Editorial: November 8, 2024

As the Class of 2024 expires, three of its four directors are not seeking re-election because of term limits; they are Rita Biddle, Dominic Carota and Tom Powers. The fourth director, Tom Davies, can run again and has been nominated for the Class of 2029 by the nominating committee, which is headed by Karolynne McAteer, and includes Joellen Gregory, Don Hanson, Maggi Strouse and Mary Lou Olszewski. In addition to Tom Davies, delegate from the Springfield Kennel Club, the nominating committee also nominated Kenneth Levison, delegate from the Tucson Kennel Club; Sylvia Thomas, delegate from the Kennel Club of Riverside (California), and Harvey Wooding, delegate from the San Mateo Kennel Club (California). As the November 15 deadline draws near for those delegates who wish to run by petition for the board of directors of the American Kennel Club, five delegates have submitted petitions: Laurie Maulucci, delegate from the South Windsor Kennel Club, who ran last year; Carl Ashby, delegate for the United States Kerry Blue Terrier Club, who is a former director; Eduardo Fugiwara, delegate from the Two Cities Kennel Club; Robin Stansell, delegate from the French Bulldog Club of America and former employee and vice president of the American Kennel Club, and Patricia Cruz, delegate from the Heart of the Plains Kennel Club, former AKC employee and field representative, and former director of the American Kennel Club. It has always been the belief of this publication that former employees, especially those who were fired, should not be eligible to be delegates, let alone directors of the organization with which they enjoy a financial relationship. A similar situation at the Royal Kennel Club in England took place in which a former employee was elected to the general committee (board) and then was removed after complaints were lodged against this person for various reasons that stemmed from their employment days. Sometimes common sense should prevail. Why would you want a former employee who was fired from an organization to sit on its board?

Unlike last year’s election, this year’s has a large array of candidates for the delegate body to vote on. We should be privy to these prospective directors’ thoughts and objectives for the future of the American Kennel Club. Their obligation is to the members of the clubs in the sport they wish to represent. So, the Class of 2029 … Who will it be?