The  Central Florida Working Group Association

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Working Group Dogs

Dogs of the Working Group were bred to perform such jobs as guarding property, pulling sleds and performing water rescues. They have been invaluable assets to man throughout the ages. The Doberman Pinscher, Siberian Husky and Great Dane are included in this Group, to name just a few. Quick to learn, these intelligent, capable animals make solid companions. Their considerable dimensions and strength alone, however, make many working dogs unsuitable as pets for average families. And again, by virtue of their size alone, these dogs must be properly trained

       

Central Florida Working Group Association

General Meeting

Gander Mountain Sports Store

Ocala, Florida

October 4, 2008

 

Opening:

Terry Goldman, President, called the General Meeting of the Central Florida Working Group Association to order at 2:12pm.

 

Present:

Terry Goldman – President

Dan Galligan – Vice President

Bill LaRosa – Treasurer

Mindy Pierce – Corresponding Secretary

Melissa Bennett – Recording Secretary Pro-Tem

 

Board Members:  Grace Black, David Qualls, Mel Holloman

Members:  Jan Hutchinson, Jeffrey Brucker, Jody Hill, Steve Hill

Guests:  Daryl Sauarese, Wells W. Hendrick, and ______________

 

Those in attendance introduced themselves, their breed, and their position in the Club.

 

Approval of Minutes:

 

The minutes of the previous meeting held on August 17, 2008 were read by Grace Black.

A motion to accept minutes as read was made by Dan Galligan and seconded by Jeff Brucker.  Motion carried.   Jeff Brucker questioned whether the minutes needed to be read at the meetings, when members should have already reviewed them prior to the date of the meeting.  A brief discussion followed, but no resolve at this time.

 

President’s Report:

 

Terry Goldman reported that there have been many changes as we continue to move forward.  Dr. Qualls has been working diligently with the AKC to facilitate the final stages of our Constitution and By-laws, which he will report in Committee.  The B Match is now in the past, and Mel Holloman, Chair will report on the happenings.  The Club is progressing with the positive results of the Board completing and moving forward to making things happen.  We have had a few setbacks, but we rally and move forward.  After the resignation of Mandy Robinson as Recording Secretary it became necessary to appoint a Secretary Pro-Tem until the new calendar year.  Thank you to Jody Hill who has been the right arm for Dr. LaRosa, and with Grace Black as Membership Chairman, the list is now ready to go to our website.  We move forward with a strong, loyal and determined membership that have been patient throughout.  Terry shared her thanks and encouragement as we move forward to make the Central Florida Working Group Association the best Working Group since the formation of the Connecticut River Valley Working Group.

 

As an addition, Terry expressed thanks to Mindy Pierce, for all of her hard work as Show Chairman for the Great Dane Club of North Central Florida Specialty Show held on Friday, September 26^th, at the Volusia County fairgrounds.  Mindy suggested the Club send a note to Paul Gentell of Volusia County, thanking him for the use of the grounds for the match.

 

Vice President’s Report:

 

Dan Galligan had nothing to report at this time.

 

Secretaries’ Reports:

 

Mindy Pierce reported that there has been no incoming or outgoing mail.  Two members have notified a change in their email addresses, which was forwarded on to Grace Black.

 

Treasurer’s Report:

 

Dr. LaRosa announced that the Club has 45 paid members.  The Club has $$1,160.71 in the bank which does not include the $80.00 netted from the match held on September 26th, or one $30.00 membership fee submitted since the last summary report.  Dr. LaRosa thanked Jody Hill for her help.

 

Committee Reports:

 

Show Chairman:

 

Mel Holloman gave a brief report on the match held on September 26^th.  Grace Black was the show chairman, and Sandy Teague provided the trophies.  A report on the match was sent to AKC by registered mail.  Mel suggested the possibility of having a Parade of Champions at the next match which may draw more entries.

 

Education:

 

Dan Galligan, Jody Hill, and Bill LaRosa have been working together to provide a seminar in early 2009 on reproduction, recruiting Dr. John Verstegen, from the University of Florida.  Dr. LaRosa shared Dr. Verstegen’s credentials with the members.  A possible date would be January 12, 2009.  Dan will follow up with Dr. Verstegen regarding his availability, and then will check on the availability of the community center at the Days Inn.  Once arrangements have been made we will advertise heavily.

 

A question was also presented to the members as something to think about, and to be brought up at a later time, as to whether we want a 20-30 minute education presentation at our meetings, or whether we want to keep the meeting just as a meeting/socializing time.

 

 

Public Relations:

 

Mindy Pierce reported that the “interests lists” are working well.   Mindy also mentioned having a segment on our website….somewhat like a gossip column, but soft-scaled….called “Around the Working Ring”…different than just brags.  She also suggested that for a holiday idea, have a “Christmas Wish List”, also posted on the website.  Dan asked Mindy to forward the interest list to Bruce.

 

Membership:

 

Grace Black reported that with 12 members present, the membership would be voting today to accept the application of Kathleen Fennell.  Slips were passed out to the members.  Kathleen was accepted into the membership.  Mindy will notify Kathleen by mail of her acceptance.

 

The membership applications of Wells Hendrick and Daryl Sauarese were read to the members.  This is their second meeting.

