[ SHOWGSD-L ] SAOVA MESSAGE TO AKC DELEGATES, JUNE 10, 2007
- From: "Ginger Cleary" <cleary1414@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Showgsd-L@Freelists. Org" <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 10 Jun 2007 16:01:51 -0400
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Ginger Cleary,Rome, GA ww.rihadin.com
Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo
the fatigue of supporting it. ~Thomas Paine
Member GSDCA
Member Sawnee Mtn Kennel Club
GA Director Responsible Dog Owners of the Eastern States.
-----Original Message-----
A SAOVA message to sportsmen, pet owners and farmers concerned about
protecting their traditions, avocations and livelihoods from anti-hunting,
anti-breeding, animal guardianship advocates. Forwarding and cross posting,
with attribution, encouraged.
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--
Dear American Kennel Club Delegates,
Several months ago, when your board of directors proposed to enter into a
contractual arrangement with Petland to register Petland puppies eligible
for AKC registration, many of you objected. In fact, enough of you objected
to what you considered an inappropriate business relationship for AKC that
your board of directors finally dropped the plan.
It was a perfect example of good governance and fiduciary responsibility
at work?delegates from the member clubs acting as they knew their club
memberships wished.
More activism is needed. Dog fanciers and the AKC face grave challenges.
In addition to the loss of registrations and the Club?s standing, a tide of
legislation threatens "the sport of purebred dogs." Being the biggest, and
the oldest, canine registry in the nation confers the opportunity and the
responsibility for AKC to fight to protect the nation?s purebred dog owners,
breeders, and competitors, and its own reputation. It is critical that AKC?s
Board of Directors act wisely and effectively! Are they? It is the delegates
who must ensure that they do.
Important as it is, it is often not enough to merely object to a board or
management action or policy, but rather to be proactive in directing the
board to take certain measures to correct a problem, and to ensure that the
Board is and remains responsive to the delegates. Your board of directors
represents you, but it is you, the delegates, who are responsible for
protecting your dogs, the fancy?s studbooks, and the AKC?s long-held good
reputation.
Specifically, what might current delegate priorities be? One would be to
reverse the board?s decision to remove Cindy Cooke as a delegate from the
Kalamazoo Kennel Club. Ms. Cooke has served the fancy long and well; her
permanent absence would be a great loss to the delegate body and therefore
AKC. Her outspoken opposition to AKC?s PAWS misadventure with the animal
rightist Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) cost her dearly.
Another issue is Board turnover. Like most corporate boards, the AKC Board
elections are structured to ensure smooth transition and institutional
memory no matter how long individuals serve. However, every organization
needs fresh input now and then, and the demanding issues of today urgently
require a board that is accountable to the delegates. The delegates would
do well to preserve the present two consecutive term limit on board service;
in other words, no director may serve more than eight consecutive years. The
majority of the current board will have served to twenty (20) years before
being term limited.
Just as important, the delegates would do well to reject any by-law change
that would permit board members whose clubs have replaced them to continue
serving out their four-year terms in office, instead of until the next
annual election. Whether board members or not, delegates represent their
clubs, and their clubs are entitled to the last word on who should represent
them to AKC. Recalled politicians don't continue to stay in office as
everyone's and no one's representative. Efforts to change this longstanding
precedent should be rejected.
Finally, in the vexing area of legislation, delegates need to demand
greater accountability and cutting-edge understanding of the issues from the
board, AKC top management, and AKC?s legislative department. AKC was
initially very active in protesting California?s proposed statewide
mandatory spay and castrate bill, until the bill?s sponsor agreed to
eliminate the spay and castrate requirement for visiting dogs. As that meant
owner accompanied dogs traveling to Long Beach, California for AKC?s joint
major show with Eukanuba could come and go as intact dogs, assuring the
survival of the show, it appeared as if AKC all but lost interest in
protesting the bill, or terribly mismanaged its lobbying immediately before
bill passage. Yet the survival of one dog show, however big and prestigious,
is the least of what is wrong with any mandatory spay and castrate bill!!
What was needed in Sacramento at the pivotal Appropriations Committee
hearing was the personal testimony of AKC?s top management, either Ron
Menaker or Dennis Sprung. AB1634 ultimately passed by the minimum required
41 votes. During the ten hours that the bill?s floor vote was suspended and
the issue hung in the balance, Mr. Menaker or Sprung should have personally
contacted Long Beach?s two abstaining representatives and requested them to
vote no. You use your high-profile, top people in such circumstances. This
is lobbying 101. As it was, they both voted yes. Only one more nay vote
would have permanently killed this monumentally dangerous bill.
AKC has steadily bled registrations for the past 15 years; at this point
registrations are at a 40-year low. As delegates, you might want to think
about why AKC is also bleeding its own more than century-long prestige and
if you can improve your oversight of these flawed management decisions. How
comfortable are you with the plan to create a registry political action
committee (PAC) when current officers and board members contributed $29,000
to the reelection campaign of PAWS sponsor Senator Rick Santorum? Your
clubs, and all of the owners of dogs club members have bred, are depending
on you.
SAOVA wishes you a pleasant visit in Las Vegas and a productive meeting.
Bob Kane
Sportsmen's and Animal Owners' Voting Alliance - http://saova.org
Issue lobbying and working to identify and elect supportive legislators
For timely and accurate national animal rights information, join
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EachVoteCounts/ or see
http://saova.org/alerts.html
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