UNITED SCHUTZHUND CLUBS OF AMERICA
EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING MINUTES
May 1, 2005
Conference Call
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CALL TO ORDER AND ROLL CALL

President Jim Elder called the meeting of the Executive Board to order at 5:05 P.M. EDT and Secretary Sara Wallick conducted roll call. Present: Jim Elder, Lyle Roetemeyer, Sara Wallick, Bill Plumb, Mark Przyblyski, Karen MacIntyre, Al Govednik, Mike Hamilton, Howie Rodriguez, Bill Bimrose, Carl Johnson, Vicki Keller, John Oliver, Frank Phillips, Diane Vegsund. Joined later: Jerrold Gray (5:10 P.M.), Randall Hoadley

(5:20 P.M.). Absent: Terry Macias, Ray Blomberg, Randy Kromer, Nathaniel Roque. OFFICERS’ REPORTS

PRESIDENT – JIM ELDER

Budget

In light of the budget Bill Plumb has been working on and our financial situation due to the slight decline in membership, we have been looking at different options for reducing expenditures. Conference calls are a great way to hold Executive Board meetings, as they reduce travel expenses and save time. Bill has done an excellent job with the budget, and I want to thank him for his diligence. One of the items discussed is office rent expense, as our rent will increase several hundred dollars in two months. I have asked Kelly to begin looking for a cheaper place to rent, or possibility a home that we could purchase and convert to an office.

Helper Program

Recently I viewed the digital media and the new helper books the Helper Committee put together. Nathaniel Roque has taken over as Chair of the Helper Committee because of the complications in Dennis Vander Linde’s personal life. I want to thank Nathaniel for doing that. The program should be ready to go, and the last word I heard was the start time is today. A lot of the information, and I believe the video, has been downloaded to the website and hard copies will be sent to all the teaching helpers.

2009 WUSV Championship

I think it is very important that we have a special steering committee. Due to elections and the need for continuity, we cannot just use our current World Championship Committee because it is not in the realm of their job description, nor is it in the realm of the job description for National Events Committee. Both of those committees should be considered when this event is put together, however, so today I am appointing a special steering committee for the 2009 World Championship. The committee will consist of Vicki Keller (Chair), Gordon Esselmann, Mike Hamilton, Johannes Grewe, and Howie Rodriguez. The President will be a member of the committee as well.

Vicki and I agree an event needs to be hosted at the site prior to the 2009 WUSV once the venue is determined. It is crucial to bring the General Board on line by voting for whatever site is determined by the steering committee, and it is crucial that we try to make this happen by the General Board meeting in California. Bill and I believe we need a minimum of $50,000 for startup, which is probably very low. Bill has been doing some

research into the budget and the losses we took for the 1992 WUSV Championship hosted in Boston.

I feel the committee needs to seriously consider the use of Phil Jobe as a specialist and consultant in securing the right venue. He knows how to negotiate terms with the city so they are behind us, backing us, and getting us the best possible deals. I know the committee will look into that.

Sponsorship

Recently we have been working on a deal with Royal Canin as our national sponsor. I met with Sharon Lund of Royal Canin at the Sieger Show in Reno. Royal Canin is very interested in a long-term relationship with USA. Lyle has the details of the contract we originally received. We sent it to our attorney and are still working on rewording it. Sharon is very amenable to the changes we have suggested. There are some areas that will tie the hands of host clubs regarding other dog food companies. There will be a sub-budget for the disbursement of the funds we will be receiving from Royal Canin. Those funds will directly benefit the clubs hosting the national events, however, so I think it is well worth the contingencies Royal Canin has put on the contract. Lyle will have more details about that in his report.

Cancellation of Howie Rodriguez Trip to Meet With SV

The reason for the proposed trip was strictly that the SV was not returning documents from our USA/SV registration, and within two days after our last Executive Board meeting where the trip was approved these documents began arriving at the USA Office. The President is the chief administrative officer and legal head of USA and exercises supervision over these areas, the association, its activities, and employees. The President is responsible for handling relations between USA and external associations, and since Howie is not the President I felt the trip was out of order.

Sieger Show

It was an excellent event and we have an awesome team put together. I hope we continue doing it the same way in the future. Karen McIntyre, along with Margie Ross and the committee, did a great job of putting on the event. My only comment, and Vicki Keller may have some comments on this as well, is that a casino is probably not the best choice as a host hotel. I think that would be the only complaint; however, they did an awesome job with the venue. Unfortunately, I was very sick while there so didn’t get to see the whole event, but the judges were well taken care of. We received a letter from one of the judges expressing the great time and how much he enjoyed himself. I think everything went very well.

