BCOA Bulletin January-February-March 2007 - the Basenji Club of ...

2007 AKC
Parent Club
Conference
IN AN EFFORT TO EDUCATE, SHARE, AND ASSIST
member parent clubs, the AKC offers a Parent Club Conference
every two to three years. These conferences are sponsored by
AKC CAR and Eukanuba. Each breed club is invited to send two
representatives to this valuable weekend conference. This year
the event was held in Peachtree, GA at the Wyndham Peachtree
Conference Center, beginning on July 20 th .
Starting late Friday afternoon and lasting until mid-day on
Sunday, sessions are offered on a vast array of topics. In addition,
resource rooms for print and electronic media present sample
materials from all the clubs, ranging from breed magazines and
newsletters, illustrated standards, CDs fi lled with electronic fi les,
Clubs’ bylaws, and specialty procedures. Computer labs are
ongoing through the weekend for those who can squeeze in an hour
or two for hands-on training. If this isn’t intense enough, attendees
can also develop their own ‘break-out’ sessions after hours in some
of the smaller meeting rooms to expand information on any topic.
The Parent Club Committee provided a large announcement board
for people to post notices of meetings along with a sign-up sheet.
The Basenji Club of America was represented by Karla
Schreiber, Vice-President, and Wanda Pooley, Board of Directors,
Editor, & Chair of the National Specialty Oversight Committee.
Peachtree City, GA
July 20-22, 2007
Since attendees can choose from a list of session topics, in
addition to the general sessions, the BCOA representatives decided
to split up to cover as many different subjects as possible.
After dinner, the evening began with a choice of three topics.
Both Karla and Wanda opted for the Club Offi cers Forum, an open
discussion for offi cers to address club issues and how others in
the group deal with these issues. From the largest clubs of over
2000 members to the smallest ones at fewer than 100, we learned
we all encounter the same challenges and opportunities. While
clubs may address concerns taking different paths, all are trying
to achieve the same results. The most common items discussed --
communications, recruiting new members, persuading members to
run for a seat on the board, fi nding good specialty sites, encouraging
volunteers to host a national specialty, and, of course, dealing with
those political factions that can divide a club.
Saturday morning came early. Before the start of each day’s
sessions, beginning at 8:00 am, Karla and Wanda took advantage
of the breakfast buffet and the opportunity to chat with other
attendees about their clubs and breeds. In fact, every meal offered
a chance to talk to different people, people who were happy to
share how their clubs operate and how they handle the day-to-day
affairs of their organization.
By Wanda Pooley
has been done; yet another requires applicants to put at least one
prefi x title on their dogs before being eligible for membership. The
Over the weekend, I covered an in-
BCOA comes off as pretty tame compared to some clubs’ member
depth session about national specialties.
qualifi cations.
The panelists discussed how to provide a
In the general session, “Becoming an Effective Club
successful National from selecting a site
Spokesperson,” we learned about the Canine Ambassador
to raising funds to addressing the benefi ts
program. This is someone who acts on behalf of a club as the
of a stand-alone event to combining it with
public relations spokesperson. This person develops a press kit
an all-breed cluster. Everyone involved
that can be presented in the various media to answer questions or
agreed on two things, though: (1) the importance of a budget and to bring their breed to the foreground of the public eye.
why it is essential, and (2) the necessity for written procedures. After dinner, Karla and I attended a break-out session to
The fund-raising topic brought forth an array of clever ideas. discuss the realigning of the breed groups. With great enthusiasm,
Several clubs shared their success stories, and we talked about a all the attendees in the room were favorable to this idea. Since the
couple of ideas that fell fl at.
last realignment in the 1980’s, twenty-six more breeds have been
The “How to Grow and Sustain Parent Club Membership” added to the list of AKC recognized breeds. These additions have
session brought forth some interesting statistics. Did you know expanded every group. Statistics were presented to demonstrate
that among the breed clubs, 63 percent have experienced an the future growth of each current group. For example, today the
increase in the average age of their members? Today, like the Hound group is comprised of 26 breeds. In ten years this will likely
general population, the average age span is 35-50 years old. Of grow to 39 breeds. Moreover, a desire exists among the hound
the breed clubs, 85% have a membership dues range of $20-$45. folks to split the Hounds in to two groups: Scent and Sight. While
We are also no different when it comes to volunteer workers. The this talk remains at a grass roots level, the consensus is to ask AKC
majority of the breed clubs have a small percentage of active, to form a committee to analyze the best means for developing a
working members. From the discussion came some fascinating new list of groups. Almost unanimously, people wanted to see the
tidbits: The Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club of America accepts new Non-Sporting group eliminated and replaced with groups that more
members only once a year; one club requires an essay from new meaningfully describe the function or structure of those breeds.
applicants; others won’t approve a new member until a home visit Sunday morning brought more open discussion among the
The Basenji Club of America, Inc. BULLETIN - 22
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