IV.  REPORT OF THE AKC DELEGATE

AKC Delegate - James Smith.

Mr. Smith reported that there are four issues of concern to be voted on at the next meeting, one of which pertains to AKC Delegates and the other three to the Field Trial rules and procedures.

The first is a change to Article VII: Board of Directors Election, Meetings and Quorum of AKC's Charter and Bylaws, which would allow a Director of the AKC to continue to hold his/her office as Director, after resigning or being removed from his/her position as a Delegate. After discussion of the pros and cons regarding this change, the board directed Mr. Smith to vote in favor of this amendment.

There was no discussion regarding the changes to Field Trial Rules and Mr. Smith will vote his conscience or abstain as he wishes.

Mr. Berg made a motion to approve the Officers’ reports. Seconded by Dr. Jensen, the motion was approved unanimously.

V.  STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS

A. Charles Garvin

1. Ethics - Edward Flock

Mr. Flock submitted a written report regarding two issues he wishes to bring to the board's attention.

The first issue pertained to an anonymous letter that was publicly circulated regarding a previously handled matter. As the board had already reviewed the issue at a prior meeting and not entertained jurisdiction, and as no new specific information was forthcoming, the letter was dismissed. Mr. Flock received a separate email pertaining to judging procedure regarding a Dalmatian involved with this issue, and advised that judging procedures would fall under the jurisdiction of the AKC.

The second issue regarded a complaint about a member placing a deaf puppy. Dr. Krukenkamp made a motion that, based on the findings of the ethics committee and in consideration of a letter dated 6/21/07 from the accused member, the board finds this member's actions are inconsistent with the DCA member-accepted Ethical Guidelines and as a consequence removes this member from chairmanship of a DCA committee at this time and removes this member from the DCA breeder referral website. Seconded by Mrs. Pirs, the motion passed unanimously.

2. Legislative Liaison – Marie Fiore.

No action required.

3. Public Relations - Julie Lux.

No action required.

4. Web Page - Julia Soukup.

Ms. Soukup submitted a written report to the board of web site activities, including thirteen additions to the DCA web site and three additions to the Spotter web site. Ms. Soukup also reported on two projects in process. President Garvin complimented Ms. Soukup on the amount of work she has accomplished for the DCA in this area. He also recommended that the liaisons check the web site on a regular basis to determine whether there are any changes/additions required in their areas of responsibility.

Dr. Garvin reviewed the protocol for requesting changes to the DCA web site. The chairman of a particular committee/activity submits the requested change to the DCA President, who then approves/modifies/disapproves the change and forwards it to the webmaster. The format of the request should delineate the information "as is" on the web site and then show "change to".

B. Diana Skibinski

1. DCARE - Diana Skibinski.

   Mrs. Skibinski reported on several items of interest. The DCA silver Medallion donated by Beth Winick of Star Seeker Dalmatians, was auctioned by Kimberley Hess at the 2007 DCA Banquet and won by top bidder Laura Lightholder for $1,375. That money will be transferred to DCAF and earmarked for DCARE.

   Mrs. Skibinski reported that after viewing the fragile contents and beautiful treasures from Vickie Emmel’s estate, it was decided to add them into the DCA Silent Auctions. Kimberley Hess kindly displayed the items and requested $300.00 from their proceeds to help defray her shipping expenses for unsold items. The funds gained from these items need to be transferred from the DCA to the Dalmatian Club of America Foundation, also earmarked for DCARE.

   Since the Vickie Emmel Collection was placed in the Silent Auction at DCA, there is no need to use ebay. Cindy Bowman is interested in being placed on the on-line auction committee partnering with Cinda Haff to get donated items for ebay/auction.

   The DCARE Automated Response needs to be rewritten and the rescue area of the DCA website needs to be updated.

2. Membership - Mary Widder.

   Mrs. Widder submitted a written list of ten names to be considered for membership. Mrs. Skibinski read the list of applicants and their sponsors to the board. Dr. Jensen made a motion to accept the ten applications presented. Seconded by Mrs. Pirs, the motion passed.

   The chairman of Health and Research will review, correct and distribute the DCA statement on deafness as sent to new members.

3. Standard - Barbara Greenspan.

   No action required.

C. Sharon Boyd

1. Specialty Steering - Edward Flock.

   Mr. Flock advised that the Heartland Dalmatian Club will be holding a regional specialty on the Thursday/Friday following the DCA Specialty, for conformation only.