Resignation

As many of you know, our organization is volunteer based, and giving up our time and sometimes spending our own money to serve the membership is all part of the responsibility we take on when we accept the position. I have served on this Board in one manner or another or on committees for the last 16 out of the 18 years I have been a member. I have never really complained and have always felt it was a great honor to serve the membership and work with the line officers and Executive Board of USA. I have had the opportunity to meet many wonderful people, and really look back on it as a very positive and purposeful time in my life.

Some of you may not know that four years ago I was stricken with Meneire’s Disease. I won’t go into detail about what the disease is, but it has made it unbearable at times for me to travel and impossible to even have any kind of a normal life. I had hoped the treatments I have been receiving these last few years would alleviate the symptoms and frequency of the attacks. Unfortunately, over the last several months they have only worsened; and during my time in Reno at the Sieger Show I began to wonder if it was really in my best interest or the best interest of the organization for me to continue as your President. I don’t take any of this lightly and have thought about it a lot.

I know Lyle will do an excellent job as the President, and that the Board will support and work with him. Our bylaws state that if there is a vacancy of the office of Vice President, the Executive Board will nominate and elect a replacement. It would be my last recommendation and hope that Nathaniel Roque be considered to fill the vacancy of the office of Vice President.

I want to thank all of you for your support over the last 16 years, and want you to know I truly appreciate the sacrifices made by each of you in serving our organization and the membership. I will complete my scheduled judging assignments and will keep Mark Przybylski apprised of my condition. Please consider this my formal resignation, and a letter will be sent to our Secretary and the USA Office. I am handing the gavel over to Lyle, and I wish you all the very best. Thanks and have a great day.

VICE PRESIDENT – LYLE ROETEMEYER

Sponsorship

We are on the same page with the National Events Committee regarding the need for financing for our national events; and, in addition, some of our national programs. With the slight drop in membership, it is very evident we need this financing now more than ever. I am happy to report that we have agreed in principle for Royal Canin to be USA’s primary sponsor, as they would like to be called. Our USA attorney is currently working on the language in the agreement, and we should have it finished and signed within the next week or two. This agreement will bring financial support to our national events, Education Program, Helper Program, Judges Program, regional events, and World Team. Royal Canin will be investing $30,000, and Bill has apprised me we will be required to pay taxes on that. It will still give us a sub-budget that should be enough to make our national events people quite happy.

In return, the agreement will promise Royal Canin exclusivity as the only dog food company at our national events. Except for Royal Canin, last year I faced closed doors at almost every other dog food company when talking to them about hosting the National Championship, representing USA, and sponsoring the Sieger Show. I negotiated a deal with Royal Canin to be the host of the National Championship and Sieger Show last year; and they came to us wanting the same type of agreement, except they wanted to have exclusivity with regard to the events.

I believe this agreement will be greatly in our best interests. As Jim alluded, hopefully Royal Canin wants a long-term agreement. There will be an opportunity to renew this agreement annually, with both sides having a chance to discuss revisions. Overall, it will be very good for USA, and now we need

to work on trying to make sure they see it is in their best interests to stay with us.

This is a cash deal rather than a dog food deal. Royal Canin mentioned they would also like to supply dog food as trophies for regional events, etc., but that is outside the realm of the contract. With Purina, dog food was part of the cash income and was taxable income, so it actually took away from the cash portion of the contribution.

I am proud that we have finally brought a sponsor on board and would like to keep our National Events Committee involved in trying to find more sponsorship for these national events.

Photographers at National Events

Some members have voiced their concerns to me about cameramen on the field during the competitions at last year’s North American Championship and H.O.T. Tournament. While I was not at the North American, I did witness some of the issues at the H.O.T. Tournament and feel it is in the best interests of the competitors to make sure there are not cameramen on the field until the competition is finished.

Helper Program

The Helper Program is on schedule. I would ask all the regional directors to continue to work with the Helper Committee and the Committee Chair, Nathaniel Roque, as your event authorizations start going in. I spoke with Nathaniel the other night and he said several event authorizations are already coming through. The video is complete. There will be more parts of the video on the DVD that will be issued to all the teaching helpers free of charge. As soon as that is done, we will try to get them out to the judges and Executive Board members, and hopefully there will be enough funds to get them to all the clubs as well. In the meantime, it should be available on the website hopefully next week. You can see it on our Cumberland Valley Schutzhund Club web-site, because we put it on there for all the Helper Committee members for their approval before putting it on USA website.

