UNITED SCHUTZHUND CLUBS OF AMERICA
GENERAL BOARD MEETING MINUTES
November 4, 2004
Nashville, Tennessee

CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL

President Jim Elder called the meeting to order at 8:15 A.M. Roll call by Secretary Diane Madigan. There were 18 Executive Board members and 57 club delegates present for a total of 75 voting delegates. A quorum was present.

MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETINGS

Minutes of the General Board Meeting on October 30, 2003 and the Executive Board Conference Call Meeting on March 14, 2004 were sent to clubs and printed in Schutzhund USA.
Motion to approve the minutes as printed with the exception of E-Ballot #22-04 and E-Ballot #29-04, which are to be reviewed. Motion carried.

AWARDS

USA Award of Appreciation presented to Tammy and Mo Weldon on behalf of the Western Kentucky SchH Club/ Mid-Eastern Region by President Jim Elder in recognition of their outstanding dedication and valuable service for hosting the 2003 USA North American & FH Championship.
USA Award of Appreciation presented to the Greater Washington DC SchH Group/ Northeastern Region by President Jim Elder in recognition of their outstanding dedication and valuable service for hosting the 2003 USA German Shepherd Dog Championship. Tim Cruser and Central Virginia SchH Club’s involvement in hosting the event were mentioned as well.
First annual Judges College Memorial Award presented to Floyd Wilson by Director of Judges Mark Przybylski. Also presented USA Award of Appreciation for his years of service, friendship, and his other contributions to USA.

OFFICERS’ REPORTS

PRESIDENT – JIM ELDER

While in Germany in 2003, Johannes Grewe and I had the opportunity to attend the celebration of the 70th anni-versary of an SV club. The president of that club has been a long-time friend of our organization and he is attending this event. Please welcome SV Judge Günter Lanfer.
WUSV Championship – Congratulations to WUSV team members Debbie Zappia, Gary Hanrahan, T. Floyd, Cathy Jobe, Dave Taylor, Wallace Payne, and co-team captains Howie Rodriguez and Rob Dunn; not only for their third place team finish and Debbie’s second place finish, but for their faultless representation as our international ambas-sadors. Thank you to the members who supported the team with their donations. Never in the history of USA has the team seen such a large financial contribution to help with the overwhelming financial burden of representing our organiza-tion and country.
Sponsorship – Because USA is a nonprofit, volunteer-based organization, sponsorship plays an extremely important role in supporting our organization and the new programs that directly benefit the membership. Tri-Tronics is a silver spon-sor this year and we welcome them back. Royal Canin is a major sponsor for this event and the Sieger Show, and we look forward to a long-term relationship with them. We welcome their expertise and dedication in offering products specifically designed for our breed. We should thank all the vendors that support our events and provide the necessary specialty prod-ucts required to care for and train our breed.
New Programs – During the course of our term we have moved the organization in a positive direction; and have implemented several programs such as youth, helper, and education. Money generated from the Sieger Show and spon-sorships fund these valuable programs. Currently there is an unprecedented $20,000 available directly for use by the regions for membership education. None of these programs were put together haphazardly, and there are hard-working and caring members behind each of them.
USA/SV Dual Registry – I have always believed it is important for USA to maintain a healthy relationship within the world community (SV, WUSV, and other international organizations). It is ridiculous to confuse our efforts to resolve the problems first recognized in 1997 regarding the dual registry with not wanting to be an active participant in the world community. In the last three years I have made eight trips to Germany to resolve the issues with the dual registry, and never once said we need to leave the SV. I have with me a time line of the actual events, and would be happy to go over it line by line if that is what it takes for this body to fully understand the circumstances surrounding the dual registry.

In 1997 we realized the illegitimacy of our dual registry. It seems Paul Meloy and Herman Martin had good intentions when the deal was first struck in August 1989. Unfortunately, because the SV is a member of the FCI, they cannot legally provide our members with registrations, only supplemental pedigrees. The illegitimacy of this document was discussed openly with the members at the 1999 General Board meeting after we received a letter from the SV office stating, “Therefore USA have to graciously accept what has been proposed through our assistance.” In a letter from the SV Office later that year, Helmut Lux pointed out that USA producing its own documents would be seen as very negative, and USA would be, in such a case, a dissident organization as far as the FCI, SV, and WUSV are concerned. Because USA is not a member of the American Kennel Club, we are a dissident organization—we always have been. We have several breeders that must use our dual registry system with the SV because they have not registered generations of dogs bred here in America with the AKC because we all believed the dual registry was official—that it was legitimate. Mike Hamilton sent letters to the AKC and the SV trying to get support in providing proof and proper documents so these litters might be properly registered with the AKC or the SV. Both organiza-tions declined to help.

Information pertaining to the illegitimacy of these docu-ments was posted on our website early in 2000. In August 2000, Johannes Grewe sent a memo to the Executive Board about starting our own registry and began meetings with various private organizations to provide hip ratings and DNA for our documents. During the next year Johannes began implementing procedures for this. In the July 2001 Zeitung, SV President Wolfgang Henke expressed his concern about USA’s development and production of our own documents. Mike Hamilton sent a report to the Executive Board regarding a meeting with Stephanie Dunion and the SV Office. This included more about the illegitimate pedigrees and the SV blaming Paul Meloy for not making members aware of the situation. As far as I can tell going back, Paul didn’t have a clue the documents were not legitimate.

We were preparing in 2002 to begin producing our own supplemental pedigree, but once Wolfgang Henke took office we hoped to resolve some of the problems related to the dual registry and put producing our own supplemental pedigree on hold. Unfortunately, we are not in control of what goes on the SV product and they will not recognize our organization’s breed judges or körmeisters. Early this year it was brought to my attention that we had over 180 individual registrations sitting in the SV office—some for over eight months. On February 12, 2004 I sent letters to Wolfgang Henke and Günther Diegel requesting their assistance in resolving this delay. I never received a response to those letters; however, 45 days later we began receiving individual registrations from the SV Office and they are coming in to this day.

