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North American Wensleydale
Sheep Association
Minutes of the
MEMBERSHIP MEETING
New Friendship, MD
May 5, 2000
Members Present: Martin Dally, Sandi
Hanson, Jane Caulfield, Sherry Carlson, Kevin Brackney, Vicki Brackney,
Doug Lebeck, Betty Lebeck, Audrey Lowes.
The meeting was called to order at 8:10
pm by President Martin Dally.
MINUTES
Kevin Brackney made a motion to approve the minutes of November
18, 1999 as written. Seconded by Vicki Brackney, the motion passed
unanimously.
SUPPLY and DEMAND
The membership discussed the importance
of maintaining the high quality of Wensleydale animals and more
specifically, the fleeces of crossbred and eventually purebred animals.
Those present agreed that Wensleydale fleeces should be promoted
as a unique, high quality fiber and marketed accordingly. Members
were urged to avoid selling fleeces in a price range lower than
the level the market will bear.
FINANCIAL REPORT
Sherry Carlson reported that the balance
of the treasury is currently $424.97. Total income was $730.00,
which was derived from membership fees, and total expenses were
$305.03. All expenses to date have been related to the website -
registration of an internet domain name and hosting service. NAWSA
has paid $100 toward design of the web site, the balance of $800
was donated by WhiRL design, San Diego. Ms. Carlson announced that
Sandi Hanson has agreed to assume the responsibilities of Treasurer
of NAWSA and that there will be a system of record keeping established
to assure accountability to the Association.
MEMBERSHIP and WEB SITE
Sherry Carlson reported that the NAWSA
web site (www.WensleydaleSheep.org ) was launched in December 1999
and has already been responsible for bringing in several new memberships.
Ms. Carlson noted that the site has averaged 400 visits per month
since its inception, and pointed out that this is excellent exposure
for our members who are all listed on the web site. After discussion
of the ongoing support necessary to keep this web site current,
Douglas Lebeck made a motion to budget $150 per year plus $5 per
active member for payment to maintain the website. Active membership
dues will increase from $20 to $25 per year to support this expense.
The motion was seconded by Kevin Brackney and was passed unanimously.
Mr. Lebeck suggested that Associate Members ($15 per year) be included
in the membership listing on the website but that there should be
no e-mail address linked to them. The members in attendance agreed
with this suggestion.
BYLAWS
A draft of the proposed bylaws was reviewed, and the following changes
and/or additions were made:
Article III - Finances
3.1 - Fiscal year: Kevin Brackney suggested that a fiscal year ending
on December 31 does not allow for an accurate year-end accounting
report at an annual membership meeting held in the early summer.
Jane Caulfield made a motion to establish the NAWSA fiscal year
as April 1st - March 31st.
The motion was seconded by Doug Lebeck and carried unanimously.
Article IV - Membership
4.2(a) Active Membership. It was pointed out that currently some
active members are neither owners nor breeders of Wensleydale sheep.
The definition of an active member was discussed and no determination
was made. Martin Dally stated that the definition of Active Member
should be addressed as a policy and not part of the bylaws.
4.4 Effective Date of Membership. In conjunction with the approved
change in fiscal year to April 1st - March 31st, Annual membership
shall begin April 1st and expire March 31st.
Article V - Membership Meetings
5.3 General Notice of Membership Meetings - the time interval for
sending a written meeting notice was changed from 20 days to 60
days.
5.5 Voting - The members present discussed the option of allowing
absentee or proxy voting at the membership meetings. Members were
reminded that the annual membership meeting is held only to report
on the state of the association, announce election results, consider
bylaw changes, and to transact other business which may come before
the meeting. It was agreed that if meeting issues result in a vote
being necessary, the equitable method of representing the entire
membership would be to allow voting on issues by mail ballot within
30 days following the meeting.
5.6 Special Meetings -.Changed to read that special meetings may
be called by the lesser of 10 active members or 25% of the active
membership, and that there should be at least 60 days notice given
prior to holding a special meeting. According to these bylaws, no
action may be taken at special meetings- they may be called only
for discussion of issues, and for educational or promotional purposes.
Article VI - Board of Directors
6.7 Election of Board Officers. Regarding the statement that only
board members may serve as officers, the addition of "…with
the exception of the office of Treasurer, who may or may not be
a Board member" was made in order to allow for continuity of
association accounting.
Article VII - Board Meetings
7.1 Addition of "…or electronic media" added to the
options for attending Board meetings.
Douglas Lebeck made a motion to accept the
bylaws as amended. The motion was seconded by Jane Caulfield and
passed unanimously.
POLICIES and PROCEDURES
Jane Caulfield pointed out that we
have not specifically included Canadian-registered ewes as foundation
breeds in our Upgrading Guidelines. This oversight will be corrected
in our printed material as soon as possible.
Sherry Carlson reviewed the current method
established to record Foundation ewes and Percentage-blood animals.
She explained that Foundation ewes will be issued a NAWSA identification
number beginning with "A" and Percentage blood animals
will be identified with a "B". Regarding the exceptions
made for specific non-registered foundation ewes, the extra generation
(to achieve purebred status) required for these ewes will be accounted
for at the first generation level. These non-registered ewes will
be identified with an "AA" prefix, and the following generation
will be "A". Members agreed that the fee for submitting
these forms should be set at $5 each.
Kevin Brackney will be maintaining all of
the statistical information submitted on Association animals.
INCORPORATION
Sandi Hanson has agreed to handle the filing for incorporation
of the Association in the state of Washington and that this filing
will cost $30. There was concern raised that we might be restricted
under Washington state regulations regarding the Association’s
ability to make future changes to the bylaws. There was no evidence
found to support this, and Ms. Hanson explained that state regulations
are applicable only if the items are not addressed by the Association’s
bylaws.
WENSLEYDALE GENETICS
AVAILABLE
It was reported that Deb Gourley will be arriving tomorrow
and should have a listing of AI activity and lambs born. She is
also trying to determine the amount of semen currently available.
SCRAPIE TESTING
Based on the fact that the Wensleydale breed in the U.K.
is reported to test 92% RR at codon 171, members were in agreement
that this attribute should be continued in the North American Wensleydale.
Members present agreed that all rams must be tested and show an
RR status at codon 171 in order to be recorded or registered by
NAWSA. Kevin Brackney pointed out that this may prevent the showing
of some ram lambs. While recognizing this as a valid point, the
majority of members present felt that an RR status must be a requirement
from the inception of the Association’s records if any quality
control is to be maintained.
DOMINANT BLACK GENE
Jane Caulfield represented Kim Caulfield in reporting that
there may be certain bloodlines in the Cotswold breed that carry
a dominant black gene. If a dominant black gene is present, it is
possible for two black parents to produce a white lamb. It was reported
that the color gene of Wensleydales in the U.K. is recessive - requiring
two genes for color in order to produce a colored animal. The members
agreed that they would like to identify and eliminate the dominant
black gene if possible. It is the intent that all NAWSA animal records
- foundation, recorded and registered - indicate the animal’s
genetic color, if known.
As there was no further business, the meeting
adjourned at 10:41 pm.
Minutes submitted by Sherry Carlson
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