President McCollough called the meeting to order at 7:45 p.m.  There were 76 BTCA members present at the meeting as well as several guests.  A quorum was met.  Board members presents were:  Dane LaJoye, Corresponding Secretary, Joyce Fletcher, Vice President, and Board of Directors Peggy Jackson, Sharon Stoll, Richard  Wiest, Carolyn Gastley and Maureen Blackwood.  Absent were Richard Nix, Linda Jett, Melany Anaya and Marby Kelly.

President McCollough explained that we were going to run this Annual Meeting according to Robert’s Rules of Order which means that before a member of this meeting can make a motion or speak, they must first obtain the floor.  One will obtain the floor by standing, wait to be recognized by the chair, and a microphone will be brought to you or you may go to the microphone and wait to be recognized by the chair.

Minutes from Annual Meeting 4/23/08 - Fletcher asked if there was any discussion relative to the Annual Meeting Minutes of 4/23/08.  There being no questions, she asked for a motion to accept the Minutes from the Annual Meeting held on April 23, 2008 as posted in last year’s Coast to Coast.  A motion was made by Virginia O’Connell and seconded by Pat McCann.  Fletcher asked for a show of hands of those in favor.  Motion passed.

Election of Officers & Board – In the absence of the Recording Secretary, LaJoye read the following to the membership.  Pursuant to Article IV, section 4C, because no addition nominations were received by the February 1, 2009 deadline, the Nominating Committee’s slate shall be declared elected at the 2009 Annual Meeting and no balloting shall be required or conducted.  Therefore, the new slate officers for the fiscal year July 1, 2009 through June 30, 2010 shall be as follows:

Committee Reports – McCollough asked if there were any questions relative to any of the committee reports.  There being no questions at this time, a motion was made by Betty Montgomery that we accept all the committee reports as written; seconded by Kelly Estes; approved.  All the committee reports will be published in the next issue of the C2C.

Unfinished Business –

By-Laws Revisions - Fletcher reported there was a discussion relative to the revision of the By-Laws at the recently held Board Meeting.  The proposed revisions need further tweaking which should be accomplished by the next Board Meeting which will be held in August, 2009.  At that time, the proposed revisions will be sent to AKC for approval.  After AKC approval, the revisions will be sent to the membership for their approval.

New Business - 

AKC Group Realignment – in the absence of Kelly, Fletcher reported that AKC intents to change the realignment of groups and shared details of AKC’s proposal.  It was the recommendation of the Board that the membership write letters, make phone calls, send e-mails or whatever to express their discernment with this proposed realignment and, in particular, the impact it would have on the Non-Sporting Group especially when it comes to the Standard Poodle being included in the Non-Sporting Group. 

Coast to Coast Newsletter – Fletcher introduced Brook Berth, our new C2C newsletter editor and commended Brook on the outstanding job she is doing.  The membership also recognized Brook with their applause.

National 2010 – LaJoye, 2010 National Show Chair, announced that the 2010 National will be held in Atlanta, GA on May 18, 19, 20, 21, 2010 (note the National has been extended to four days starting in 2010 due to the addition of Futurity and the Top Boston events.  The Atlanta Club will hold their Specialty on Monday, May 17, 2010.  The National will be held at the Holiday Inn Select, 4386 Chamblee-Dunwoody Road, Atlanta, GA – 770-457-6363.  The room rate will be $89 per night.  The judge for 2010 will be Michael Staley from Kentucky.

New AKC Dog Show Class – For those members who were not yet aware, Fletcher announced a new dog show class that is being offered by AKC effective January 1, 2009.  The Amateur-Owner-Handler class shall be for dogs that are at least six months of age that are not champions.  Dogs must be handled in the class by the registered owner of the dog.  This class is restricted to exhibitors who have not, at any point in time, been a professional dog handler, AKC approved conformation judge, or employed as an assistant to a professional handler.  Additionally, members of the immediate family or household of a current professional handler are ineligible for this class.

Open Forum – President McCollough asked if there was further discussion at this time.  Bev Staley then addressed the meeting and asked the Board if we still had copies of the Illustrated Standard Booklets.  The Board will address this.

Ann McCammon suggested that the Board have a power point presentation for future Annual Meetings.  The Board will address this.

Norm Randall then stepped to the podium and made a motion “that the Board move forward with the breed standard as previously written”.  This motion was seconded by Betty Montgomery.  There was a very lengthy discussion.  It was also mentioned that there is currently a moratorium on moving forward with any breed standard changes until August, 2009 as was posted in the C2C minutes in 2007.  Therefore, the Board did not feel it was appropriate to address this motion at this time.

Kelly, AKC Delegate, then joined the meeting and presented the membership with further information on the AKC proposed realignment of Groups.  She emphasized that we should also ask other breed parent clubs to get involved and write to AKC.

Following Kelly’s discussion, President McCollough called for a point of order relative to Norm Randall’s presentation.  After further consideration by the Board of Randall’s motion, and since the motion was seconded, we must have a vote.  The motion is “the Board should move forward with the breed standard as previously written”.  She then asked for a show of hands of those members for this motion (a count was taken of 30).  President McCollough then asked for a show of hands for those members against this motion (a count was taken of 41).  The motion was defeated by a count of 41 – 30. 

The Open Forum continued – Joan Oja addressed the members that there should be more information in the show packets and during the show week as to where agility trials are being held and where.  Carolyn Gastley agreed and said she would make sure this happens in the future.  Agility results should also be posted in the C2C; not just conformation results.

Fred Comstock addressed the members suggesting that the Award Committee look into having medallions as conformation awards vs. the plastic little trophies.

Jim Alexander addressed the members inviting everyone to make their plans now for the National in 2010 and to plan to attend the host club Specialty being held on the Monday before the National.

Pat McCann made a motion to adjourn; Seconded by Alison Allison.  Meeting adjourned at 10:10 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Joyce J. Fletcher