On February 19, 2004, I sent a letter to the line officers requesting their input regarding removing the regulation that requires members to use the dual registration to enter the Sieger Show and national events. This was discussed and tabled. Because the dual registry and positive interaction is so important to a great number of our members, I made those eight trips to meet with the SV to try to resolve this matter. I believe the USA membership has discussed this enough and is ready to move forward. The Executive Board began discus-sions in June 2004 regarding completion of our own supplemental pedigree and approved the funding to complete the database. Our own system will be in place by next week. It is my intention to begin offering the USA supplemental pedigree by January 1, and to continue offering the SV pedigree to those who would prefer using it. The dual registry we presently use is not recognized anywhere in the world, yet we require members to purchase this document in order to show at the GSD National Championship and Sieger Show.

A large portion of the funding for the new education programs comes directly from the Sieger Show. I believe by not requiring the dual registration and accepting the AKC pedigree we would greatly increase interest at our Sieger Show. If it is our intention to continue moving forward in the way of education, this is the most important item in front of us. We can attract more participation and more breeders by accepting the AKC pedigree and offering an affordable supplement so USA can collect and dispense the valuable information the supplement provides for our breeders. I strongly recommend to the Board that we immediately revoke the policy requiring the dual registration and review this policy again once our own supplemental pedigree is in place. In other words, you would be able to show your dog in any USA event as long as you have an AKC pedigree or a pedigree from the country in which you reside. Also, clearly understand that there may very well be consequences to these actions, as the SV will lose substantial income from our membership. I believe we have nothing to lose by producing our own documents and everything to gain.

Helper Program – The new Helper Committee has provided an excellent vehicle to begin educating our helpers and eventually eliminating helper tryouts through a pre-selection process. This program grandfathers all current helpers in at club helper status with the requirement that re-evaluation must occur in two years. They don’t have to get re-evaluated today, but must within two years. As with all of our new programs, glitches will need to be resolved. The written program gives us two years to resolve minor problems and to involve the regional training directors. I hope you can all support this program. There was a tremendous amount of effort put into it.
Regional Championships – It is my understanding the members believe we require participation at the regional championships simply to increase the numbers at the National Championship, and that is absolutely not the case. The purpose behind the requirement was to increase regional participation and project a better event, allowing local clubs to appeal to new members and create more interest in corporate sponsorship. In one year we have done just that.

Growth – There are serious problems that must be addressed at the local level in order to create growth. There are many clubs and members that are forced to hire a helper. They won’t be regular club members, but instead want $20 to work your dog. If a guy wants to go off on his own time and have his own business, people can go train with him. If you are in a club, however, you have to be a club member. I personally train dogs for a living; but when I go to the club I pay dues, work for free, help the club, etc., and that is the way it needs to be across this country. We know this is not the case every-where. Other factors contribute to the problem as well. We have clubs that will not accept you unless you have titled a dog to a SchH3, want to be a competitor, or have a great dog. We have clubs that will not accept you unless you have a dog from their breeding program. We have clubs that simply need help. Again, that is where the Education Committee and Helper Committee can step in. I hope the Education Program will help those struggling clubs that truly intend to be a club.

The organization needs to decide whether we want to be exclusive or truly want to welcome new members into a friendly environment and educate them. This, in my opinion, is the way our organization can grow; and, until this difficult problem is addressed, money would be better spent in other areas. Instead of trying to get new members, let’s spend the money on fixing the problems first.

I encouraged the regional directors last night to do two things. First, find out how some regions entice clubs to work together and get better regional involvement in education pro-grams. Some of the problems we have mentioned will go away if the clubs start working together, because those actions are not going to be acceptable and members will have other places to go. Second, determine ways to eliminate the paid helper problem in their regions. I feel very confident the regional directors will find a way to resolve those issues and hopefully have some advice for us in the future.
Last year I delegated an excessive amount of responsi-bility to one of our members. When SV Judge Günther Diegel was concerned over a helper program after the fiasco in Reno, he suggested the need for a new helper system. This member, along with the DOJ, submitted a comprehensive program in less than eight months. Mr. Diegel reviewed the program when I was in Holland. I gave it to him, walked away, and an hour later he found me and said, “It is marvelous.” He had read it in an hour! He said he would slow down, go through it, pick it apart to see if there were any changes he thought would be helpful, and would let us know. To this day I have not heard a word from him about it. After two of our members quit the organization, this member, along with Al Govednik, took over to try to bring continuity back to the AWDF; and both have done an excellent job of resolving our differences and moving us forward within that organization. When the best person for the job refused to step up and act as the head of the Sponsorship Program, this member took on the responsibility. Since then he has built a great relationship with Royal Canin, representing our organization at their national symposium. This led to sponsorship of both the Sieger Show and GSD National Championship, and we are hoping Royal Canin will be coming on board as a sponsor. This again will support our national events and education programs. This member also took on the responsibility of hosting the National Championship; and, when asked by the National Breed Warden, booked same site a week earlier for the Sieger Show. By all accounts the Sieger Show went well and we expect to see the same results for this championship. This member put together many beneficial seminars this week, acted as trial chairman for both events, and will be appren-ticing during the National Championship so he can continue to serve you in the capacity of a judge. He is your Vice President, Lyle Roetemeyer, and he is giving his all for our organization. I thank him for everything he has done and will continue to do for our organization.