AWDF

The AWDF, under the direction of President Al Govednik, has made significant strides. There is a continued emphasis on teamwork among the member clubs, and I cannot express how important that is. When I first became involved as a delegate to the AWDF two and a half years ago, it was a nightmare to be a USA member involved in one of those meetings because you always felt you were on the spot. It now seems as though there is a real emphasis on getting along. Working together to defeat anti-dog legislation has become the primary concern, and it gives us a binding purpose for all of us to work together on. The AWDF Championship had a record number of entries this year, and I would like to congratulate the USA team which finished in first place in team competition: Shelly Leibowitz, Carl Smith, and Pam Hanrahan. Congratulations to them on their excellent performances.

SECRETARY – SARA WALLICK

A great deal of my time has been spent working on the Rules and Regulations document to make it more complete and more user friendly. So far this year we have two new clubs compared to a total of seven new clubs for all of last year, and we have had six dissolutions compared to seventeen dissolutions all of last year. Kelly recently sent out several club packets, but they have not been returned yet.

2005 New Clubs

Alaska Schutzhund Club (PNW) Aloha Schutzhund Club (NW)

2005 Club Dissolutions

Allgemeiner Schutzhund Club of Long Island (NE) 9/79–1/05 Empire Schutzhund & Police Dog Club (NewE) 11/02–1/05 Feather River Schutzhund Club (NW) 1/77–2/05 Kenai Schutzhund Club (PNW) 11/97–5/05 Nature Coast Sport Dog Club (SE) 10/92–1/05 Seagoville Working Dog Club (SC) 3/99–4/05

Trial Waivers

Canyon K-9 Club (SW) Carolina Schutzhund Club (SE) Channel Islands Schutzhund Club (SW) German Shepherd Schutzhund Club (PNW) Maine Schutzhund Club (NewE)

O.G. Wesconn Schutzhund Club (NewE) Pikes Peak Schutzhund & Police Association (RM/GP) South Louisiana Schutzhund Club (SC) Sunland Schutzhund Club (SW) Texas Working Dogs (SC) Tri-State Schutzhund Association (PNW) Twin Peaks Schutzhund Club (RM/GP) E-Ballots Processed Since 2004 General Board Meeting

E-Ballot #1-05 (2005 Sieger Show Slate of Judges)

Motion by Karen MacIntyre to approve the Breed Advisory Committee's recommended slate of judges for the 2005 Sieger Show:

Wilfred Scheld (SV), Ernst Seifert (SV)

Richard Brauch (SV alternate)

Karen MacIntyre (USA)

Johannes Grewe/Ricardo Carbajal (USA alternate TBD)

Motion carried 1/15/05.

E-Ballot #2-05 (Three-Day Event Authorizations [Rulebook/USA Variances Addition])

Motion by Mike Hamilton to allow USA full member clubs to host three-day events in lieu of two-day events. Clubs may use Friday or Monday to host events offering all performance titles and degrees awarded by USA. Performance titles such BH, SchH/VPG1-2-3, FH1-2, IPO1-2-3, and DPO (any) must be offered on Saturday and Sunday in addition to Friday or Monday. If clubs anticipate more trial entries than can be accommodated in two days, a three-day event should be authorized with performance titles offered on both days of the weekend and the extra day intended for overflow. Clubs are allowed to offer performance titles on Friday or Monday and just one day of a weekend if also hosting a breed survey or conformation show on the other day of the weekend. Breed surveys and conformation shows must be held on Saturday or Sunday.

A three-day event will not be allowed unless the club has three days of activities. It is not intended to allow a club to host a SchH/VPG trial on Friday or Monday and a one-day event on the weekend. The three-day event is intended for larger events with multiple venues. The regional director must receive a request from the club for a three-day event, and will authorize three-day events only in the cases listed above. All other USA trial regulations are applicable. Motion carried 1/18/05.

E-Ballot #3-05 (Payment of WUSV Invoice)

Motion by Bill Plumb to pay the WUSV invoice for 2006

membership deposit in the amount of Euro 511. We will be required to pay the membership fee when due, and the deposit will roll over to the next year. This payment is required in order to continue to obtain SV judges for our events. Motion carried

unanimously 2/3/05.