   Mr. Flock reported that the steering committee recommends he negotiate a contract with Lawrence Holidome for DCA 2010. Dr. Jensen made a motion to direct Mr. Flock to negotiate a contract with Lawrence Holidome for DCA 2010. Seconded by Mrs. Pirs, the motion passed.

   The steering committee reports that Laura Lightholder will be stepping down as Specialty Trophy Chairman after the 2008 show. Noting that she also produces the premium list, it was recommended that the board give immediate thought to her replacement.

   The steering committee recommends an increase in fees effective 2008. The AKC will increase certain of their fees, which our entry has to cover. The board stated that the steering committee/show chairman has always had the option to set fees as long as they were in line with the "going rate".

   The Steering Committee recommends that the agility FAST class be added in 2008. This will not add significant time to the schedule, as the classes will be held prior to regular Agility. However, this will add potentially thirty-six more trophies should all classes fill and all dogs place in each class. This engendered a lively discussion among the board regarding how to handle the increasing demand/cost for trophies. The concept was put forth of a class entry limit, i.e., set a minimum number of entries for each class that must be met in order for the top trophy to be awarded. A lesser number of entries and the winners receive lesser trophies. The board had a discussion about the dilemma of increasing trophy prices, increasing classes for trophy coverage, and decreasing trophy sponsorships. The steering/show committee was charged with the duty to look at different alternatives and come back to the board with a proposal. Mr. Berg made a motion to approve the addition of FAST classes to the national on a trial basis, and they will continue yearly provided donations cover the additional trophies. Seconded by Dr. Krukenkamp, the motion passed seven to one in favor.

   The steering committee advised that the regional club basket contest will be re-instituted for the 2008 specialty, with Kimberly Hess managing.

   The rules for Road Trial and Top 20 should be updated on the web site so that everyone is working with the most current set of rules. Chairs of these respective committees will work on coordinating that effort.

   The board accepted the resignation of Mr. Flock as Steering Chair at the conclusion of the 2008 Specialty and discussed the possible re-organization and re-population of the show and steering committees.

   1. Specialty Show Committee - Jennifer Cramer.

      Mrs. Cramer presented a written report to the board.

      1. DCA Specialty 2007, 4/28 – 5/3, Ft. Mitchell, KY – Jennifer Cramer, Chair.

         Mrs. Cramer reported that the show was successfully completed and the Obedience/Rally exhibitors overwhelmingly voted to keep these events at the host hotel in future years. Three areas of concern: entry income was down $2000 over the previous year; Performance Fund income was down about $3000; and since Onofrio did not superintend our Agility show, inclusion of those pages in the notebook-style catalog was charged at advertising fee rates.

      2. DCA Specialty 2008, 4/25 - 4/30, Ft. Mitchell, KY - Jennifer Cramer, Chair.

         Mrs. Cramer's committee proposed an entry fee change, and reported that Futurity nominations are up 20%, which should help with entry income. Gayle Riggins and her Performance Fund group are working hard on a print and t-shirt to be offered. The committee is changing to a spiral bound catalog at no charge from Onofrio, as opposed to the $3 per binder we pay now. The Agility show secretary will produce the Agility catalog, saving further charges from Onofrio. All committees are in place with a few changes from 2007.

   2. DCA Archival Photographer - Irvin Krukenkamp.

      Dr. Krukenkamp reported that 85 copies of the 2-DVD set of photos from the specialty were produced for orders, an increase over last year. The DVD of the Betty Garvin Speaker series is underway, with an underwrite from DCAF to cover distribution costs. An additional committee member photographer has been recruited to help cover the various venues at our national specialties.

      1. Top Twenty. The digital audio accompaniment to the show was well received by both exhibitors and audience. This was, however, very time consuming. A possible solution is to adjust the submission cut-off date and remain inflexible on that time - editing music and playlists all the way up to the last 5 minutes before the T-20 started is too much!

      2. The VHS of "Dalmatian Club of America: The Early Years 1905-1950's" will be converted to DVD and Internet streaming versions. The "Dalmatian Slide Show" conversion requires high resolution color slide scanning digital audio capture from cassette tape, and re-assembly in Final Cut Pro and will take more time than converting a VHS.

      3. The committee chair has purchased software from his own funds that will enable the production of Internet streaming Flash video, which works in every web browser and on Windows, Macs, and Linux computers. The existing Color and AKC Standard videos presently available through the DCA web site will be re-mixed and also offered as Flash versions.