VICE PRESIDENT – LYLE ROETEMEYER

This has been a year of positive change for the United Schutzhund Clubs of America. The Regional Policy, which was overwhelmingly endorsed by the 2003 General Board, has turned our regional championships into events that are now large enough to attract the eyes of corporate sponsorship (and certainly didn’t escape the eyes of Royal Canin when they looked at the numbers). Our national events have always served as our best opportunities to market ourselves to the general public. This year our regional championships have grown to such proportions that some entries have met or exceeded some of our past national events. There are always small bumps in the road during the implementation of new policies or programs, and the growth of our regional cham-pionships has exceeded some regions’ expectations. Our regions must continue to develop policies for these champion-ship events that will give all members of USA the opportunity to participate regardless of the region in which they reside. Many regions have already developed and utilized plans for this past year that included using two judges and a three-day format.

The rise in entries at regional events, and the need to help new and old helpers alike further develop at the local level, has also been an additional motivating factor in the need to establish a required educational Helper Program. The prev-ious Helper Committee chaired by Gary Park did an excellent job by implementing our USA Helper Book, an annual National Helper Seminar, and seminars given by committee members at the local club level. The new Helper Committee has written a comprehensive program that was built on the former committee’s foundation. The new program will utilize the new helper book, with sections for USA-approved helper seminars and USA helper evaluations in addition to the trial evaluations given by judges. The National Helper Seminar has become the National Helper College, and was an overwhelm-ing success yesterday. Guest speakers will be added to next year’s event as an additional part of the college, and the National Helper Committee will continue to expand the present format and the use of teaching helpers in all aspects of the program. The program will continue to utilize seminars, but the seminars will not be limited to being given by commit-tee members. We will have seminars and evaluations given by USA teaching helpers. Later today Dennis Vander Linde will announce the first list of USA teaching helpers who will be grandfathered into the Helper Program.
The program includes a detailed selection process for national events. Our future goal is to get away from the pre-sent tryout system and have a pre-selection system that is fair to all helpers who are trying to attain the national event level. I would like to thank all of the Helper Committee members from the present and past committees. Without their dedica-tion and passion for assisting others in becoming successful helpers, this program would not exist—and without helpers we would not have clubs. The Helper Committee will also be seeking sponsorship money to assist in offsetting the expenses of guest speakers at the annual National Helper College and travel expenses for helpers at future national events.

There have been many accomplishments regarding rebuilding bridges that were nearly destroyed with the AWDF during previous administrations. Working from within and exhibiting a true desire to work with the clubs that belong to this federation will benefit all involved, including USA. There is still much to be done, and this can only be accomplished by a spirit of camaraderie and a desire to promote our breed tests as essential to preserving the heritage of our working breeds.

While I have been hard at work with my local club preparing the venue to help host the Sieger Show and then hosting the National Championship this weekend, I have also been hard at work on many other USA projects. The Helper Program consumed a large amount of my time, but I have also continued my work on procuring sponsorship for USA pro-grams and events. I am happy to announce that Royal Canin was extremely pleased with their involvement with the Sieger Show this year. Discussions have continued with respect to a national sponsorship and have been very positive.
Our National Events Committee asked the host club of the National Championship to have online signup for stadium practice times this year. As soon as the total number of entries was known from the USA Office, that process was begun. The entire week was filled with a large number of nightly requests for changes in times and days. The club found the extra day of practice on Tuesday was not going to be utilized, and several of those entered in the event did not have access to a com-puter. These are issues the National Events Committee needs to look into and resolve before we attempt doing this again. The host club made signup available at the hospitality room and stadium to fill in the blanks in practice times. An extra practice field was set up behind the stadium for those wishing to get more practice, and the layout was identical to the com-petition field. There was also another large, fenced sport field located on school property that was available.

An incident happened yesterday that must be addressed. There was a group of people doing protection work on the elementary school grounds located next door as school was letting out. Small children were leaving school to board busses, and USA members (I’m assuming USA members) were crack-ing a whip and giving bites in front of the school with children close by. This is nothing less than irresponsible! This type of irresponsible behavior is seen far too often at national events. We’ve hosted a couple of other events where people take it upon themselves to do protection work wherever they wish. This isn’t good for us, because a lot of people are scared by what we do—they do not understand what we do. We need to make sure our membership realizes the detrimental effect this behavior may have upon the public’s perception of our organi-zation. We need to police ourselves to ensure that the hard work of many is not destroyed by a few.

It is in the best interests of USA to see continued emphasis on educational programs that have been introduced during the past year. I applaud all those on the Executive Board who were in the fundamental phase of putting this together. We should continue to strive to find the resources necessary to support these programs and make sure the mem-bership has the opportunity to use them.

TREASURER – BILL PLUMB (Read by Jim Elder)

Financially speaking, we are in the best shape we have been in for many years. Our free cash position is over $100,000 at this time. Over the next few months we will use about $30,000 of that to cover operating expenses. During the months of November through February our cash inflow is small, as we have fewer memberships that come due. Our total capital funds are a little over $138,000 compared to ($95,000) when I became Treasurer in 2000. I did not know before being elected just how bad our finances were. It has been very rewarding seeing the progress we have made.
While we are in very good financial condition, we do have a few challenges ahead of us. One challenge is declining membership. It is not that we do not get new members—the basic problem is that less than half of the new members renew their membership after their initial year. This issue needs to be addressed more at the club level than the national level. Clubs need to do all they can to welcome new members and teach them the sport.
At the national level we are about to start our own breed registry. The program should be completed very soon. Once completed, we will need to build our database as we roll out the registry. We need to price the registry and be very careful to keep our costs under control as we build the database so we do not undo all of the hard work that has been done to get back to a sound financial footing.
In closing, I want to thank the membership, the directors, the officers, and our office staff. It was a difficult challenge to bring the organization back from the financial mess we were in to where we are today. Without the help and support of all, this would not have been possible.