E-Ballot #4-05 (Rescind Tattoo Variance) – Withdrawn

Motion by Mark Przybylski to rescind the USA tattoo variance that allowed entering dogs in local events without a tattoo or microchip. Effective January 1, 2006, tattoos or microchips will be required for all USA events, and the identification information is to be recorded in the scorebook. Owners of dogs with microchips are responsible for providing the identification equipment. Motion withdrawn 2/9/05.

E-Ballot #6-05 (2005 USA–GSD National Championship Slate of Judges)

Motion by Mark Przybylski to approve the USA Judges Committee’s recommended slate of judges for the 2005 USA German Shepherd Dog National Championship:

Tracking – Al Kerr (USA)

Obedience – Peter Jacobs (SV)

Protection – Heinz Balonier (SV)

Motion carried unanimously 2/11/05.

E-Ballot #5-05 (2005 North American and FH Championship Slate of Judges)

Motion by Mark Przybylski to approve the USA Judges Committee’s recommended slate of judges for the 2005 North American and FH Championship:

Tracking and FH – Carla Griffith (USA)

Obedience – Bill Szentmiklosi (USA)

Protection – Dirk Stocks (SV)

Motion carried unanimously 2/11/05.

E-Ballot #7-05 (Breed Registry Requirements for Entry in National Events/Conformation Shows)

Motion by Sara Wallick to require German Shepherd Dogs entered in the USA German Shepherd Dog National Championship, the USA North American and FH Championship, or USA conformation shows to be registered with either the USA Breed Registry or the USA/SV Breed Registry effective immediately. This requirement excludes dogs under twelve months of age and dogs owned by individuals who are not permanent residents of the United States. Motion carried 2/21/05.

E-Ballot #8-05 (Host for 2005 H.O.T. Championship)

Motion by Nathaniel Roque to accept the bid from Penn Ohio Working Dog Club to host the 2005 H.O.T. Championship as approved by the National Events Committee. Motion carried

unanimously 3/2/05.

E-Ballot #9-05 (Amend 2005 Budget)

Motion by Bill Plumb to amend the 2005 fiscal year budget to increase Sieger Show income by $30,000 and increase Sieger Show expenses by $26,150. This amendment to the budget is needed to accommodate the 2005 Sieger Show. Motion carried

unanimously 3/25/05.

E-Ballot #10-05 (Rescind Tattoo Variance for German Shepherd Dogs)

Motion by Mark Przybylski that tattoos or microchips will be required for German Shepherd Dogs entered in all USA performance events effective January 1, 2006, and the identification information is to be recorded in the scorebook. Dogs of breeds other than the German Shepherd Dog will be required to have a tattoo or microchip for entry in USA national and regional events, but not for entry in USA local events.

Owners of dogs with microchips are responsible for providing the identification equipment. The only change resulting from this motion will be requiring identification for German Shepherd Dogs entered in local performance events. Motion carried

3/25/05. Supersedes E-Ballot #25-04 (Tattoo Variance).

E-Ballot #11-05 (Entry in AWDF Affiliated Breed Club Trials) – Withdrawn

Motion by Mark Przybylski that USA will recognize titles earned under American Working Dog Federation (AWDF) affiliated breed club judges. These titles will fall under the same guidelines as those recognized for DVG. These titles will only be recognized for progression pertaining to working titles and will not be recognized as prerequisites for breeding, breed surveys, or conformation events. Entry in the USA German Shepherd Dog National Championship will still require a qualifying score of 270 points under a USA, SV, Canadian, or USA-recognized judge. Qualifications for other national events will remain in place as currently written. Motion withdrawn 3/17/05.

E-Ballot #12-05 (2005 H.O.T. Championship Slate of Judges)

Motion by Mark Przybylski to approve the USA Judges Committee’s recommended slate of judges for the 2005 H.O.T. Championship:

Tracking – Nikki Banfield (USA)

Obedience – Mike Hamilton (USA)

Protection – Jakob Meyer (SV)

Motion carried 4/20/05.

E-Ballot #13-05 (Event Authorization Processing Fees) – Withdrawn

Motion by Bill Plumb to prohibit regions from charging a fee to process event authorizations. Motion withdrawn 4/19/05.

TREASURER – BILL PLUMB

In April of last year 25 clubs had paid their dues, and in April of this year only 13 clubs have paid with one business day not reported yet. So in actual club dues, last year at this time we had collected $18,200 and during the same period this year we have collected $15,900. It looks like our individual membership started to stabilize in April, so hopefully that is a good sign; however, clubs are still declining. When we look at our overall financial position, right now we are in very good shape because we have quite a bit of liquidity, having built up funds over the last couple of years. All of our major income sources are tending to be declining, however, and that is regardless whether it is dues revenue or magazine revenue.

