2009 Annual Meeting Minutes

2009 ANNUAL MEETING MINUTES SANTA BARBARA, CA March 27, 2009 The Annual Meeting was called to order at approximately 3:00 p.m., by President, Marcy Bankus. Marcy announced that Roberts Rules of Order will govern, and that all motions must be presented legibly in writing to the Secretary. Gerald Olsen was introduced as our Parliamentarian. Roll Call was conducted by states. Bob Brown asked if there was a quorum. A quorum was present. The Sergeants-at-Arms were Keith Savage and Dan Hodel The Minute Review Committee is Valerie Seeley and Amy Zacher The 2008 Annual Meeting Minutes were approved as printed in the Bulletin. President's Report – On behalf of the Board of Directors, Marcy Bankus thanked the membership for the honor of serving on the GPCA Board. Marcy thanked members who have contacted the Board with suggestions through the year, reminding members to contact the Board with questions and concerns throughout the year, not just at National Specialties. Members were also reminded to regularly check the website for update information. Members receiving the Bulletin will have the option of receiving a $5.00 credit when renewing their dues for 2009/2010. Corrections from the 2008 National Specialty issue will be printed in the 2 nd quarter issue of the Bulletin. The Board is looking for volunteers to participate on two new committees; a Code of Ethics Review Committee and an Outstanding Sportsmanship Award Committee. Members interested in participating should contact a Board member. Secretary's Report – Kathy Lee announced that GPCA's current membership numbers, as of March 1 st , 2009, are 735 total members; 653 full members including 5 lifetime members; 79 associate members, 2 junior members and 1 honorary member. Treasurer's Report – Christine Palmer-Persen moved that, for this year, membership dues remain the same. A motion second was made by Whitney Coombs. The motion passed. Christine reported that the GPCA has $84,074 in equity. Expenses were $49,724. Printing and postage increases have contributed to this. Committee Reports – Whitney Coombs, Co-Chair of the 2010 World Conference announced that the event will be held in Lancaster, PA, April 25 th – May 1 st , 2010. Tours of Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia, PA are scheduled for Monday, April 26 th and Tuesday, April 27 th . Judging will be from Wednesday, April 28 th – Saturday, May 1 st . The 2010 Judges are: Futurity – Carrie Stuart Parks Puppy Sweepstakes – Charlotte Perry Veteran Sweepstakes – Mary Lou Mayer Conformation and Junior Showmanship – Bob Brown Obedience and Rally – Nancy Withers Draft – Charlotte Bascomb and Christine Palmer-Persen Karen Justin, Chair of Ways and Means, reminded everyone that Ways and Means has a lot of items for purchase at their table. Kathy Lee, Rescue Co-Chair, joined Karen in reminding everyone of the items for sale on the rescue table, and of the raffle for a limited edition print to benefit Vivienne and David James, devastated by the Australian fires. Flo Laicher, Health Committee Chair, also asked everyone to stop by the HC table to view the new items available. Bret Zacher reported that our website is currently on a shared AKC site. We are limited in its use. We would like our own website, where we can have ecommerce, membership database, historic information and photos, with different levels of security for members vs. the public. The cost is estimated to be $6,000-$8,000 to create, plus storage and maintenance. AKC has no maintenance cost. Following discussion regarding the mechanics of the site as well as content, a straw poll was taken, deciding whether to move forward with the development of an independent site. All attending voted in favor, none were opposed. UNFINISHED BUSINESS – All Committee Chairs were recognized and thanked for their work on their committees. All those who have helped with rescue were recognized. Past National Specialty Show Chairs were recognized. Past Board Members were recognized. Past GPCA Presidents were recognized. The members of the Great Pyrenees Alliance of the West were recognized and thanked for their hard work in hosting this National Specialty. Retiring Board members, Christine Palmer-Persen and Kerry Kern Woods were recognized and thanked for their years of service. Bret Zacher discussed the Bulletin, stating that the deadline schedule is very strict, now that we are working with the outside publishing firm, Leader Herald. Bret asked the membership for contributing editors to assist Editor Darrell Goolsbee with content. Following concerns expressed regarding the print and appearance of recent Bulletin issues since contracting with Leader Herald, Bret announced that future issues will be in standard book font, as our past Bulletins have been. Our Database Manager, Stephanie Whitney, is working hard to get the address list corrected in order to relieve the issue of non delivered Bulletins. The 2012 National Specialty will be hosted by the Garden State Great Pyrenees Club, to be held in Suffern, NY, April 24 th – April 28 th , 2012. Jean Pero, Chair of the Judge's Selection Committee, announced that the Conformation Judge for 2012 will be Ellen VandenAvond, who received 612 points. Whitney Coombs received 582 points, Paula Nykiel received 447, Beverly Capstick received 446, James Reynolds received 310, Stuart Rogell received 279 and Richard Jeffery received 120 points. 200 ballots were received. Nine ballots were not counted; 3 with no name on the outside envelope, 2 ballots were marked with X's and 4 ballots were returned after the deadline. The newly elected members to the Board of Directors are Flo Laicher, Janet Ingram and Carrie Stuart Parks. 276 ballots were counted. One member sent in two ballots, and one member voted after the deadline date. Returning Board member, Flo Laicher, received 166 votes; Janet Ingram, 163; Carrie Stuart Parks, 153; Mary Ann Kenninger, 111 and Kim Lasley, 106 votes. NEW BUSINESS – A motion was made by Keith Savage, with a second by Ruth Marcy, that advertising for the 2010 National Specialty appear on the inside front cover of the next four issues of the Bulletin. To clarify, Keith suggested this would generate more interest in the World Conference event. Carrie Stuart Parks suggested the ad be printed in color; however, color is only used in the National Specialty issue. Jean Pero made an amendment to the motion, that this motion be effective for every National Specialty going forward. The motion passed as amended. Judy Brown moved that we conduct a straw poll of this body on the issue of having the option for a 5 year dues renewal regarding payment of membership dues. A second to the motion was made by Tami Green. Judy explained that our Parliamentarian had pointed out that GPCA Bylaws state that dues are paid annually , and would have to be changed before continuing this practice. By a hand vote, the motion to conduct a straw vote passed unanimously. Jack Perry asked how the 5 year plan is affected by a dues increase, requiring different levels of dues payment. Wayne Boyd stated the 5 year plan does not bring money in every year, while there are yearly expenditures. Valerie Seeley asked if the Board voted on this, and the result. The Board did not vote on this, wanting to hear from the membership. Amy Zacher stated the plan saves in printing and postage costs of reminder mailings. Tami Green and Mary Lou Mayer both expressed concerns that donations and purchases, listed on the renewal form, might not be received if dues are paid every 5 years. After discussion, the straw poll to continue the 5 year dues renewal option was unanimously defeated, indicating that a constitutional change is not desired by the membership. Those members who paid for 5 years last year do have their dues paid until 2013. However, that option will not be offered in the future. CONTINUOUS MEMBERSHIP Jack Perry presented the Continuous Membership Awards ANNOUNCEMENTS Kim Lasley announced that the staff of the Hotel Mar Monte has been extremely helpful to the host club, and enjoyed having our National. She asked that we let them know their assistance is appreciated. Health Committee Chair, Flo Laicher, announced that Barbara Fredericks won the raffle basket. Tami Green, on behalf of Peggy Watson for the Dwarf Study, requested everyone have their dogs swabbed for DNA testing for the study. We are very near finding a marker. Whitney Coombs invited everyone to come to the 2010 Kickoff party at 6:00 p.m. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 4:15 p.m.

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