SECRETARY – DIANE MADIGAN

Eighty-eight delegate letters were received prior to this meeting. There are currently 187 clubs, so a minimum of 38 club delegates will need to be maintained for a quorum. Since the 2003 GBM, there have been a total of 35 electronic mail ballots processed compared to 25 the year before.
Annual Trial Waivers
Alexandria SchH Verein (Northeastern)
Chicagoland SchH Club (North Central)
Delaware Valley Police & SchH Club (Northeastern)
East Fork SchH Club (Mid-Eastern)
Empire State Working Dogs (New England)
Mid Atlantic Working Dog Club (Northeastern)
Minnesota Valley SchH Verein (North Central)
Northern Virginia VPG Club (Northeastern)
SchH Hawaii (Northwestern)
Seagoville Working Dog Club (South Central)
Stateline SchH Club (North Central)
Way Out West SchH Club (Northwestern)
West Coast SchH Club (Southwestern)]
Name Changes
Spirit SchH Club to Hundesport SchH Club of Florida (Southeastern)
Region Changes
Indian Creek SchH Club (Mid-Central to North Central)
O.G. Volmarstein SchH Club (Southeastern to Northeastern)
New Clubs
Boise Working Dog Assoc. (Pacific Northwest)
Denver Mile High SchH Club (Rocky Mountain/Great Plains)
Empire SchH & Police Dog Club (New England)
Greater Baltimore SchH Club (Northeastern)
Northwoods German Shepherd Club (North Central)
Southern New Hampshire Working Dog Club (New England)
Treffpunkt SchH Verein (Mid-Central)

E-Ballots

E-Ballot #21-04 (Regional Director Waivers for Regional Participation) – Motion by Nathaniel Roque to allow the regional director to consider the circumstances and either issue or deny a waiver for the required regional participation for entry to the 2004 National Championship. The USA Office will verify the waiver with the regional director. Motion passed.

E-Ballot #22-04 (Amend Budget) – Motion by Vicki Keller to amend the budget to include $3,000 to go to the host club of the 2005 North American Championship. This money will be used for judge and helper expenses and stadium and tracking field expenses. Motion passed unanimously.

E-Ballot #23-04 – Motion withdrawn

E-Ballot #24-04 (Board of Inquiry Case: USA vs. Thomas Sauerhoefer) – Motion to accept the Board of Inquiry's recommendation of a five-year expulsion of Thomas Sauerhoefer's membership from the USA organization. This expulsion is to include, but not limited to, all USA activities of club membership, training, trialing, showing, breeding - registration and advertising. Also recommend that Mr. Sauerhoefer make restitution to the Laurita’s in the amount of $1,000, as it is the amount he charged them to attain the BH, which never occurred. Mr. Sauerhoefer may reapply for membership after the five-year expulsion has been completed, and his application shall be reviewed. However, this may not guarantee renewal of his membership depending on the cir-cumstances leading up to his application. Motion passed.

E-Ballot #25-04 (Tattoo Variance) – Motion by Mark Przybylski that the VDH requirement for having a tattoo or microchip on your dog is not required at local events only. Effective January 1, 2005, all entries to our championships (regional and national) are required to be tattooed or micro-chipped. Owners of dogs that are microchipped are responsi-ble for providing the necessary equipment for the identity check. Motion passed.

E-Ballot #26-04 (Scheduling Regional Championships) – Motion by Lyle Roetemeyer that beginning in 2005, USA regional championships for SchH/VPG competition shall not be scheduled the weekend before or the weekend of the FCI IPO Championship and WUSV World (SchH/VPG) Championship. Motion passed.

E-Ballot #27-04 (Sponsorship Merchandise) – Motion by Bill Plumb to support the national events, including the HOT, by contributing merchandise to those events that is contributed to USA by sponsors. Motion passed.

E-Ballot #28-04 (Amend Budget) – Motion withdrawn

E-Ballot #29-04 (Amend Budget) – Motion by Bill Plumb to amend the budget to include $2,000 for the Judges Committee. Motion passed.

E-Ballot #30-04 (Passing Score Requirement for 2005) – Motion by Lyle Roetemeyer to defer indefinitely the adoption of the 2005 requirement of a passing score at a regional championship to participate at the GSD National Championship. Motion passed.

Distributing information to the members has been a problem this year. The Newsletter was discontinued, which made it more difficult to communicate with the members. I worked diligently to place items on the USA website; however, the inability/inexperience of our current web master to main-tain our website has made this process slower than I would have liked. It has been a constant struggle to get items placed on the website, as approval must come from the President.

This past spring I worked with DOJ Mark Przyblyski, Sami Jones, and our translator, Geli Clarke, to prepare the new VDH trial rules and judge’s guidelines. I also developed judges sheets with new point allocations to replace the judges books. These sheets are available for download on the web and through the office. I volunteered as trial secretary for the HOT Championship and the North American; and was the only line officer to attend the North American. Working with other members of the Education Committee, I helped kick off an Education Program by developing a mock trial/spectator sheet and guidelines for hosting reimbursed regional seminars.

As I leave this position, I’d like to thank and recognize all the really good people I have worked with over the past five years, and to thank all the club delegates who have sacrificed time with their families and their dogs to attend to the busi-ness of our organization.

DIRECTOR OF JUDGES – MARK PRZYBYLSKI

Deferred to Committee Reports.

NATIONAL BREED WARDEN – JOHANNES GREWE

Before giving my report, I would like to correct a state-ment from the President’s report so we are all clear on this. He said, “The SV does not recognize USA breed judges and körmeisters.” That is incorrect. The SV does, in fact, recognize USA breed judges the same way they recognize USA working dog judges. What they don’t recognize is the körmeister. Any rating given in a breed show by Ricardo, Karen, and myself in the United States will count for our system, but will not count with the breed survey.
The registry is pretty much the same as last year. We have about 100 litters with about 560 puppies as of last week. That is way too low. It is not worth having a registry for that kind of number, so either we do something with the new registry or the SV dual registry.

