECUTIVE SECRETARY’S REPORT “In Good Standing” - The Executive Secretary reviewed AKC’s definition of “in good standing” with the American Kennel Club. There are a number of AKC privileges which may be suspended including Registration, participation in events and judging approval.  A person may be suspended from any one of these AKC privileges while maintaining other privileges. There was a motion by Dr. Garvin, seconded by Dr. Battaglia, and it was VOTED (affirmative: Dr. Garvin, Dr. Battaglia, Dr. Newman, Dr. Smith, Mr. Menaker, Mr. Kalter, Dr. Davies, Mr. Goodman, Ms. Scully, Mr. Amen, Mr. Arnold, Mr. Ashby; opposed: Mr. Gladstone) to define “good standing” as a person who has not had any AKC privileges suspended. This clarification will be added in italics to the first sentence of ARTICLE VI, SECTION 5, of the AKC Bylaws.

• Nominating Committee - Following discussion, the Board elected the Nominating Committee, which is to select candidates for positions on the Board of Directors, Class of 2016, which are to be filled at the March, 2012 Delegate Meeting: Harold Miller, Chair American Foxhound Club | Erik Bergishagen Detroit Kennel Club | James S. Corbett Tualatin Kennel Club | Dr. Patricia Haines Cincinnati Kennel Club | Ruth Winston Ladies Kennel Association of America Alternates: Gretchen Bernardi Mississippi Valley Kennel Club | James Efron Nashville Kennel Club

• Miniature American Shepherd– Request to Enter Miscellaneous Class The Board reviewed a request, from the Miniature American Shepherd Club of the USA, to approve the move of the Miniature American Shepherd into the Miscellaneous Class. This will be discussed further at the October meeting.

• MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS - There was an update on the various initiatives and programs instituted to reduce the rate of decline in registrations.

• Judging Fees - There was a discussion on providing judges with the opportunity to list their fees on the AKC Online Directory as a service to clubs. The Board reviewed a letter and a questionnaire that was being sent to all conformation judges. Judges were to be requested to return the questionnaire by September 26, 2011

• Regular Status Request & Single Entry Breeds - Staff presented a memo to clarify the requirements for regular status as outlined in the Board-approved Judging Approval Process, effective January 1, 2007. The policy statement and the clarification appear below. Policy Statement:  Complete five assignments in each provisional breed, demonstrating sufficient competence in the breeds. Unlimited assignments may be accepted. Additional provisional assignments may be required. Must have been observed for a total of three times by different Field Representatives. (Judging Operations Staff may reduce this requirement in breeds with consistently small entries.)  Additional provisional assignments may be required. Following a Marginal or Does Not Meet evaluation at least two additional evaluations on that breed will be required.
  Clarification: "An entry of one dog in a breed, not on the Low Entry Breed List, may not count towards the required five provisional assignments. This single entry does not provide you with an opportunity to make a decision based on the merits of at least two dogs for comparison to determine the quality of  each exhibit. Under our current policy, you must complete five judging assignments with dogs present. A single entry does not comply with this policy with the exception of those breeds on the current Low Entry Breed List published by the Judging Operations Department.

• Event Analysis - The Board continued its discussion on the state of conformation shows, as whether or not there were too many events. Charles Kneifel, AKC Staff, participated in this portion of the meeting and Robin Stansell, AKC Staff participated via video conference. Mr. Kneifel presented an analysis of shows considering such things as the distance exhibitors travelled. A large sample size of allbreed shows was considered and the effect of the size of clusters, new dates, specialties with all-breed shows and specialties that conflict with all-breed shows, etc. In October, Staff is to present the Board with its conclusions and recommendations based upon the information reviewed at the July and August Board meetings.

• Judging Approval - Darrell Hayes and Katie Rudolph, AKC Staff, participated via video conference. Edd Bivin and Rosalind Kramer participated in this portion of the meeting and James Smith participated by telephone conference. These were members of the committee that developed a proposal to change the conformation judging approval process. Dr. Robert Smith, the chair of this committee, explained that the committee tried to simplify and streamline the process, while creating a greater opportunity to identify and advance talented judges. After considerable discussion and input, there was a motion by Dr. Battaglia, seconded by Dr. Davies, and it was VOTED (unanimously) to support the concept of the proposed procedures. The committee is to consider the Board’s input and to bring back a final proposal to the Board.

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