It is too early to really get a handle on the USA Breed Registry. We have had 20 individual USA registrations come through so far this month, but only one litter registration since the start of the registry. The USA/SV individual registrations are down, but the litter registrations are still considerably up over last year.

We need to concentrate on cost control and half of our expenses are at the office. We need to minimize costs there, and most of those costs are personnel. We are looking at signing a new five-year lease for the office, so I think our office structure over the next five years is probably going to have to change fairly dramatically if all of our current financial trends persist. I have asked Kelly to see if we can get an advance notice cancellation clause in our lease, because the building owner has asked for that from us. They want a 180-day cancellation notice if they can find somebody to lease the whole building, as a fair amount of the building is vacant at the present time. I have asked Kelly to

talk to them about getting a reciprocal agreement, which would give us the flexibility we need if we start making some changes at the office.

DIRECTOR OF JUDGES – MARK PRZYBLYSKI

We have two or three new apprentice judges coming on line. We have had a proposal before the Executive Board about accepting AWDF clubs as a venue for our members to enter and get their titles as far as just working titles. I wonder if it would be more palatable to the Board if we just go club by club instead of taking AWDF as a whole.

NATIONAL BREED WARDEN – KAREN MACINTYRE

The 2005 Sieger Show in Carson City, Nevada hosted by the Blue Tahoe Schutzhund Club was a big success. Johannes’ insight in forming a team to run these shows made a huge difference. We’re not perfect, but we’ve come a long way.

We had 302 entries this year (265 entries last year and 273 the year before). We cut out the adult untitled class and raised the age for the baby puppies, and still had 302 entries. There were 222 dogs actually shown. The conformation quality of dogs this year was exceptional, which was also noted by the SV judges. There were 10 VA males and 8 VA females! There were 18 V and 3 SG males and 12 V females, and many of the classes had all or most dogs at the highest rating. We did lose a lot of the working dogs in the protection phase. Eleven males were Insufficient (1 failed due to no out) out of 43 presented, with 5 no shows or pulls. Nine females were Insufficient, 2 Sufficient, and 1 failed for no heeling out of 32 presented, with 4 no shows or pulls. While all this shows that we need to focus on temperament, we should be proud that we have six Universal Sieger contenders this year! Again, another record set by this show.

The conformation quality is the best I have seen, but we must not make compromises on the protection testing. There were a lot of complaints, as usual, about the protection. I feel the helpers gave the dogs every opportunity to do the work. Getting helpers for the Sieger Show is a big issue. Well before the event I had asked the Helper Committee for assistance in getting helpers. They weren’t ready, they deferred to Mark Przyblyski, and Mark was unable to get helpers. We had to convince helpers at the event to try out. This is a major national event and a very profitable event, and we need a lot more focus on getting helpers there. I felt very comfortable with the helpers who were selected; but no matter what, there will unfortunately always be complaints. I felt both helpers did an excellent job.

I agree with Jim that a casino is not appropriate for a host hotel for a national event. The club had planned on using a hotel in Carson City; but when the date was moved as a result of airline blackout dates for shipping animals, they couldn’t get another hotel due to a soccer tournament. Crystal Video covered the whole event and Roanna was taking photos again this year, so everyone should be able to review the show.

I will be working on some changes to the breeding rules to be more in line with Germany. Specifically, the countries we should accept Schutzhund titles and “a” stamps from. I will also be adding a backlog of changes that have already been made. A couple of days ago, it was brought to my attention that I need to rewrite the breed survey and breed book explanations for the website.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

AUDITING COMMITTEE – KAY KOERNER (No report)

BOARD OF INQUIRY – JOHN KOERNER (No report)

BREED ADVISORY COMMITTEE – KAREN MACINTYRE (Given under National Breed Warden)

BUDGET COMMITTEE – BILL PLUMB

The budget (Attachment 1) is out circulating for Executive Board vote right now. We will have to make a couple of changes. Our rent is going up and we need a budget amendment for that. Also, if we are going to send judges to Germany for the judges meeting, we will need to appropriate funds for that. As it stands now, the budget has a profit forecasted of about $3,000, and that was under the assumption that our membership stabilizes at about the level it is now.