Breed surveys are much the same as last year. There are increasing numbers and it is very encouraging. Last year I reported we should have more breed shows. We have increased from 14 shows last year to 22 this year, which is a good trend.

I have seen all the USA Sieger Shows with the exception of the first one, and believe this was the best we have ever had. Everything went so nicely right in front of the Vice President of the SV. I have had extremely good conversations with him, and have worked a little bit more on my friendship with him and think that has worked very well. We don’t have the numbers yet, but I think USA will be able to count at least $10,000. The entry numbers was a big problem with the Board when we discussed the judges and the whole situation with the Sieger Show. The numbers have been the same as last year. We just had eight dogs less than last year strictly because we eliminated an entire class, the class of dogs over 24 months old without titles. Also, another concern was that with using USA judges at the Sieger Show we might be a little short on entries, but not so.

We had this year the highest entry in the working class females with 37 dogs. Unfortunately, we had a high washout rate in the performance test. We hope in the future the females will become better so we have more dogs to judge at the end. I don’t think having a USA judge at these events is a mistake. I think we are on the right track, and the members and the con-tributors are going to accept the situation we have.

About a year ago I informed the President I would not seek re-election. I have been for four years the National Breed Warden and seven years the Chairman of the Breed Advisory Committee, and I think it is time to get somebody new in here. I told the Executive Board in February about my deci-sion. It was a long process that brought me to this position, and at the end I would like to thank the President and the Executive Board for working with me. It was a pleasure work-ing with the Board and for this organization. I also would like to thank the Breed Advisory Committee for helping me in my position, and to thank the USA Office staff. Last, but not least, I would like to thank all of you, the delegates here, who have worked with me in the breed warden areas and have worked every day with the members in your local clubs for the betterment of the German Shepherd Dog.

COMMITTEE REPORTS BOARD OF INQUIRY – MO WELDON

This year we will be once again electing five positions and two alternates for the BOI Committee. Please take into careful consideration your choices for this committee. This past year we have heard several serious cases; some with merit, others without. It is my hope that as we go forward, people will continue to work in harmony with the common goal of maintaining USA as the premier GSD club in the United States. I would like to thank all of the BOI members I've had the pleasure of working with over the past several years. They have volunteered many hours of their personal time to ensure the integrity of USA, its members, and its bylaws. Regrettably, I am personally committed to another involved and detailed position in my community that will consume much of my free time, and will not allow me to continue as a BOI member. Regards to all my fellow dog sports friends!!!

BREED ADVISORY COMMITTEE – JOHANNES GREWE

Given under National Breed Warden’s report.

BYLAW COMMITTEE – JOHN KOERNER

Some people send bylaw changes in fairly late. They have to be submitted in time to be mailed to the officers, regional directors, and clubs at least 30 days prior to the annual meet-ing. It is not a simple matter where we can just take them and hand them out. We have to go through the complete bylaws and make sure there are no contradictions, make all the changes, and then they have to be reviewed by several people. Get your bylaw changes in as early as possible.

EDUCATION COMMITTEE – VICKI KELLER

Only one region has used funds from the Education Committee so far this year (beginning in July). The seminar was extremely well rated by the participants and attended by 13 helpers. Our region has a late fall seminar scheduled. This topic will be discussed at the Regional Directors meeting and any problems can be presented at the General Board Meeting.

HELPER COMMITTEE – LYLE ROETEMEYER

Thank you to Danny Grayson, Mark Przybylski, Jim Elder, Doug Wendling, James Laney, and Nathaniel Roque. We had many discussions and many different ideas were presented. I would like to introduce Dennis Vander Linde and have him to go through some highlights of the program.

Break, then roll call by President Jim Elder (19 Executive Board members and 65 club delegates for a total of 84 voting delegates).

Dennis Vander Linde gave a presentation on the USA Helper Program (based on USA Helper Program draft Issue 3.0 dated September 24, 2004). The full text of the presenta-tion will be available on the USA website and upon request from the secretary.

JUDGES COMMITTEE – MARK PRZYBYLSKI

We have 16 active working dog judges and three active breed judges. Currently five apprentice judges are working through the program: Lyle Roetemeyer, Craig Groh, Thom Payne, Karen MacIntyre, and Israel Cruz. I would like to take special note that Karen MacIntyre, who is one of our breed judges, is working toward becoming USA’s second dual judge. We have an apprentice working judge applicant, Al Hudson from California, and currently no apprentice judge applicants in conformation.
We had one issue of complaint against a USA judge. It also went before the Board of Inquiry and the charges were not upheld. The Judges Committee also did not uphold the charges, but the judge in question was censured.
At the USA judges meeting in June, the judges’ rates were discussed (higher gas prices, time off work without pay, and incidental charges). The last time we had an increase was 1996. We put a committee together of three USA judges (Bill Szentmiklosi, Al Govednik, and Mike Hamilton), and they gave me a proposal to present to the General Board to raise the per-day rate from $50 to $75 and keep the mileage at 38¢ per mile (which is the current government rate).
(Note: This report was given under New Business Arising from Committee Reports.)

NATIONAL EVENTS COMMITTEE – VICKI KELLER

I have received two bids for the GSD National Cham-pionship: South County and Greater Cincinnati. I have asked both clubs to present their bids to the General Board. After the Executive Board passed a budget amendment to support the North American financially, I should have a firm bid from the Fayetteville SchH Club in North Carolina. A club in Nevada has inquired about hosting the Sieger Show. Host clubs for national events are scarce, to say the least. Feedback from the North American competitors gave the event favorable ratings, with suggestions for on-line stadium practice sign up. It is suggested that all national events offer up-to-date information on tracking and blind search direction and on-line practice sign up. The event website is important to the competitors. The hotel was particularly well rated, but only used by 40% of competitors. Value is important in hotel choice.
The NEC approves to defer indefinitely the adoption of the 2005 requirement of a passing score at a regional cham-pionship to participate at the National Championship. We also recommend that if a team has participated at the North American, HOT Championship, or is selected as an FCI or WUSV team member, that team should be allowed to enter our National Championship.
If the clubs could plan ahead for the next three years, I would like to take bids for the 2007 national events. We are going to have some money to give to these clubs. We have increased the money for the North American this year from our USA budget, so please don’t feel that your club can’t give a bid if it does not have $5,000 in the bank. We know it takes a lot of up-front money, but we’ll work with you.