      4. Commencing with the 2009 national specialty, the committee will no longer be able to provide on-site real-time daily printouts of the newsletter. Instead, it will offer the "on-line" version only. The high cost of color printing, the sheer volume of equipment and supplies that must be transported, the driving time from Maine, and the time commitment of nightly high volume printing and collation has become unmanageable. The suggestion was submitted that a computer kiosk (someone's laptop connected to a larger screen) be set up for show attendees to view the on-line version of the Daily Newsletter each day.

      5. Dr. Krukenkamp requested, in the light of the more extensive duties this committee has assumed, that it be renamed. Mr. Berg made a motion that the Specialty Archival Photography committee be renamed the DCA Digital Media Committee as per Dr. Krukenkamp's suggestion. Seconded by Dr. Jensen, the motion passed seven to one in favor.

      6. Dr. Krukenkamp requested the addition of Robert VonMayr to the committee. Dr. Jensen made a motion to approve the addition of Robert VonMayr to the DCA Digital Media committee. Seconded by Mrs. Hennessey, the motion passed.

      7. Dr. Krukenkamp presented his budget for the 2007 income/expense of this committee, which the board approved.

         President Garvin noted for the record that the chairman of this committee has spent a great deal of time, effort and donated resources for the benefit of the club, and on behalf of the membership President Garvin expressed our appreciation.

   3. Top Twenty – John F. Cramer.

      Mr. Cramer proposed that the committee be comprised of six people, three of which would be the Top Twenty Chair, the Show Chair, and the Specialty Steering Chair. Creating a committee of 5 members and a Chairman will mean that the Chairman will not have to vote because there will be no tie vote to break. He also recommends that committee members not be actively showing or breeding dogs that would compete in the Top Twenty, to eliminate any perception of impropriety.

      Dr. Jensen made a motion that no Dalmatian may participate in the Top Twenty event that is owned, co-owned, bred, or co-bred by a member of the Top Twenty committee, except for exhibition only. Seconded by Dr. Krukenkamp, the motion passed.

      Mrs. Boyd will discuss the makeup of the committee with Mr. Cramer and bring back solid recommendations to the next board meeting.

D. Sheila Wymore

1. AKC Gazette - Sharon Boyd.

   Mrs. Boyd reported that at the time of the June column submission deadline, her personal computer failed. Jan Warren was able to submit an article by the deadline date. In addition, the previous articles that Ms. Warren had submitted have now been edited to meet the 550- word limit which the Gazette imposes.

   Mrs. Hennessey made a motion that the club purchase an external hard drive for the Corresponding Secretary/Gazette chairman, to avoid the possibility of losing valuable club data and to facilitate her ability to carry on duties with no interruption. Seconded by Mrs. Pirs, the motion passed.

2. Historian - Cheryl Steinmetz.

   Mrs. Steinmetz reported the remainder of the Walter Johnson collection of donated materials has been boxed and removed from his house to Cheryl's possession. The move to Florida has been executed, and a 10X10 climate-controlled storage unit rented to house the DCA collection of historical materials.

   The thirteen framed photos and paintings from the Tattoo Collection have been beautifully cleaned and restored and properly boxed by a professional conservationist, long time Dalmatian owner Catherine Vesley. She donated her time and used a lot of material already in her studio, keeping expenditures to a minimum. The board wishes to express their gratitude for her generosity and the use of her skills to preserve valuable historical materials.

3. The Spotter - Paula Olcott.

   Mrs. Olcott suffered the untimely loss of her brother last month, for which the board extends their deepest sympathy. She did report that Jan Warren is rapidly completing the backlog of interviews from the Spotter contest drawings at the national specialties.

   Mrs. Olcott reported that Donna Mitchell's son, a recent college graduate with a degree in graphics design, is interested in doing layout work for the Spotter. She will begin to feed him projects for each issue. Ms. Warren and Mrs. Krukenkamp will continue to work on ad layouts as well.

E. Meg Hennessey

1. Awards & Trophys - Laura Lightholder.

   Ms. Lightholder reported that she needs to place an order to fill out the stock on trophies in order to be ready for the 2008 specialty. Mrs. Hennessey made a motion to approve the purchase of Armetale trophies in a quantity sufficient to cover the needs for the 2008 specialty. Seconded by Mrs. Boyd, the motion passed.

2. Membership Education - Lori Finlayson.

   Mrs. Finlayson has a photographer enlisted to video short pieces for club meetings on such topics as hearing testing, showing the Dalmatian, raising puppies, etc. The board tabled a decision on approving monies for this project until a budget is proposed.

3. Purina Pro Club Challenge - Meg Hennessey.

   Mrs. Hennessey reported that a letter was received from Purina giving the statistics up to 6/30/07 regarding participation in the Parent Club Partnership Program. Mrs. Hennessey stated her concern that the membership and the regional clubs are not participating to the extent we had hoped in order to make this a successful program. Options for encouraging participation were discussed.