 

Grace gave a break down of the breeds represented within the membership: Akita, Alaskan Malamute, Anatolian Shepherd Dog, Boxer, Bullmastiff, Doberman Pinscher, Giant Schnauzer, Great Dane, Greater Swiss Mountain Dog, Kuvasz, Rottweiler, and Siberian Husky.  This makes 12 of the 27 breeds represented in the Working Group, but it was noted that not all 27 breeds are represented in Florida.  We need full representation of the Working Breeds in Florida.   A question from Jeff Brucker as to whether we as a club have made advances in connecting with an all-breed club led to a discussion regarding building this club’s breed representation.  This discussion will be continued at the next Club meeting.

 

Web Site:

 

There is no report at this time.

 

C&B-Laws:

 

David Qualls reviewed previous discussion during the General Meeting held on August 17, 2008 during which the Club’s By-laws were approved as revised.

 

On August 20, 2008 Dr. Qualls emailed Ms. Cecin at the AKC regarding his appointment as the By-laws Committee Chairman for the CFWGA.  He noted in this email that the Club had incorporated the changes to the By-laws that were recommended in Ms. Cecin’s letter of July 16, 2008.  He indicated that the revised document was attached to the email and that he would also fax a copy of same document to Ms. Cecin’s office the following morning.

 

The following day Dr. Qualls again emailed Ms. Cecin asking her to review the AKC policy statement that can be found at http://www.akc.org/pdfs/club/club_policies/teleconf_policy.pdf.  He questioned as to whether this statement suggests that the CFWGA would indeed be allowed to include provisions allowing Board meetings via teleconference in our pending By-laws,  and if so, to please delay the review and approval of our By-laws as submitted, until our membership can be apprised of this policy change, and have the opportunity to consider the incorporation of this provision into our pending By-laws prior to their review and final approval by AKC.

 

After not receiving a response for approximately three (3) weeks, Dr. Qualls once again emailed Ms. Cecin on September 9, 2008.  He noted his email to her dated August 20, 2008 with a follow-up fax the next day, neither of which she had acknowledged receipt.

He additionally noted his email to her dated August 21, 2008 requesting feedback on the recent AKC Policy Statement regarding teleconferencing policies for Club Board meetings, and her failure to acknowledge receipt of that inquiry.  He stated that our Club was still awaiting her feedback on the approval of, or recommendations on further revision of the By-laws as submitted, and that the Club was also awaiting her input on the applicability of the August 2008 AKC teleconferencing Policy Statement to the proposed By-laws.  Dr. Qualls requested that if Ms. Cecin was either no longer responsible, or unable to render an opinion on these questions, that he be referred to someone in the Club Relations Department that would be.

 

On September 10, 2008, Dr. Qualls received an email response from Ms. Cecin:

 

Dr. Qualls,

 

I am in receipt of the club’s revised bylaws and voting information.  As you may already know, bylaw amendments for sanctioned clubs become effective once voted on affirmatively by club members – the revisions made at the club’s 8/17/08 meeting remain in effect.  As per your August 21, 2008 email request, we are delaying the review and approval of the bylaws submitted until your members are informed of the additional proposed amendment to the bylaws to include the provision for our new policy in the bylaws.  Our new policy allows for holding Board meetings via teleconference and videoconference.  Please advise us when the final revised document is ready to be reviewed and we will be glad to continue the process.

 

For future reference, we do not ordinarily acknowledge receipt of emails, faxes or hard copy correspondence sent via USPS.  A specific request to acknowledge receipt must be made in the email or fax sent to our office.  Your email and fax did not include such a request.  Club Relations responds to official correspondence in order of receipt.  At the present time, the review and commentary on bylaw revisions takes 3 to 4 weeks.  There are nearly 5000 AKC clubs including member, licensed and sanctioned clubs from whom a constant flow of correspondence is received – all of which are important to us.

 

As an aside, our accreditation approval letter, which included the necessary bylaw changes was mailed to both Mindy Pierce and Theresa Goldman.  The letter indicated that the changes must be implemented prior to requesting advancement to the Plan A level.  Your club is about to hold its first sanctioned match and cannot hold its second match until at least 6 months after the first is held.  We feel the timeframe in place is ample for the revisions to be voted on and implemented as per our requirements, and we appreciate your enthusiasm in accomplishing the task.

 

Sincerely,

 

Lisa Cecin

 

 

 

Unfinished Business:

 

C&B Laws Redirect:

 

A motion to approve the bylaws with the additional proposed amendment to include the provision that allows for holding Board meetings via teleconference and videoconference was made by Mel Holloman and seconded by Jody Hill.  Motion carried.

 

Resignation of Recording Secretary:

 

Terry Goldman is in receipt of a letter from Mandy Robinson in which she resigns her position of Recording Secretary for the Club, but requests to maintain her membership in the Club at this time.

 

Terry has accepted Mandy’s resignation and in turn has appointed Melissa Bennett as Recording Secretary Pro-Tem.

 

New Business:

 

Nominating Committee:

 

Dan Galligan announced a new Nominating Committee has been selected by the Board.

 

Next Meeting:

 

The next meeting of the CFWGA will be in December.  Location will possibly be at the Orlando shows.  A definitive date and location will be announced to the members.

 

Adjournment

 

Jan Hutchinson made a motion to adjourn the General meeting.  Mel Holloman seconded this motion.  Motion carried.  The General meeting was adjourned at 3:12pm.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Melissa Bennett

Recording Secretary, Pro-Tem