NOMINATING COMMITTEE – CARL JOHNSON

Nominations reported in election results.

YOUTH COMMITTEE – MIC PETERSON

(Report from Executive Board Meeting)
I am the new USA Youth Director and want to intro-duce myself. I served in the Marine Corps for 20 plus years and have done various jobs at various levels of command. I have taught at the college level, which I feel will assist me in working with the Youth Program. I have been the director of youth drill teams, shooting teams, and various other groups. I would like to continue with the forward-thinking goals of Dawn and want to thank her for getting the program going and for her accomplishments:
• Reduction in youth membership fees
• Annual National Youth Champion Award
• Youth section in the magazine
• Youth medallions
With the bar now set high, here are some of the initia-tives I will work on:
1. I have started writing the interactive youth handler handbook and will get a draft to each regional director. This handbook will present an overview of all aspects of training from conformation to tracking. Please send me guidance about educational material you would like to see in the handbook.
2. Allow young people to work experienced dogs that members are no longer working.
3. Today’s youth do not want to wait to see results—they look for instant gratification. When a young person with a puppy comes out to training and all they are doing is watch-ing, socializing the puppy, and talking with older people, they would much rather be sleeping or be with friends. We need to get them involved right away to have them catch the show/ working bug. If they can go out and work with a dog that knows what it is doing, they can show/trial the dog and are rewarded for the work they have done. They are learning, and on the working side they could do a BH, OB1, or TR1 and on the show side they could campaign the dog. They will get a feel for the sport and want to train a puppy, because they now have the success of already of working with a dog.
4. I will have a discussion board on the web by late spring. This will provide an outlet to ask the membership training questions. This will be the membership’s opportunity to influence the future of the organization.
I have talked to a few of the people in the Youth Program and they have a lot of great ideas. Here are a few:
• Start a discussion forum on the web (being implemented).
• Have local clubs lower dues for youths who are not part of a family membership.
• Have local clubs reach out to members of the Youth Program in their area who are not members of a club (mostly college-age people).
• Expand the age of the youth group to include college students who are 21 and under.
I have an open mind to ideas and would enjoy and wel-come ideas/guidance the membership can provide. The educa-tion we provide to young people today in the sport will ensure that USA continues to lead in the betterment of dog sports.

PROPOSED BYLAW AMENDMENTS

1. Implementation of a Helper Committee
A standing committee is desired to implement a helper committee to train and classify/certify USA helpers. The committee would develop, implement, and administer the program and the helpers for USA events.
Add to Article X, Section 1, Item h and change present Item h to Item i.
h. Helper Committee
The Helper Committee shall consist of the Director of Judges and four (4) members elected from the membership.
The committee shall develop a program to educate and train qualified helpers for use at USA events. This does not apply to club trials. After the program has been accepted by the Board, the committee shall implement and administer the program and make Board approved changes.
The members of this committee shall be elected by the General Board for a two-year term. The committee shall be elected in the even years and shall select their chairperson.
Motion to amend the composition of the Helper Committee to conform to the language as Dennis Vander Linde wrote it in the proposal. Motion withdrawn after discussion. Vote as stated by President: All those who are against accepting a bylaw change to implement this program. Bylaw change rejected.

2. Deletion of the World Championship Committee
This proposal would eliminate the World Championship Committee.
Delete Article X, Section 1, Item f.
f. The World Championship Committee
It is the duty of this committee to recommend rules for the selection of a team to represent USA at the World Schutzhund III Championship for German Shepherd Dogs. The committee will also recommend sites and judges for qualification trials to the Board of Directors. The committee selects a person to act as team captain. The Committee consists of four (4) members and the President of USA. The committee will be elected every even year by the General Board of Directors.
Withdrawn by Jim Elder.

3. Replace Required USA Trial with a Formal Seminar
It has been requested that a formal training seminar may be used to replace the required USA trial once every three years. Presently each club is required to hold a schutzhund or herding dog trial every year.
Change Article VI, Section 1, Item b, (v). (Note: This should have read Article V.)
From:
(v) Each full member club shall hold at least one (1) sanctioned USA schutzhund trial or HGH Herding Dog Trial per calendar year beginning January 1 of the year after the year in which the club is granted full member status. The Regional Director shall approve any waiver of this requirement. Failure to comply with this provision will reduce the club to affiliated status for at least one (1) year. The affiliated club shall meet all the requirements once again to become a full member club.
To:
(v) Each full member club shall hold at least one (1) sanctioned USA schutzhund trial or HGH Herding Dog Trial per calendar year beginning January 1 of the year after the year in which the club is granted full member status. A formal seminar, approved by the Regional Director, may be used to replace the annual trial every third year. The Regional Director shall approve any waiver of these requirements. Failure to comply with this provision will reduce the club to affiliated status for at least one (1) year. The affiliated club shall meet all the requirements once again to become a full member club.
Motion to accept bylaw change failed.

Break, then roll call taken by President Jim Elder (19 Executive Board members and 69 club delegates for a total of 88 voting delegates).