F. Ken Berg

1. Futurity - Steven E. Nielsen.

   No action required.

2. Judges Education - Elaine Lindhorst.

   Mrs. Lindhorst reported on upcoming seminars, including the seminar at this year's national specialty.
   There are approximately 525 copies of the Illustrated Standard left. The board approved Mr. Berg to research the cost of reprinting the Illustrated Standard with the new logo.

3. Public Education - Joanne Nash.

   Mrs. Nash and her committee continue their monthly rotation of answering inquiries that come to the DCA web site. The committee received a request from a Japanese web site asking to reprint the entire contents of the DCA Red Book on their multilingual blog called "Better Puppy Buying". A machine would translate the book into at least ten different languages. Mrs. Hennessey made a motion to allow this site the use of the DCA Red Book. Seconded by Mrs. Pirs, the motion passed.

G. Mary-Lynn Jensen

1. Breeder Referral - Karen Wissinger.

   Mrs. Wissinger has tendered her resignation as both Chairman and as a member of this committee. Dr. Jensen submitted the names of several individuals to cover areas of the country not represented. Proposed were Sharon Rogers for the south, Beverly Greene for the southwest, Patrick Jones for the northwest. Mr. Jones is also willing to serve as chair of this committee. The other members will remain in their positions. The board also discussed other potential problems with breeder referral.

   Dr. Jensen made a motion to accept Sharon Rogers, Beverly Greene, and Patrick Jones as members of the committee with Mr. Jones as chair. Seconded by Mrs. Boyd, the motion passed.

2. Performance Events - Rick Miller.

   Mr. Miller reported that the committee itself required no action from the board, but he did submit separate sub-committee reports.

   Dr. Jensen reported that Robin Stansell of the AKC has stated that it is permissible to start giving out specialty show catalogs with the very first performance event, even if it is a non-recognized event such as Road Trials.

   1. Tracking - Tom Hacholski.

      Mr. Hacholski has tendered his resignation as National Tracking Chairman, effective at the conclusion of the 2007 tracking test. He will assist in all preliminary work for securing the site and track layers for the 2008 TD/TDX tests. He again suggested the option of opening the competition to all breeds, which would increase his pool of workers. In addition, Mrs. Hennessey suggested the possibility of holding a DCA Tracking Test at a separate time in a separate area of the country, perhaps shortly before the national specialty so that awards could be recognized. This would enable DCA Tracking to move around the country rather than be held to the same location as the national specialty. Dr. Jensen will discuss these options with Mr. Hacholski.

   2. Agility - Holly Waldrop.

      Ms. Waldrop reported that plans for the joint agility trial to be held in August of 2008 in the Clarksville TN area are progressing smoothly. She also reminded the board of their vote to support the AKC Agility Invitational with a medallion for the top Dalmatian at this event.

      Ms. Waldrop researched 25 other breed clubs to determine whether they offered High In Trial awards. 20 of the clubs offered agility, 18 of those offered the top award. Dr. Jensen made a motion to offer a High In Trial trophy for agility at the national specialty. Motion died for lack of a second.

   3. Obedience - Lynn Luikart.

      No action required.

   4. Road Trials - Peggy Strupp.

      Mrs. Strupp reported that Road Trial exhibitors will be required to wear a medical armband similar to the armband required by the USEA for equestrian eventing. A file containing medical information is inserted into a velcro armband and worn during the competition.

      In addition, Mrs. Strupp noted that clubs hosting a CC (Coaching Certificate) Test for Dalmatians will be required to list the name of the event in the premium list as "Road Trial: CC Only", and will be required to have a veterinarian "on call" and listed as such in the premium list.

H. Irv Krukenkamp

1. Health and Research - Dr. Krukenkamp.

   The committee met by conference call and covered many topics during their discussion. As a result the web site information and links will be examined and suggestions made for improvement in ease of locating information.

   1. Urinary Stones. Kathy McCoubrey, Director
      The Purina Pro Club Newsletter approached the H & R committee regarding an update article and they were referred to Dr. Suzanne Hughes for a report of her results on ultrasound screening and urolithiasis. A copy of the article was included in the board packet, and discussion ensued. Mrs. Pirs stated that the DCA H & R committee has always retained the right of final approval over articles appearing in Purina publications. Dr. Krukenkamp will contact Purina and request corrections be printed in a follow-up issue to several discrepancies within the article.

