Hi Evan; I do agree with what you say, but we as Clubs are the AKC as they are "The Club of Clubs". What many are concerned and upset about was that there was no discussion with the fancy or the Delegate body with a full explanation of why this is necessary and why it takes 2-3M a year to run the Judges Department. Reminds me of the Pet land issue were they were not pro active in explaining the reasoning as to way they wanted to sign a contract with them. From what I am seeing and hearing, I really think that the Board will find it necessary to revisit this decision. Right now over 1500 people have signed up on A FB group to show their dissatisfaction with the Judges Maintenance Fee, it is Judges, Exhibitors and Handlers. One Delegate just posted that they are out of touch with the fancy and were others companies are looking to cut costs, they have save money, but they could save more. The NYC offices are a big thorn in many people's side as they feel a big cost savings if all offices were moved to NC. One thing we all have forgotten is that we all wanted them to do something about the "Puppy Mills" when they initiated the DNA frequent sire program and the inspections. This when the 20 something other registries were started my the Commercial Breeders who wanted nothing to do with AKC's DNA and inspections of their kennels or records, this is one very big reason the registrations have fallen. Registration money was really the true earnings of the AKC and now, that are about half of what they were before I believe it was around 1992 that this program started. What the old saying, "be careful what you wish for" ! But you are absolutely right that we all chose to participate in AKC venue for showing our dogs and it is a business. We run my AB Club as a business, because if we did not we would not be able to continue to put on 2 wonderful shows a year. We are looking at other ways to raise money, to help with additional costs, so that we do not have to raise entry fees. We all exhibit and we know what we pay in entry and travel to shows, so we are trying to keep the exhibitor in mind, as no exhibitors, no show. Cathy Kelstar ----- Original Message ----- From: To: tsaligsds@xxxxxxxxxxx;fmurch@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Cc: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: 5/16/2010 12:03:21 AM Subject: Who do we think we are? In a message dated 5/15/2010 5:54:55 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, tsaligsds@xxxxxxxxxxx writes: Its high time the fancy ran the AKC instead of the other way around. I bitch about the AKC as much as the next person. But, who do we think we are to tell someone else how they run their business. I am always amazed when we try to dictate to the AKC. We don't have to register our dogs, enter the shows, pay the fees, or even breed dogs that are AKC registered. There are other registries, other dog shows, and other systems. But, we chose to breed and register AKC animals. We chose to show at AKC shows, and we chose to support the AKC. We don't have to, and they sure don't have to listen to us as to how they run their business. If the AKC is making a bad decision, with the fees for judges, for raising the expenses for registration, requiring clubs to have more matches or anything else, they will go out of business. We have no right to tell them how to run their organization. Unlike the GSDCA, where we are the club, we are not the AKC. Not that there is anything wrong with that. Evan L. Ginsburg Asgard German Shepherds http://www.asgardgsd.com/ Where Type Movement and Temperament come together ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2010. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://showgsd.org NATIONAL BLOG - http://gsdnational.blogspot.com/ ============================================================================