President Comstock called the meeting to order at 8:05 p.m. (EST). Present were: Fred Comstock, Melany Anaya, Joyce Fletcher, Marby Kelly, Kathleen Brewer, Peggy Jackson, Pat Kennedy, Richard Nix, Ann Sunday & Ola Jean McCollough. Lloyd Amodei arrived ˝ way through the meeting and Leana Terrill was absent.
Board Reports
President – Comstock began by stating that the board needs to set the standard & live by the club’s Constitution & Bylaws. If the bylaws are not being followed we need to find out why and go back to the Bylaws Revision Committee to propose possible changes for the future. In addition, if an officer is requested to put out a report, he/she needs to do it when asked.
Vice President – no report.
Recording Secretary – Motion by McCollough to approve the minutes of 8/21/06 as corrected, seconded by Jackson. Motion approved. Anaya reports that the printing of the 2006-2007 membership directory will be postponed until questions about lapsed memberships have been resolved. Anaya also reports that she has received the Nominating Committee’s slate of 2007 Officers and that a letter to the membership has been drafted and will be mailed out to all members by Jan. 1, 2007.
Corresponding Secretary – 6 applications for membership were received, 2 of which can not be voted on because they are not signed by 2 members in good standing. Board members to send secret ballots to Fletcher.
Letter of complaint received against a BTCA member regarding a breach of contract. BTCA (and AKC) does not get involved in contractual obligations and/or breach of them.
Letter from AKC regarding breed standard changes. Letter from Mary Beth O’Neil states that AKC will go forward with the color-only changes (see AKC minutes for details) as voted on at the Annual Meeting on 4/12/06. BTCA to send ballots the membership for them to vote on the color-only changes and the results will be sent to AKC.
Treasurer’s Report – Nix reports that the club’s account balance is $25,396.95 (each board member received a balance sheet & transaction report). Nix asks that any monies spent by committees be communicated to him prior to him receiving requests for reimbursement so that he has as much information about the request as possible before he receives it.
Unfinished business
Rescue – Jackson working with Kim Pennington to iron out some details in regards to rescue. Jackson to report back to the board at the next board meeting. Fletcher to write letter to Susan Hunter advising that Kim Pennington has replaced her as the Rescue Chair, as per the April 9, 2006 board meeting minutes.
Breed Standard Committee – Fletcher submitted 2 revisions to the breed standard to AKC. One was from the Annual Meeting in regards to color-only, the other was a complete revision put together by the Breed Standard Committee. AKC was in contact with Fletcher regarding clarification and asked for a copy of the Annual Meeting Minutes from April 12, 2006. AKC Board decided to go ahead with the color-only revision. BTCA Recording Secretary to now move forward with sending a ballot out to all members. Anaya to follow BTCA bylaws carefully and mail out ballot in the month of January. McCollough motion to dissolve the current Breed Standard Committee now that their work is done, seconded by Fletcher. Discussion followed. Motion not passed, 3 in favor, 5 opposed. The committee stands for now, at least until voting is completed and AKC moves forward with those results.
2008-2009 Show – Brewer to step down as Show Chair after 2007 show. It was mentioned that the Show Chair, President (and family) and the Show Secretary can not exhibit a dog. Also noted was that if the new Show Chair is not a board member then the new Show Chair must attend the first part of every board meeting to give an update to the board on the status of the show.
Portland Hotel Bill – Comstock received the 25 page hotel bill and will forward copies to each board member for review.
Amodei joined the meeting; the time was 8:53 (EST).
Liaison to the Coast to Coast – Fletcher to continue in this position.
Grant #759 - $3500 requested by the Health Committee was paid from the Charitable Trust.
Charitable Trust – Deana Jones wrote the $3500 check from the Charitable Trust, she forwarded it on to the other 2 trustees (Schmitt & Van Avery) for their signature, and it was then forwarded to Mary Miller, the Health Committee Chair. New Treasurer Nix was left out of the loop, and he should have replaced Jones as a trustee by now. Since the BTCA Treasurer is supposed to be one of the trustees on the account, Nix needs to be added and (previous Treasurer) Jones removed. Nix reports that Jones is waiting for word from Van Avery to proceed in making that change. Fletcher to draft letter to the trustees to find out the status. There is thought to be approx. $11,500 in the account. It was also noted that when money is donated to CHIC research, that AKC will match all monies donated.
New Business
Dropping Lapsed Members – As per the BTCA bylaws, members are considered lapsed if their dues are not paid by Sept. 30 of each year unless they have a “meritorious case” and then the board may give them a 90-day extension if they so choose. Therefore there are approx. 80 members whose memberships have lapsed and will be dropped immediately. Nix noted that he has received several checks from some of those members in the last few weeks and those members will have to be dropped as well (as per the bylaws) but Fletcher is to write a letter to those people who paid late and include an application and invitation for them to re-apply by Jan. 16th (the next board meeting) and if voted back in, be allowed to vote in the upcoming election. A board meeting in January will be held solely for the purpose of voting in new members.
Motion by Fletcher to allow Ann McCammon a 90-day extension until 12/31/06 to pay her dues (since she has had health issues and has been in the hospital), seconded by McCollough, motion approved.
Motion by Nix to rescind increase in dues, back to $30 for regular members and $60 for affiliate clubs, seconded by Jackson. Brief discussion. Motion approved 5-4.
Grants – The Health Committee requests that Grants #768 (Canine Lymphoma, $1500) and #790 (RNA profiling Cancers $3000) be approved and paid out of the Charitable Trust. Motion by Fletcher to move forward with a letter to the Trustees requesting this money from the Charitable Trust, seconded by Amodei, motion approved.
2007 Show – Discussion in regards to scheduling of seminars and board meeting. Brewer requested list of trophy donors from Nix by the first of March.
Marby Kelly received call from Western PA club regarding their specialty on Aug. 3rd and the Triangle Club’s specialty on Aug. 4th. There was concern about the distance between the two shows (375 miles). It was noted that the AKC’s rules on distance is that anything outside of 200 miles is acceptable. BTCA Board will let AKC dictate.
2008 Show – Proposal from Milwaukee Club to host. The policy is to go with the club who has not done it in the past. Brewer to call all clubs in the mid-west region re 2008 show and report back to the board at the January 2007 meeting.
New Members – New members voted in via secret ballot: Patricia Peterburs (CA); Kim Rutherford (TX); Margaret Balanowski (MI); Yuko Shinoda (Japan); Dean Caldwell (NC); Susan Cooper (FL); Amy Meissner (AZ); Betsy Pethick (NC); Alison Allison (NJ); Claire Scott (NJ); Fred Jackson (KY); Elaine Mauldin (NC); Timothy Schneider (KY); Janis Doland (CT);
Next meeting is Jan. 16th, 2007, membership applications must be received by 1/16/07 to be considered and if approved, receive ballots for the 2007 board elections.
Motion to adjourn by McCollough, seconded by Amodei. Motion approved. Meeting adjourned at 10:26 EST.
Respectfully submitted,
Melany Anaya