   2. Canine Orthopedics. Beth Bauer DVM, Director.
      The study group is preparing an informational piece for the Spotter on PennHip and OFA.

   3. Seizures/Epilepsy. Marion Mitchell, Director.
      The study group has prepared a review article authored by Mrs. Mitchell for future publication in the Spotter.

   4. Hearing. Scott Facey.
      The study group and Mr. Facey in particular have evaluated current material regarding hearing issues in Dalmatians and submitted a compendium of information to be collated into a new informational digest.

   5. Health Clinics. Ginger Iwaoka, Director. Dr. Iwaoka has submitted her resignation as director of this study group. No replacement was recommended at this point.

   6. LUA. Dennis Trout, Director.
      Dr. Krukenkamp asked to add three new members to the committee. Mr. Berg made a motion to accept Karen Rochin, Dr. Suzanne Hughes, and Jim Seltzer as committee members, Mr. Seltzer to act as consultant on statistics rather than as a full time member. Seconded by Dr. Krukenkamp, the motion passed.

      The committee would like to begin preparation of an educational piece - a tri-fold flier - describing the LUA project and the fixed uric acid defect in the Dalmatian. The board suggested they move forward with that concept and be prepared to submit a finished product at a future board meeting.

2. Dr. Krukenkamp suggested that as part of the effort to inform and educate the membership about the LUA project, DCA and DCAF could sponsor an exhibition of approximately ten LUA Dalmatians at the 2008 national specialty, similar to a "Meet the Breeds" booth, to familiarize the specialty attendees with all aspects of the LUA dogs. To that end, Dr. Krukenkamp made a motion that DCA sponsor an exhibition of the LUA Dalmatians at the national specialty to permit members to see these dogs in person and to receive information and education on the LUA project. Seconded by Dr. Jensen, the motion passed. The board recognized that not all the owners of LUA dogs were also involved in exhibiting AKC registered Dalmatians, that some of these owners lived a great distance away, and that it might impose a hardship on some of them to bring their dogs to Ft. Mitchell, KY. Mrs. Hennessey made a motion that the Dalmatian Club of America ask the Dalmatian Club of America Foundation to provide the educational resources to permit up to ten LUA dogs to come to the national specialty as well as providing educational materials regarding the backcross dogs. Seconded by Dr. Jensen, the motion passed.

   The board held a very lengthy discussion regarding all aspects of their effort to educate the membership regarding the LUA project. All members were in agreement that we are still in an "information" stage and that this information process is to be as complete, all-encompassing, and designed to reach as much of the membership as possible.

3. Statistics - Robert VonMayr.

   Mr. VonMayr reported that he has started receiving the AKC Awards on disk effective with the March results. He also reported that some historical information from Walter Johnson's collection was passed to him, i.e., the complete set of "Dogs in Canada". He is entering some of the data into his database.

G. Betty Pirs

1. Junior Showmanship - Mary Miller.
   No action required.

2. Regional Club Council - Karen Linsky.
   No action required.

3. Standing Rules - Michelle Wrath.
   No action required.

Mrs. Wymore made a motion to approve the reports of the Standing Committees. Seconded by Mrs. Boyd, the motion was approved.

IX. UNFINISHED BUSINESS

1. Review of “List of Things to Do.”
   President Garvin led a discussion reviewing the “Things to Do” from the last meeting, covering the items that were each board member’s responsibility to handle after the last meeting. Members of the board evaluated and discussed the status of each.

2. Register of Merit.
   Mrs. Skibinski passed out preliminary information to the board for their review and comments. Options and methods of handling this registry were discussed.

VIII. NEW BUSINESS

1. Nominating Committee
   President Garvin opened the floor to suggestions for individual members from the three regions of the country who would be willing to serve on the nominating committee. Nine members were nominated, and after the voting process, it was determined that the nominating committee will consist of June Krukenkamp, Chair; Donna Truitt, and Paula Olcott.

IX. FUTURE MEETINGS

The fourth quarter meeting of the DCA Board of Governors will be on Sunday, December 2, 2007, in Long Beach, CA, commencing at 8:00 AM PST. The first quarter 2008 meeting will be held on Saturday, March 1, 2008 in Phoenix, AZ, commencing at 8:00 AM.

X. ANNOUNCEMENTS

None.

XI. ADJOURNMENT

Mrs. Hennessey made a motion that the meeting be adjourned at 11:00 PM CDT. Seconded by Mrs. Skibinski, the motion was approved unanimously.

Respectfully submitted,

Sheila Wymore
DCA Recording Secretary

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