ELECTIONS

President
Jim Elder and Diane Madigan selected by NC. No further nominations. Vote: Jim Elder-63 (elected), Diane Madigan-23.
Vice President
Lyle Roetemeyer selected by NC. Vicki Keller and Howie Rodriguez nominated from floor but declined. Vote: Lyle Roetemeyer (elected by acclamation).
Secretary
No candidates selected by NC. Sara Wallick nominated from floor. Vote: Sara Wallick (elected by acclamation).
Treasurer
Bill Plumb selected by NC. No further nominations. Vote: Bill Plumb (elected by acclamation).
Director of Judges
Mark Przybylski selected by NC. No further nominations. Vote: Mark Przybylski (elected by acclamation).
National Breed Warden
Karen MacIntyre selected by NC. No further nominations. Vote: Karen MacIntyre (elected by acclamation).
Directors at Large (4 positions)
Kay Koerner, Al Govednik, and Howie Rodriguez selected by NC. Mike Hamilton, Terry Macias, Julia Grayson, Peggy Park, and Gordon Esselmann nominated from floor. Vote: Terry Macias-60 (elected), Al Govednik-49 (elected), Mike Hamilton-44 (elected), Howie Rodriguez-44 (elected), Gordon Esselmann-40, Kay Koerner-35, Peggy Park-35, Julia Grayson-23.
Auditing Committee (3 positions)
Kay Koerner and Kris Taves selected by NC. Gordon Esselmann nominated from floor. Vote: Kay Koerner, Kris Taves, and Gordon Esselmann (all elected by acclamation).
Board of Inquiry (5 positions/2 alternates)
John Koerner, Jeff Pomeroy, Jeff Lawless, and Richard Quinn selected by NC. Tom Shaftoe, Heather Gray, and Michele Scarberry nominated from floor. Vote: John Koerner-73 (elected), Jeff Lawless-71 (elected), Michele Scarberry-59 (elected), Heather Gray-58 (elected), Richard Quinn-45 (elected), Jeff Pomeroy-44 (elected alternate), Tom Shaftoe-38 (elected alternate).
Judges Committee (1 USA Judge)
Floyd Wilson selected by NC. No further nominations. Vote: Floyd Wilson (elected by acclamation).
World Championship Committee (4 positions)
Lisa Jacquin, Howard Rodriguez, and Gary Hanrahan selected by NC. Thomas Vollrath and Pia Blackwell nominated from floor. Vote: Thomas Vollrath-80 (elected), Lisa Jacquin-75 (elected), Gary Hanrahan-71 (elected), Howard Rodriguez-45 (elected), Pia Blackwell-44.

Break, then roll call taken by President Jim Elder (17 Executive Board members and 57 club delegates for a total of 74 voting delegates).

NEW BUSINESS

NEW BUSINESS ARISING FROM EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING AND MAIL BALLOTS

1. Amend Budget (E-Ballot #22-04)
Motion by Vicki Keller to amend the budget to include $3,000 to go to the host club of the 2005 North American Championship. This money will be used for judge and helper expenses and stadium and tracking field expenses.
Motion to review ballot withdrawn.

2. Amend Budget (E-Ballot #29-04)
Motion by Bill Plumb to amend the budget to include $2,000 for the Judges Committee.
Motion to review ballot withdrawn.

3. Sportsmanship Statement (Rulebook Addition)
(E-Ballot #15-04)
Motion by John Oliver to add following statement: “USA encourages and supports sportsmanship and camaraderie among all USA members; however, local clubs reserve their right to refuse entries at their events. In the interest of good sportsmanship, entries should not be unreasonably denied.
“The exception to this rule will apply to the host club for national and regional events where the right of refusal rests with the sponsoring organization. National events are: USA National Championship, North American and FH Championship, and regional championships.”
Motion to amend statement with the inclusion of the “HOT Championship and Sieger Show” and accept as amended. Amended motion: …National events are: USA National Championship, North American and FH Championship, HOT Championship, Sieger Show, and regional championships.” Motion to accept as amended carried.

4. Helper Program (E-Ballot #18-04)
Motion by Lyle Roetemeyer to accept the attached Draft of the USA Helper Program with the attached appendices.
Motion to accept carried.

Announcement by President Jim Elder that Dennis Vander Linde will be replacing Lyle Roetemeyer as Chair of the Helper Committee.

5. Tattoo Variance (Rulebook/USA Variances Addition) (E-Ballot #25-04)
Motion by Mark Przybylski to add following variance: “The VDH requirement for having a tattoo or microchip on your dog is not required at local events only. Effective January 1, 2005, all entries to our championships (regional and national) are required to be tattooed or microchipped. Owners of dogs that are microchipped are responsible for providing the necessary equipment for the identity check.”
Motion to accept carried.

6. Two-Dog Rule Variance (Rulebook/USA Variances Addition from Bylaws) (E-Ballot #17-03)
Motion by Mark Przybylski to add following variance: “Handlers may enter up to three dogs in USA trials excepting for any and all championship trials where the specified limit of two dogs shall apply.”
Motion to accept carried.

NEW BUSINESS ARISING FROM COMMITTEE REPORTS

1. Judges Committee
Proposal to raise the per-day rate from $50 to $75 and keep the mileage at 38¢ per mile (which is the current government rate).
Motion that beginning January 1, 2005 the judges’ rates will be raised from $50 to $75 a day, including one travel day, and mileage will be 38¢. Motion to accept carried.

2. Youth Committee
Expand the age of the youth group to include college students who are 21 and under.
Motion to change “college students” to “members” and accept as amended. Amended sentence to read: “Expand the age of the youth group to include members who are 21 and under.” Motion to accept as amended carried.

