Hurrah! We Finally Get Paid!
Well, it finally happened! At the delegates meeting in Newark, New Jersey, on June 13, 2023, it was decided that we delegates who are also judges can now charge a fee for our judging services!
After so many previously unsuccessful attempts to amend Article VI, Section 6, of the Charter and Bylaws of the American Kennel Club, the delegates finally voted to remove the following underlined sentence:
“No person is eligible to become or remain a Delegate if he or she (a) is a professional handle or trainer of dogs, professional judge of purebred dog events, a professional judge defined as one who charges a fee in excess of actual expenses.”
Some people may ask why I am so happy about this change to the bylaws.
I have been judging since 2001, and only got one breed when I applied to judge. At that time, if you were approved for one breed you could apply for two on your next application. Over the next few years that was changed to so many different judges-approval systems that it was impossible to keep up.
In 2010 I was finally approved to judge the Non-Sporting Group. That is nine years of going to seminars, etc., and trying to get as many CEUs (component educational units) as possible.
In 2007, I became a delegate. During the years of trying to get approved to judge my other three groups, it cost me around $80,000 to $90,000 to get approved. That included flights, hotels, seminars, meetings and many more things required for getting approved for breeds and/or groups! That is a LOT OF MONEY!
If you are on permit (formerly known as provisional) status, you take assignments and usually do not get paid for anything by the clubs. That happened to me for many years. Permit judges do this to complete their required number of judging assignments to be taken off permit status. The tests and courses offered by the AKC Canine College are not free, and that can amount to lots of money, too.
Now picture this! You are a delegate and cannot charge a fee, and judging in the next ring is a non-delegate judge who can charge any fee that the club will approve. Just because I wanted to be a delegate in 2007, I was removed from the list of judges who could charge a fee.
Fair is fair, and I am simply delighted. For any contracts that I previously signed and sent to clubs, I will honor their terms, but for any future ones there will be a fee added to my contract and bill. I will work with any club on the fee, as I know lots of clubs are suffering. I know some delegates think that if you charge a fee, clubs will not hire you. That is silly! If you have proven yourself to be a good judge and are friendly to the exhibitors and others, you will be hired to judge.
On Sunday before the delegate meeting, Larry Terricone and I went to Manhattan and saw the revival of the musical “Parade” with Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond as the lead actors. The story theme was sad, but the music was wonderful. The whole cast did a great job, and I hope if you are in New York, you go to Broadway and see “Parade.” It won the Tony that night for Best Musical Revival and Best Director of a Musical. They were nominated for at least four Tonys.
On Monday, June 12, there were the committee meetings. As most of you already know, as of the April 2023 board meeting, the ownership requirements for Junior Showmanship entries were revised. Now as of July 2023, Juniors do not need to be the owners of the dogs they exhibit.
There has been an increase in entries in Junior Showmanship, which is a good thing … Anything to get the young people in our sport. There was a suggestion that Juniors should steward at shows and also take the new steward test, which can be found on www.akc.org. Juniors should also be mentored on becoming breeders. The suggestion would be to have a luncheon with a breeder-speaker to discuss how to become a good breeder. Parent clubs should submit the name of their breeder-education coordinator to the AKC.
There has been a campaign to get more parent clubs to member status. There was a report from the DNA subcommittee regarding the problem with color in various breeds being shown in conformation that have a color DQ. There was a discussion on the bench-show committees that are reluctant to file a complaint against someone or some situation that should be presented by the show committee. Show committees should be familiar with the booklet “Dealing with Misconduct,” which is available on the AKC website.
There was a subcommittee formed and headed by AKC board member Rita Biddle to work on group realignment. The conclusion was that it was not appropriate at this time.
There is a list of breeder-judges on the AKC site for parent clubs and all-breed clubs to use to select judges if they wish. Gina DiNardo and general counsel are working with Bylaws Committee member Dr. Gregory J. Paveza on some revisions to the AKC bylaws. Some of the articles and sections are: Article 12, Section 1, which deals with filing a complaint; Article 13, Section 2, which clarifies the correspondence sent to complainants; Section 7, which will remove some language, and Article 14, Section 1, which clarifies language regarding penalties.
Tim Thomas submitted to the Dog Show Rules Committee the following proposed change to Chapter 16, Section 1:
“Chapter 16, Section 1. The delegate body at its September 2012 meeting voted to approve a modification to the Rules Applying to Dog Shows Chapter 16 Section 1 to allow Parent Clubs to offer the awarding of a three-point major to Reserve Winners, provided that the number of dogs competing in the regular classes of the Reserve Winners’ sex totals at least twice the number required for a five-point major. The current rule limits the three-point major for Reserve Winners to be available at the one specialty show per year designated by the Parent Club as its National Specialty Show. The rule also provides the Parent Club the option to opt out of offering a major win for Reserve Winners at its National Specialty.