There will be a sub-budget for the Royal Canin sponsorship money. The suggested sub-budget for that contribution is outside the main budget, and includes money for taxes because it is taxable income for us. When it is coupled with our money from Tri-Tronics, it will probably put us into a taxable position. There is money in the sub-budget for the national events and the Education Program. There is an offset in it, as part of the deal was to get a cover for the magazine, so we are going to allocate $3,000 for the magazine to make up for revenue that will be lost. There will be $9,000 for national events ($3,000 per event), $4,400 for regional events, $1,000 for the Helper Program, $1,000 for the Judges Program, $1,000 for team uniforms, and $8,500 for education events. At the regional level, the money will go to the host clubs for the regional championship and regional conformation show. I would suggest that this would start with the fiscal year, because we should have the loose ends wrapped up and hopefully have the money in the door.

BYLAW COMMITTEE – JOHN KOERNER (No report)

EDUCATION COMMITTEE – VICKI KELLER

I have sent information to the Board on how many regions have sponsored events that qualify for the education money, and I am hoping that by the end of June perhaps half of our regions will have used the money. I think part of the holdup is not having the Helper Program finalized yet; and, once that happens, most of the regions will try to get an event scheduled. I have been disappointed that more regions have not applied for the money.

Some people might have a problem completing the evaluation forms, but I feel strongly that without that kind of data we can’t go forward and prove to any of our sponsors that the money we are spending on education is effective. My recommendation is that for any kind of seminar held with sponsor money, there has to be an evaluation process in place before the event is approved. A host club can host the event, but the region has to approve the seminar. My main concern is having evaluations done on the seminar so I have data on what worked and what didn’t work. When I get those evaluations, I can put them together and have a national database of what worked. The evaluation form is on the website.

We can’t charge members to come to these events and at the same time say we are providing a member service. An event authorization is required the same as for authorizing a trial, and that has to be approved at least 21 days prior to the event. There is a difference in dates, as the event authorization is 21 days while the website gives 30 days for the Education Program, so we will make both 21 days. The event needs to be publicized to the clubs in the region 21 days prior to the event.

I should be able to give the Board a report by July of who has had seminars in the past year and give some feedback on the

evaluation of the seminars by the participants. Hopefully we can go forward into the next year with some data on what worked best in the seminars, what didn’t work as well, and what we can improve. The regional directors need to make sure to fill out the evaluation forms.

HELPER COMMITTEE – NATHANIEL ROQUE (Report by Lyle Roetemeyer)

The program is starting today. Nathaniel sent an email to all the regional directors regarding event authorization forms. The books have gone to the printer and they should be at the USA Office by the end of next week. The new books will be required for attendance at seminars and evaluations; however, they will not be available at the seminars. If helpers have an old book, they will need to send that in to the USA Office and get their new book. The reason is the impossibility of tracking numbers correctly. It is going to be a much better process to have the books come out of the USA Office with an official number.

The number from the old helper book will be recorded in the new helper book, the old book will be marked obsolete, and the old book will be sent back with the new book. The old helper book is important as far as any helper wishing to attain a local, regional, or national classification for doing helper work; because all the information entered in the old helper book will be used for number of dogs worked, trials worked, etc. It is important for helpers to keep the old helper books, but anything from that time on will go into the new helper book. When it comes time for an evaluation and classification, helpers are going to need to have the record of all the previous work they have done in order to step up to the level they want to attain.

The database is ready. The handwritten evaluation forms will be used and Nathaniel will be the clearinghouse for those. He will download the information into the database until such time that each teaching helper understands how to thoroughly use the database. It is fairly simple, but we want to make sure everybody is up to speed on it and don’t make mistakes.

The only thing we need to resolve is how much we are going to be able to fund per event next fiscal year with a lot less money. Once we have a signed agreement with Royal Canin, we can review the budget. They were adamant about wanting to be part of the national events and Education Program. When we started talking about the Helper Program and the Education Program, they were very interested. The Royal Canin logo will be on all the new helper books and is on the DVD. Even though we haven’t received any money yet, we have done that in good faith.

JUDGES COMMITTEE – MARK PRZYBLYSKI

The WUSV judges meeting in Germany is coming up in July. We should know something about that in the next couple of days.

NATIONAL EVENTS COMMITTEE – VICKI KELLER

Martin Vollrath said it best when he said happy competitors are happy members. That is our key phrase that we are trying to focus on for national events. The National Events Committee conducted competitor surveys for our two national performance events in 2004, the North American Champion-ship held in April and the GSD National Championship held in November. I am summarizing the results below, and the complete survey results are listed on the attached spreadsheet (Attachment 2) by area. Evaluation forms were compiled by Patti Garcia and reviewed by our committee. We plan to do a survey for the 2005 events also.