3. National Events Committee

a. Bid Process for National Events (E-Ballot #06-04)
Motion by Vicki Keller to recommend to the General Board that a bid solicitation process for national event sites be used beginning in 2005. Potential host clubs will be asked to submit written bids by August 1. Bids will be presented to the General Board and sites chosen by General Board vote. Regional Directors are responsible for recommending potential sites to the NEC.
The bid proposal will include the following infor-mation: Host club and officers, insurance information, funds available for financing event expenses, and past regional and national event experience. Contracts for tracking, stadium and practice facilities, motels, and draw night location should be included. Also, a video or photos of the stadium (with a dog working) and tracking are necessary. Finally, the number of USA members willing to help and availability of sponsorship money should be included in the bid proposal. Regional Directors must be involved in soliciting bids.
Motion to change second paragraph/first sentence/ fourth word from “will” to “should” and accept as amended. Amended sentence to read: “The bid proposal should include the following information:…” Motion to accept as amended carried.

b. Passing Score Requirement for 2005 (E-Ballot #30-04)
Motion by Lyle Roetemeyer to defer indefinitely the adoption of the 2005 requirement of a passing score at a regional championship to participate at the GSD National Championship.
Motion to accept carried.
c. Regional Participation for Entry to GSD National Championship
Regional participation is not required for entry to the GSD National Championship if the team has participated at the North American SchH3 Championship, HOT Cham-pionship, or is selected as an FCI or WUSV team member.
Motion to amend proposal to read “Regional participation is not required for entry to the GSD National Championship if the handler has participated in or is selected as an FCI or WUSV team member for that year.” and accept as amended. Motion to accept as amended carried.

OTHER NEW BUSINESS

1. Trophies (Rulebook and Regional Policy Addition)
Motion by Mark Przybylski to add following: “To be eligible for trophies or awards, a dog must have a passing score in all three phases.”
Motion to amend “all three phases” to “all phases entered” and accept as amended. Amended motion: “To be eligible for trophies or awards, a dog must have a passing score in all phases entered.” Motion to accept as amended failed (addition rejected).

2. Scheduling Regional Championships
If the NEC recommendations regarding regional participation are approved (New Business from Committee Reports/Regional Participation for Entry to GSD National Championship), Diane Madigan moves to recall E-Ballot #26-04 (Scheduling Regional Championships): Beginning in 2005, USA Regional Championships for SchH/VPG competition shall not be scheduled on the weekend before or the weekend of the FCI IPO Championship and WUSV World (SchH/ VPG) Championship.
Motion to accept carried (E-Ballot #26-04 recalled).

3. HOT Championship
If the above is accepted (Other New Business/Schedul-ing Regional Championships), Diane Madigan moves the HOT Championship be hosted under the same guidelines as our other national events, i.e., judge approval, rotation schedule, or bid selection process if approved.
Motion to accept carried.

4. Regional Policy Clarification of Participation
Add to Regional Policy clarification of “participation”: To qualify for participation, there must be an entry in the scorebook made by the judge at the regional championship.
Motion to amend proposal to add “other than unsports-manlike conduct” and accept as amended. Amended motion: To qualify for participation, there must be an entry in the scorebook other than unsportsmanlike conduct made by the judge at the regional championship. Motion to accept as amended carried.

5. National Event Entry Requirement
Review for possible rule change the entry requirement for USA national events: “All dogs must be registered with the USA/SV Breed Registry in order to be eligible for entry. This rule does not affect the entry of individuals whose permanent residence is outside the U.S.”
Motion to table carried.

6. USA Bylaw Amendment
Proposal by Doug Surber that the USA Bylaws be amended by replacing Article II, Section 11, with the following: Article II, Section 11: Conduct annually a USA German Shepherd Dog and Schutzhund 3 National Championship to coincide with the meeting of the General Board of Directors between October 1 and November 20. All qualified dogs regardless of breed, including mixed breeds, may enter the Championship. All dogs compete for the Schutzhund 3 National Championship. Only German Shepherd Dogs compete for the German Shepherd Dog National Championship.
Current bylaws read: Article II Section 11. Conduct annually a USA German Shepherd Dog National Champion-ship to coincide with the meeting of the General Board of Directors between October 1 and November 20.
Motion to table carried.

7. HOT Qualification Rules
Proposal by Molly Graf that the rules for qualification for HOT should be changed, with ownership limit at six months or at least one year. I propose that more options be given to prove ownership by the age limit—vet records or signed statement by vet, trainer, or other professional who knows the owner and dog and can state proof of ownership and training by the age limit.
The HOT Championship, and all HOT designations in other national championships, should be reserved only for those people who actually trained and titled their own dogs from the start. Proof of ownership before the age limit from registration papers or professional reference letter, should be the requirement. There should be no compromise for this; owners of HOT dogs should be able to be proud of their accomplishments.
Motion to table carried.

8. National Events Bids (Announcement by Vicki Keller)

2005 Sieger Show (one bid):
Blue Tahoe SchH Club (Northwest Region) in Carson City, Nevada. Located 25 minutes from Reno/Lake Tahoe, and Reno International is the airport. (Note: Date is April 22–24.)
Motion to accept bid carried.

2005 North American SchH & FH Championship (one bid):
Fayetteville SchH Club (Southeastern Region) in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Located in central part of North Carolina. (Note: Date is May 6–8.)
Motion to accept bid carried.

2005 GSD National Championship (two bids):
Greater Cincinnati SchH Club (Mid-Eastern Region) in Fort Kentucky, which is in the Cincinnati, Ohio area.
South County SchH Club and San Jose German Shepherd Dog Club (Northwestern Region) to jointly host event in Gilroy, California. Located 30 minutes south of San Jose, which has a major airport. (Note: Date is November 4-6.)
Motion to accept bid from South County/San Jose carried.

2005 HOT Championship (no bids).

2006 North American SchH3 & FH Championship:
The Northwest Region is offering their facilities to host the event.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 5:00 P.M.

Sara Wallick
Sara Wallick, Secretary

 

 

 

 

 

 

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