“This proposal is a follow-up to the agenda item and subsequent discussion at the DSRC’s March meeting. The proposal would modify Chapter 16 Section 1 of the Rules to allow the awarding of a three-point major to Reserve Winners provided that the number of dogs competing in the regular classes of the Reserve Winner’s sex totals at least twice the number required for a five-point major at any specialty show for its breeds at all specialty shows. Of the Reserve Winners at specialty shows in 2022, 330 occurred where the number of class competitors for the sex were at least twice the number required for a five-point major. The 330 occasions at specialty shows represented 4.0% of Reserve Winners awarded at specialties and 0.2% of all Reserve Winners awarded at conformation dog shows in 2022. Low-entry breeds represented 36 (34%) of the 107 different breeds that made up the occurrences at specialty shows which were distributed across 68 designated specialties at all-breed shows, 15 designated specialties at limited-breed shows, 149 independent parent specialties, and 98 independent local specialties. 62% of the instances were in conjunction with the breed’s national specialty. The proposal is specific that the offering of a three-point major for Reserve Winners would be an option and specialty clubs would have the ability to opt out if it did not wish to make available at its event. As the Rules require a non-member breed club to obtain the approval of its Parent Club to hold a specialty show, it does provide a mechanism for individual breeds to limit the number of events this may be available in its breed.”
Tim also submitted a proposal to modify Chapter 11, Section 13, inserting previously italicized text into the rule. It would remove reference to sweepstakes and futurity judges and replace with a general statement that restrictions for judges of special attractions are defined by policy. It would be put into italics as follows:
Judges of sweepstakes and futurities, and all other specialty attractions held with a conformation show should refer to the Rules, Policies and Guidelines for Conformation Judges for any applicable exhibiting restriction as they are defined by the Board policy.
Sheila Goff, AKC Government Relations, updated us on the different actions regarding legislative actions. The AKC Government Relations department at www.akcgr.org is a tool and resource you need in order to be an effective advocate, including legislative tracking. The AKC Government Relations Toolbox allows you to download and share information with friends and policymakers, club members, and fellow dog owners and breeders, which can help you with any legislative actions going on in your state and how to deal with them.
At this moment U.S. Congress is considering HR 1624, known as the Puppy Protection Act, includes many arbitrary requirements for dog breeders subject to USDA licensing. AKC is concerned that one-size-fits-all mandates can be impractical and have harmful, often unintended, impacts on the health and well-being of individual dogs. Use the GR Staff State Assignments to locate people who can help you, or contact AKC GR at doglaws@akc.org or (919) 816-3720.
The AKC now has a AKC DNA Program, which deals with DNA Health Testing Profile, which is coming soon. One test for all your needs. The DNA health test follows parent-club recommendations and is integration with the AKC Breeder Toolkit so fanciers can have all their dogs’ info in one place. For more information, visit dna.akc.org.
There was also a vote on the seating of a delegate for the Ashtabula Kennel Club in accordance with Article V1, Section 8, of the Bylaws of the AKC. The AKC board did not approve this delegate, and the candidate was notified in writing of the disapproval. The club can appeal, which is then voted on by the delegate body. The club involved changed its mind about the appeal; therefore, no vote was necessary.
AKC Chairman Thomas Davies reported that AKC sports continue to experience a record high level of activity and participation in 2023. April year to date, total entries across all events are up more than 37,000, and the total number of events has increased 6.8 percent over 2022, our previous record-high year. Performance and companion events like FastCAT, Scent Work and Rally are experiencing the most rapid growth in both events and participation. Conformation is also seeing solid growth, with entries increasing by 5,800 over this time last year. We are excited and encouraged to see the continual widespread growth throughout AKC sanctioned and recognized dog sports, with most of our other sports seeing an increase in participation as well.
Dennis Sprung, AKC president, reported that the registration through May is somewhat of an anomaly. Litters have increased by 3 percent, to almost 130,000. However, individual dogs are at 284,000 and that is below our prediction. The monthly “To The Core” email, which began in September 2022, now circulates to approximately 175,000 individuals. Our Government Relations Department is just finalizing the economic-benefit study on national specialties and will be releasing it soon. Lastly, on May 17, AKC conducted the very first Breeder Toolkit webinar, and was delighted with the 528 attendees. Takeaways included that 95 percent of the participants have one to two breeds, and two-thirds bred one to two litters annually. Also we learned that the great majority of the participants stated the webinar was helpful, with three-quarters expressing interest in a second part, which has been confirmed for July 26.
The financial report was presented by Ted Phillips (who does a great job):
March 2023 YTD registration was 79,047 litters and 181,617 dogs, compared to March 2022 YTD with 84,231 litters and 208,092 dogs registered. Entries were up 3 percent in March 2023 YTD. Events were up 9 percent with 5,087 events and 782,381 entries, compared to March 2022 YTD with 4,656 events and 756,894 entries.
Operating revenues were $27.1 mil, with registration and event fees at $18.8 mil; advertising, sponsorship and royalties at $4.4 mil, and product and service sales at $3.6 mil. Operating expenses were $22.9 mil with staff $11 mil/50 percent; professional fees $4.3 mil/19 percent; fulfillment, $3.1 mil./14 percent; insurance, rent and depreciation, $2.7 mil./12 percent, and donations, $1.1 mil/5 percent.
The financial position in 000’s as of March 31, 2023 was Total Assets at $140,255 and Liabilities at $(106,940) and Total Assets at $147,196.
For all of you traveling out there and for all the wonderful dogs you are traveling with, please be careful. I appreciate all the kind words said about me on social media, and hope I can live up to your expectations.
Love to you all!