1. 100% rated the North American (NA) good or excellent. 2. 72% rated the German Shepherd Dog National Championship (GSD) good or excellent. 3. Website: This is highly valued by all competitors, with the biggest complaint being practice time signup and results posting for the GSD being very poorly rated. The more information we can provide for the competitors the better. 4. Host Hotel: NA received an excellent rating and the GSD needed better dog walking areas. 5. Stadium Practice: This area had many complaints at the GSD. 6. Restrooms: Rated poor for both events. 7. Draw Night: 90% rated the NA good or excellent; the GSD was rated as too long and too crowded. 8. Tracking: Well rated at both events. In terms of improvements for future events, we will be trying a new on-line signup for the North American Championship. One problem we encountered with the 2004 North American is the on-line signup did not work because people were able to go in and erase other the names of other competitors. For this year we are taking signup times over the phone and it will be on the website. We also need staff to maintain the restrooms, longer stadium practice times, shorter draw night, and a list of several alternate hotels. In 2006 the Northwestern Region will host the North American Championship, and we are still looking for host clubs for the other 2006 events. This is our biggest problem—finding host clubs. We need to provide host clubs with at least $3,000 per event, otherwise the events will not be run as well as they should be. Also, no one will want to host these events in the future. These national events are still not showing how great an organization USA is. We need to have the best stadiums, tracking, hotels, and functions—not the second best. A possible solution is to add a $5 donation box for national events to the membership renewal, or raise our membership fee by $5. National events from all the breed organizations are being held on conflicting weekends for no good reason. It makes it impossible for handlers to compete in all the events in which they would like to. A possible solution is to communicate with the other breed clubs and come up with a two-week window for each club to host their big events. Happy competitors lead to happy members.

NOMINATING COMMITTEE – CARL JOHNSON

We haven’t had anybody quit, so we have the whole committee ready and able to start beating the bushes for the people we have to elect at this next General Board meeting. We will put ads in the magazine two magazine issues ahead asking for volunteers for the National Events Committee, Judges Committee Members at Large, and Nominating Committee.

USA K-9 COMMITTEE – MIKE DIEHL (No report)

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP COMMITTEE – HOWIE RODRIGUEZ

The committee unanimously selected a team captain for this year’s championship in Haguenau, France on October 6-9, but that person declined. It is our job as a committee to select a person to act as team captain. I would like to have recommendations from the Executive Board of people who are competent and willing to captain the team at this year’s championship in France.

When asked if he would consider accepting the position as team captain again, Howie declined because of the complaint made at the 2004 General Board meeting by one of the competitors regarding the hotel accommodations at the WUSV Championship last year.

YOUTH COMMITTEE – MIC PETERSON (No report)

UNFINISHED BUSINESS AWDF Breed Club Trials

Mark Przyblyski: We made a proposal to let our members enter AWDF breed club trials to get their titles. Everybody seemed to be concerned about the list of judges for these breed clubs, so I thought it would be easier to go on a club-by-club basis instead of taking the AWDF as a whole. These titles will not be recognized for our Sports Medal Program or our national events, and will not be recognized for prerequisites for breeding. This is just another venue for members to obtain their titles and is the same way we recognize DVG titles. I have had the USRC and Belgian Malinois people say they would rather be considered on their own merits. We will consider each club individually, but the clubs will be required to petition USA and then we will vote on them.

NEW BUSINESS 2009 WUSV Championship Steering Committee

Mike Hamilton: Two sites close to Lexington, Kentucky didn’t pan out because of the requirement for the stadium to allow smoking and drinking. The football schedule is another problem. I think we are a little flexible on that word stadium, as a stadium can mean many things; but we need a venue that is going to represent us properly this time.

Lyle Roetemeyer: The biggest problem in working with school stadiums is the smoking and drinking. If it is a private facility, you can sometimes swing that, however.

Howie Rodriquez: The Europeans are going to prefer the East Coast. If we enlist the help of Phil Jobe, he knows how to get around some of the restrictions.

Several venues were discussed, including Atlanta, St. Louis, Lexington, and the Anheuser-Busch facilities in New Hampshire and St. Louis.

