Approved Minutes of the CVVC Board Meeting Held on September 13, 2006 at TGIF's in Waterbury. Adopted at the October 11, 2006 General Membership Meeting at Jefferson House in Newington, CT.
In attendance: The meeting was held at TGIF in Waterbury, CT. David Margolin called the meeting to order at 7:25pm. In attendance were: Saul & Kim Himmelfarb, Ida Tenenbom, David Margolin, Carol Phelps, Jackie Argall, Susan Potocik, Elaine Poulin, Marissa Fowler, John & Linda Morris, Kim Karkut, and Susan Begasse.
Recording Secretary Report: Motion was made by Carol Phelps to approve the minutes of the August 9th 2006 meeting. Seconded by Susan Potocik, and approved by vote.
Corresponding Secretary's Report: Linda Morris reports that she received contact information from the AKC about the Legislative Liaison Program. The GSA Specialty has been approved and confirmed by the AKC.
Treasurer's Report: Carol Phelps reported that account balances are as follows: Checking $4068.42; Health $2509.45; Rescue $3697.69; CD $3357.93. After discussion, it was decided to have the Certificate of Deposit renew automatically on 10/06/2006 for 274 days. The dues notices will go out in a few weeks with the General Trophy Fund letter. There have been some changes to the trophy fund. Each member may now specify an allocation of their general trophy fund donation to either show, field trial or hunt test events. If nothing is specified then it will default to show events.
Breed Rescue Report: John Morris reports that Benjamin Butterscotch has been placed with his family in New Hampshire. They also have another vizsla from Central New England Rescue. The family donated $100.00 to our rescue fund which we will put toward our contribution of $750 already authorized. After payment of the boarding of 325-$350, it was voted to split the remaining balance evenly between the VRF and the VCA Welfare Foundation.
A motion was made by Dave Margolin and seconded by Kim Karkut, with the Board voting in the affirmative, to establish an Ad Hoc Committee to revise the rescue guidelines similar to those of the Central New England club. A Committee made up of Susan Potocik, Carol Phelps and John Morris will undertake the development of this new Rescue Guideline.
Conformation Committee Report: Carol Phelps reports that trophies and judges are done for the Springfield Kennel Club on November26, 2006. Judges are as follows: Greg Gollick for Sweeps and Mary Ann Alston for the show. “Bring a six pack” for hospitality will be addressed at the October meeting.
Regarding the 2007 Secaucus show, Sweeps Judge is Pat Boelte and Specialty Judge is Judy Harrington. Carol has withdrawn our application for Obedience because there is an All Breed Obedience already slated. She states that she is not sure if we will be reimbursed our $25.00 fee (Note: since the meeting, a refund of this $25 obedience application fee has been received).
Ida Tenebom is still working on judges for the Greenwich Kennel Club. Susan Potocik will be investigating alternative shows for CVVC to support instead of Longshore-Southport (e.g., Pioneer Valley was one such possibility), with the goal of finding a show on a less busy weekend closer to our home base in Connecticut. VCGNY is now supporting the Friday show on that Greenwich/Longshore weekend so it is a very busy weekend, and Ida will investigate whether Longshore-Sourthport would be willing to offer the same concessions to CVVC as the NY club is receiving. The Conformation Committee will report back to the Board once it has all the information.
Hunt Test Report: Dave Margolin reports that Rich Loomis submitted the DEP application, will make sure the Dearborn gate is open early Friday morning for Dick Frawley and Leah Resnick to deliver the birds and put them in the crates and then leave the gate closed but unlocked so early arrivers can have access for their vehicles, etc………….with some arriving the night before.
A question arose as to whether the club’s old field grill is useable.
Field Trial Report: Marissa Fowler, as a member of the FT committee, reports from Joan Heimbach that most of the activity is centered on communication with prospective and new members. Audra Jaconetti and Sue Newell, both from RI, have agreed to serve on the committee. Audra is willing to learn the responsibilities of FT Secretary. Next month the committee will address some areas that need improvement in running the event. Audra will also have a FT stake descriptive summary about opportunities to work young dogs to anyone interested at the “Fun Day”.
Health Committee Report: Jackie Argall reported that there are 25 dogs for both Avon and Norwalk respectively for the blood draws scheduled for September 19th.
Fun Day Report: Susan Potocik reports that there are 22 dogs entered for the “Intro to Birds” Ages range from 3 Months to 9 years with a fee of $25.00 each. She went to the preserve on Monday 9/11/2006. The grounds are in good shape with heavy cover. There are 11 dogs entered for the Conformation handling and Match with a fee of $15.00. The luncheon will be from 12:00- 1:00 pm., which will consist of hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, drink and dessert for $5.00. Patsy Dahlinghaus will be shopping and coordinating the luncheon. At this time, there is enough money in entries to cover expenses, with about $100.00 profit.
Meeting Program Committee: Next meeting is a General Membership Meeting and will be held on Wednesday October 11, 2006, At Jefferson House in Newington. Subsequent dates are 11/16/2006 (Board) at Bertucci’s in Newington and 12/10/2006 for our holiday party at Stephanie Reeder’s home pending her acceptance of the date. (Note she has accepted this date)
New Members: A motion was made by Susan Potocik to accept new members Jessica Riley, Richard Bennington, Henry Grant, Stefanie and Karl Trudeau, Meryl & Bill Fiedelman, Iren and Frank Kokai and Audra Jaconetti. Seconded by Kim Karkut and accepted by vote.
David suggested the Welcome to the Club letter should come from the club president and it was agreed to by all.
Volunteerism: Elaine Poulin states that we need to get more club members involved and how do we approach the topic. She thinks we need to be more aggressive with volunteerism. She and Dave Margolin came up with some possible ideas:
· Pamphlets to new members
· Develop a mentor network
· Send out a questionnaire with club dues renewal
Kim Himmelfarb states that we need direct communication with all our members, when a need for help arises, as it is more personal and likely would result in more favorable responses. Many noted what a positive outcome we had with telephone outreach to the membership for the Greenwich specialty hospitality.
Old Business: None. Merchandise will be discussed at the next meeting in October.
New Business: Carol Phelps reports that we will aim to have the membership directory available in January 2007. We just need to figure out how to do it.
Dave Margolin discussed a club member’s thought about the possible need for a Fundraising Committee and if “yes” what is the fundraising for. Should we be earmarking a special committee or should the Board handle it on an as needed basis? It was agreed that the board should be handling it at this time on an as needed basis.
Cheer Cards: Brought up by Dave Margolin. Linda Morris and Susan Potocik stated that the Corresponding Secretary normally does this and Dave Margolin will mention cheer cards in the next newsletter with the need for members to notify Linda, current Corresponding Secretary, of personal milestone events so a cheer card can be sent…….personal events can include illnesses as well as personal achievements, births, etc. in addition to their Vizsla brags.
Motion to adjourn was by Carol Phelps. Seconded by Marissa Fowler and agreed to by the Board. Meeting adjourned at 8:32 pm.
