Minutes of the Membership Meeting
of the
North American Wensleydale Sheep Association
May 7, 2005
held at
Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival
Howard County Fairgrounds, West Friendship, MD
President Barbara Burrows called
the meeting to order at 5:30 pm.
Present at the meeting: Kay
Kratz, Rick Prestbye, Andrea Szabo, Myrtle Dow, Barbara Burrows,
Sherry Carlson, Martin Dally, Joanie Livermore.
Guests present: Randy & Jamie
Lock, Susan Hanks
Approve
Minutes
Rick Prestbye made a motion to approve the minutes of June 25,
2004 as written, Myrtle Dow seconded the motion. Motion passed
unanimously.
Treasurer’s
Report
Sandi Hanson was unable to attend but sent a report listing last
year’s expenses, this year’s total to date and 2005
budget amount. Income for 2004 was comprised of membership dues
and animal recordings $820. Expenses for that period totaled $703.70
for a net income of $116.30. Treasury balance at the end of 2004
was $1,076.20. Year to date income and expenses are within the
2005 budget amounts and the current balance of the account is $1,298.50
with a projected year-end balance of $1,106.70 Martin Dally asked
for clarification on the expenses for registrations and transfers
and it was explained that we collect $5 for each transaction and
pay $2.85 to the registrar for processing each registration or
transfer.
Secretary’s
Report
Sherry Carlson said that we currently have 15 active members and
two associate members but that she expects a few more members to
renew when they send in their animal registrations soon. Because
of the previous limited availability of semen, there were not many
animal registrations for 2004, so we will publish a 2-yr flock
book at the end of 2005. The first flock book of 2001 was printed
and the 2002-2003 flock book is available for print out from our
website.
Codon
Testing Update
Joanie
Livermore asked if codon testing was necessary on a ram lamb if
the status of the sire and dam have previously been determined.
Martin explained that that there may be cross fostering which could
cause problems if the breeder assumed all lambs were being raised
by their true dams. He felt that this could be a touchy subject
and for the liability status of the seller, he felt that all ram
lambs should be tested. Rick Prestbye added that testing is also
a good way to verify the accuracy of the lab results on the parent
animals. Kay Kratz made a motion to continue testing all rams for
codon 171 status whether or not the status of the parents is known.
Martin Dally seconded the motion, approved.
Consistent
Date for Annual Election
Sherry Carlson explained that originally, the Association
had established that elections should take place a certain number
of days prior to the annual meeting. However, our annual meetings
have been held anywhere from the month of May to the month of October,
Sherry asked if the membership would consider setting a specific
annual date for the election so that preliminary notification and
balloting could be scheduled more appropriately. Rick Prestbye
made a motion to amend the bylaws to specify the date of November
1 for the annual election of director’s positions. Notifications
and other intervals should remain the same. Seconded by Kay Kratz,
the motion carried.
Date
of Registration Transfer
There
has been a request for clarification by our Registrar regarding
the date to be used when transferring the ownership of an animal.
Currently, we are using the date that the secretary receives the
request with payment. It is then submitted to the registrar to
be changed in the database. Another option is to use the actual
date of sale although the paperwork may not be submitted to the
Association until a much later date. Susan Hanks pointed out that
legally, the ownership is considered transferred on the date the
animal actually changed hands.
Members were in agreement that
we should all remember that it is the seller’s responsibility
to submit the completed transfer request and payment as soon as
possible after an animal is sold, not simply give the registration
papers to the buyer to transfer. Some concern was expressed that
transactions could be backdated or otherwise wrongly reported if
the buyer was allowed to submit the transfer.
Barbara made a motion that
we should record both date of sale & the date of transfer in
the database and on the registration papers. Rick Prestbye seconded
the motion, approved.
Show
Fitting Standards
Myrtle
Dow said some other sheep associations have fitting standards and
that maybe we should think about issuing our own guidelines. Martin
commented that judges could benefit from fitting guidelines. Joanie
Livermore said that if the U.K. association has some, we could
possibly adopt theirs. It was pointed out that public acceptance
and show ring results will ultimately dictate the grooming standards
that are best for each breed and fleece type. Kay stated that animals
are presented differently in different regions of the U.S. and
to expect every breeder to present their animals according to our
guidelines was not realistic. Martin reminded that we should also
follow an individual fair/festival’s guidelines. While extremely
long wool is impressive if it can be presented in good condition,
the reality is that in the U.K. there is only one class shown in
long fleece, all other classes, adult and lambs are shown in shorter
fleeces.
There was no action taken on
this item.
Policy
on Advertising and Financial Requests for Shows & Sponsorships
After examining the
Association’s modest budget, members agreed that there were
not enough funds available for granting sponsorship or donation
requests. It was felt that perhaps when the Association’s
treasury grows and there are more Wensleydales to promote, then
we could discuss guidelines for donations. As far as promotion
is concerned, Sherry explained that we try to keep at minimum an
Association listing in four publications: Sheep! Magazine, The
Shepherd, Black Sheep Newsletter, and The Marker.
2005
Membership Meeting Location
Myrtle
Dow made a motion to hold the next meeting in June 2006 in Eugene
Oregon at the Black Sheep Gathering. Andrea Szabo seconded the
motion, carried.
Meeting adjourned 6:10pm
Minutes submitted by Sherry
Carlson, Secretary
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