Loss of Membership

Lyle Roetemeyer: The work with AWDF on anti-breed legislation has been overwhelming. Some people won’t buy a German Shepherd Dog because the breed is legislated against in their municipality, and insurance also has an impact. The GSD is down the list compared to some other breeds, but it affects all of us and it affects membership. Regardless of the state of USA’s income, the economy is not good right now and schutzhund is an expensive hobby. I know of disturbing situations where clubs are basically businesses for individuals. People join the club and end up feeling they are paying the guy’s meal ticket. That is not good for schutzhund or USA. All of these things are intertwined. It is not just one thing that causes a drop in membership—it is many different things.

Bill Plumb: The cost of energy is having a big impact.

Howie Rodriguez: The organization appears to be lacking in kindness and seems to be divisive. That is not the way to market a product. We need to develop a marketing strategy.

Lyle Roetemeyer: We worked on developing a marketing strategy. We were on TV, which helped publicize what we did in a positive light, and we experienced growth for a period of time. I took my dog with me to a meeting in Los Angeles last year with Royal Canin. At the airport people remarked that she is a beautiful German Shepherd, and I told them she is a schutzhund dog. Many said they had seen the ESPN special, so that publicity had an impact and we touched people by doing that. It makes no sense to market yourself if you don’t have a way to keep the people who respond. We started a marketing process; but when people came to the clubs, they were offended or felt there was not enough knowledge in the clubs. I think we maybe put the cart before the horse. To me the most important thing we can do right now is to push the Education Program and get more people trained to handle dogs. One of the biggest problems in our clubs is having enough good helpers to train dogs. Another big problem is many clubs don’t have training directors who are knowledge-able enough to help everybody with every dog. We have a lot of issues at the club level that we cannot possibly address explicitly enough, but we have to start somewhere. If we don’t have a way to keep people attracted by our marketing, then our marketing does no good.

Al Govednik: We are not a young sport either. I go different places and don’t see twenty-five or even thirty-year-old people out there. Most members are in their forties, fifties, and over. It is rare to have a good young helper. Maybe that can be taken into consideration when we are looking at marketing ourselves.

Mike Hamilton: Another problem is that once a good helper gets established in a club and has the confidence of the membership of that club, he goes out on his own and creates a professional business. I have heard of that happening many times in the last six years, and there seems to be a tremendous increase in the last three or four years. We need to emphasize the glorification of a helper that works for the organization and speaks for the organization.

Lyle Roetemeyer: I think the Helper Program will be good for what we are trying to establish.

Howie Rodriguez: This past weekend I put eight bomb dogs in a new hotel, and the hype was unbelievable. There were six German Shepherds and two Labradors walking around the hotel, and the media play the dogs got was unreal, from kids to adults. They all wanted to talk about the German Shepherds. The romance, attraction, and magnetism are there. What we do with it if we market it correctly is on us. That is our job.

Lyle Roetemeyer: We need to have the ability to keep people once they come in the door. There are a number of reasons why people come and go. A lot of people get involved, but then find out it is just too tough or too time consuming for many people to want to continue doing it.

Internet Chat Lists

Lyle Roetemeyer: A few people spend a great deal time looking at and talking on chat lists and who are not very involved in the organization. Some think the Executive Board members should be involved in the lists, but it is difficult for me personally to find the time to do that. I feel that focusing time and energy on helping find positive solutions is the best use of our time. Unfortunately, there is a lot of negativism on some of the chat lists. We have to decide here on the Executive Board that we are going to work together to get this organization moving in the right direction.

USA Newsletter

Diane Vegsund: A lot of the members want to know why the President’s letters stopped. They felt they were being included in the organization just from the mere fact this letter was going out, and all of a sudden it stopped. They want to see it started again.

Lyle Roetemeyer: That needs to be back on the front page. We need to make the website accessible so somebody can just pull up the front page, click on a button, and pull it up. I expect all of our club officers to start submitting a newsletter, and I will get with Kelly this week and try to get something set up so we can get that back on the website.

Conclusion

President Lyle Roetemeyer concluded the meeting by saying he appreciates the fact that he feels everybody is going to work together for the next year and a half of this term of his presidency, and that the Executive Board will keep the organization going in the right direction. He also stated he will miss having Jim on the Board, as he is a good friend and he put in an enormous amount of work both as Vice President and President of the organization.

Motion by Mike Hamilton to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried unanimously.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 7:17 P.M.

Sara Wallick

Sara Wallick, Secretary

Attachment 1. Fiscal Year 1996 Budget Attachment 2. NEC 2004 National Events Survey

 

 

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