Minutes of the meeting of the
North American Wensleydale Sheep Association
October 19, 2002
held at
New York State Fiber Festival
Rhinebeck, NY
President Barbara Burrows called
the meeting to order at 1:50pm EST.
Members
present: Barbara Burrows, Neil Kentner, Martin Dally, David
Moran, Myrtle Dow, Roy Dow, Andrea Szabo, and Sherry Carlson.
Approve
Minutes
David Moran made a motion to approve the minutes of the membership
meeting held on June 23, 2001. Seconded by Martin Dally, the motion
carried.
Treasurer’s
Report
Sandi Hanson was unable to attend the meeting but furnished a current
budget report and a proposed budget for 2003. For 2002, the Association
had a beginning balance of $882.80; income from membership and registrations
was $670. Expenses for advertising, corporate expense, office supplies
and web site totaled $539.50 resulting in an ending balance of $1,013.50.
2003
Proposed Budget
| Income |
Membership |
$625.00 |
| |
Registrations |
500.00 |
| |
Total income |
$1,125.00 |
| |
|
|
| Expenses |
Ads/Marketing |
$200.00 |
| |
Corporate exp. |
10.00 |
| |
Office supplies |
60.00 |
| |
Postage |
100.00 |
| |
Website |
375.00 |
| |
Total Expense |
(745.00) |
| |
|
$380.00 |
Neil Kentner made a motion to
approve the proposed budget for 2003, seconded by David Moran, the
motion carried.
Director’s
Election Results
Sherry Carlson announced that the three directors elected for the
term of 2003-2004 were: Andrea Szabo, Martin Dally, and Sherry Carlson.
(The term of the remaining Board members is 2002-2003).
Codon
Testing
Regarding our requirement that all rams in our registry as well
as semen imported must test RR at Codon 171, Martin Dally suggested
that as of October 2002, we require all new rams imported to submit
a certificate to NAWSA stating their codon status as RR. If no documentation
is submitted, the registry will not recognize progeny of such rams.
Members agreed that this would be a good idea and the board could
set this as policy at their meeting.
Martin Dally commented that
we might want to keep records on how many Wensleydale-X rams are
tested with results other than RR. Myrtle Dow said that she had
one test QQ and will confirm that the sire was Upper Mill Cracker;
the only ram recognized in our registry that is not RR. (Cracker
is QR and was used before the Association was organized). David
Moran agreed that this would be a good idea, but there was no determination
made regarding how this research information might be collected.
Neil reported that based on
the 2001 flock book, there have been about as many Cotswold ewes
recorded as foundation stock as there have been Lincoln ewes. To
date, there have been no English Leicesters recorded as foundation
ewes.
Advertising
Sherry Carlson asked the membership what publications they considered
the most effective (and affordable) to make our presence known.
It was agreed that we should maintain an organization listing in
the following four publications: Sheep! Magazine, The Shepherd Magazine,
The Marker, and the Black Sheep Newsletter.
New
Business
David Moran suggested that it might be helpful to post on our website
a list of sellers of Wensleydale semen, and also technicians who
can do the LAI procedure. Sherry Carlson said that she currently
responds to inquiries on an individual basis with a list of importers
and technicians that she is aware of and that buyers must contact
the sellers individually to determine availability and pricing.
This procedure seems to be working satisfactorily at this point
since ours is a very small community and there is not much activity
in this regard. It was also suggested that we have no way of knowing
complete or accurate information on either importers or technicians
and thought that posting this information might mistakenly appear
to be an endorsement.
Martin Dally reported that his
correspondence with USDA regarding the import embargo was that it
would certainly not be lifted before March 2003 due to the legal
process involved in publishing the decision in the federal register.
However, there is no information regarding how long after March
2003 the process may take.
Fiscal
Year
Sherry Carlson noted the fact that we have established an awkward
fiscal year of April 1 to March 31. At the time it was set, it seemed
to be a good idea but it has proven confusing regarding: financial
reporting, membership renewal date, election dates, etc. The members
present agreed that we should investigate changing the bylaws to
show a fiscal year that coincides with the calendar year.
There was discussion regarding
the presentation of our animals at fairs and festivals. Sherry was
concerned that the if the public believes that the 50% and 75% animals
they are seeing now are thought to be purebred, they will have a
mistaken impression of purebred Wensleydales. It is important that
breeders make an effort to clarify and not let people assume by
omission that these are purebred Wensleydales. In addition, Neil
Kentner added that we, as conscientious producers, should take the
time with buyers to educate them in all aspects of the upgrading
program.
Newsletter
At the last meeting there was intent to publish a bi-annual newsletter
but that has not materialized. Members now think that this item
should be tabled and that the publication of the meeting minutes
on the website was informative enough for the time being.
Meeting adjourned 3:00 pm
Minutes submitted by Sherry
Carlson
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