The Annual Meeting was called to order at 1:00 on Sunday, February 21, 2010 at the home of Craig Larrabee and Mike Bernklau. A motion was made by Pam Straus to accept the previous meeting minutes as published, seconded by Sandi Cooley, and passed.
“Our right to own and breed dogs is under attack. Throughout the country last year we experienced an unprecedented increase in legislation that infringes on the rights of responsible owners and breeders.
We are not allowed to support the AKC PAC as a club, however, if you are interested in supporting them as an individual, contact Sue at Sue@KopperasKove.com, and she will e-mail you the form.
Sue Reimund stated that she assigned a Specialty Show Committee for our 2010 show in July. The members are Sandi Cooley, Pam Straus and Sue Reimund.
WATC member Mareth Kipp requested that the club nominate her for Dog Sellers Advisory Committee, created under the 2009 Assembly Bill 250 (regulation of breeders who sell more than 25 dogs per year). The Club Officers and Board approved this nomination.
The AKC has accepted our list of items for dog show eligibility requirements. You can find this list on our website.
WATC Treasurer Sandi Cooley reported that our checkbook balance is $5,432.74, and our CD Balance is $2,761.98. Our 2009 Financial Statement is attached to this e-mail.
WATC Vice President Pam Straus announced that our judges have been decided for our Specialty Show in July. They are Rosalind Kraus Kramer for the Regular Classes, and Ross Knutson for Sweepstakes.
Pam has purchased all of the trophies for our Specialty and passed around a list of them. Because Pam bought many of the items from the ATCA (Airedale Terrier Club of America) website, ATCA donated items for our Specialty auction. Trophies leftover from previous shows will also be included in the auction.
Pam also mentioned that Janis Linn, from IL, who won the Best of Breed at our 2009 Specialty, would like to sponsor the Best of Breed trophy this year. Pam made a motion that we agree to this, it was seconded by Sue Reimund, and passed.
On the subject of trophies, there was a discussion about a perpetual trophy, which was used years ago and happened to be stored at Craig and Mike’s home. Lisa Berglin made a motion that she would like to clean up and make any repairs necessary to the Liz LaPointe trophy, so that we can use it for Best of Breed at our Specialty in 2011. It was seconded by Mike Bernklau, and passed.
Sue Reimund showed a prototype of a Specialty invitation. She would like to mail approximately 40 of them in order to increase the number of entries at our show. Sandi Cooley made a motion to have Sue order the invitations, it was seconded by Lisa Berglin, and passed.
There was a discussion of the need for new tables for our Specialty show. Sue Shannon made a motion to purchase 6 foldable and lighter weight tables to use for our luncheon and auction at the show, seconded by Lanny Duttlinger, and passed.
We also discussed who will be helping with the set-up and take down of our tents and tables, and a number of people volunteered. It was also agreed that we should continue to have the Silent Auction in conjunction with our Specialty Luncheon.
LaVerne Van der Zee made a motion to accept this slate, it was seconded by Sue Lienau, and passed.
There was a discussion regarding inviting WATC Member Paula Lackner to our Spring Walk to give a talk on Airedale Rescue, including information on ATRA, foster homes, etc. Pam Lyon made a motion that we extend this invitation, it was seconded by Sandi Cooley, and passed.
We also discussed having an event which would teach our club members all about dog shows. We would actually bring our dogs and stage a mock show, in order to learn about the different titles, categories and rules. We plan on doing this at our Annual Fun Day, which is October 17 this year. Having this education program will also fulfill one of the eligibility requirements to hold our Specialty show.
Pam Straus shared information about a seminar that she and Sandi Cooley attended. It was by the Royal Canin dog food company and was very informative. She made a motion that she would contact them regarding setting up a seminar for our club members to attend. Craig Larrabee seconded, and it passed.
WATC member Lisa Berglin announced that she is the Airedale Terrier Club of America's historian and has a storage unit full of historical items. If anyone is interested in seeing this, please contact her at dewaltchic@yahoo.com.
There was a discussion about the ATCA (Airedale Terrier Club of America) yearbook, which is published every 10 years. Lisa Berglin agreed to make a page about our club for the yearbook, including pictures and results of our Specialty over the years.
Sandi Cooley announced the date of the Randy Cooley Hunt Test, which will be May 14 – 16th. The AKC Upland Spaniel test, which will include all upland breeds, will be on Saturday and Sunday. Check our website for a link with more information.
The date of the Spring Walk was decided. It will be Sunday, May 23rd, with the rain date being Sunday, June 6th. Look for information in this newsletter.
Lanny Duttlinger announced that the IL Airedale Club will be hosting a grooming seminar in DeKalb, IL on April 11th. Look for details on our website.
Lanny also brought up the subject of whether or not our members who are breeders are including WATC membership applications in their information packets. The breeders present at the meeting said that they do, but Sue Reimund also mentioned that the application is available online on our website and available to anyone. Our members should be aware of this, if they should have friends with Airedales who might like to join our club.
This award was particularly meaningful, because after a very successful career in Agility, Starr injured her leg this year, at age 10, and is unable to compete. Congratulations to both Sue and Starr.
Lisa Berglin made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 2:20, seconded by Mike Bernklau, and passed.