The Last Laugh
<Knock at the door>
“Come in.”
“Oh, forgive me, I thought this was the meeting room where the Nominating Committee is doing the interviews for prospective board candidates.”
<Laughter>
“You’re in the right room.”
“But all of the board members are here; my interview is with the Nominating Committee.”
<Laughter>
“We are the Nominating Committee.”
“But the board members are present; the bylaws say board members can’t serve on the Nominating Committee.”
<Laughter>
“They aren’t ‘serving’ on the Nominating Committee; they’re just ‘observing’ the Nominating Committee. There’s nothing in the bylaws that prevents that.”
“That’s absurd! And it’s exactly the kind of behavior that has prompted me and several other delegates to run for the board this time. Ever since the delegates voted in September of 2022 to do away with term limits for board members, the board’s actions have become more and more self-serving. It’s as if the board believes it is no longer accountable to the delegate body, and its members can serve in perpetuity completely unchecked.”
<Laughter>
“It’s not funny; it’s true. And it’s the reason that there are four of us running as a slate against the four incumbents whom we assume will run for re-election.”
“We’re not laughing because it’s not true. We’re laughing because you think you can get elected.”
“First of all, that’s an inappropriate comment coming from a Nominating Committee, but why can’t I? There are lots of delegates who feel like I do, like the four of us do. We believe the board has put in place a system that makes it difficult if not impossible to hold meaningful elections, that the board members refuse to answer questions from the delegates, that board members refuse to operate in a transparent way, that board members act in a manner that benefits them and executive staff, and not in the best interests of the organization or in fulfillment of its mission. We believe there are enough of those dissatisfied delegates who will vote for change.”
<Laughter>
“You are wrong. Most delegates aren’t even paying attention. They come to the meeting, they visit with their friends, they swap assignments, they gossip, they eat lunch, and they go back home. They aren’t even required to report back to their club about what happened at the meeting. A few vocal delegates on ‘the list serv’ do not reflect the vast majority of the delegate body.”
“We’ll see about that. There are more than you realize who are unhappy with the direction of the AKC, about how the board has stripped the delegates of most of their power, and how the board is acting in its own self-interest. We intend to run on a platform of greater transparency and accountability, and we will propose an actual term-limits provision to demonstrate that we have no intention of getting on the board and serving in perpetuity.”
<Laughter>
“The delegates voted to do away with term limits. Why in the world would they now vote to reinstitute them?”
“Because they have seen the consequences of that action. They realize they were duped. They understand that board members who don’t want term limits are simply interested in retaining power.”
<Laughter>
“And they are completely dismayed by the actions the board has taken since: approving a ridiculous number of shows, particularly in certain parts of the country; moving closer to recognizing doodles; putting forward programs and policies that are more about revenue than benefitting dogs or the sport; shifting more and more of AKC’s business to LLCs, which allows it to hide its activities, spending, earnings and losses; approving executive salaries that far exceed those of any comparable not-for-profit organization, and appear to have no relationship to performance; conducting more and more business in executive session, whether appropriate to do so or not, limiting transparency; not being forthcoming with financial information, including failing to publish an annual report …”
<Laughter>
“I wasn’t finished.”
<Laughter>
“We think you are.”
<Laughter>
“But …”
<Laughter>
“And tell the others waiting for their interviews, they needn’t bother. There is no point.”
<Laughter>