Hey Everyone!
Thanks to all who made it out for the meeting on Sunday!! We had about 8 people show up, which is actually a really good turnout these days. :)
Here's an outline of our meeting for those of you who couldn't make it:
We started by talking about our April show in Georgetown (April 24th and 25th), combined with the Texas Black Gold club.
Ideas on concessions were:
*More organization and better communication next time (within our club & between us and Black Gold)
*Contact a caterer that used to take care of concessions when we did shows in Seguin or San Marcos. Apparently he took care of everything (money, work, etc.), cooked great quality food, and at the end of the day just cut our club a check for a percentage of the profit. This would allow our members to have more freedom in other areas, to be involved with the dogs and people, and help in the show barn.
*It was important to the Black Gold club to be involved in concessions last show, so if they are still adamant about working concessions (and/or our caterer idea falls through), we may work out a compromise with them. One idea was that our club could be in charge of breakfast only, and they could be in charge of lunch and dinner options. Keeping things a little more separate next time may avoid some disagreements or complaints (between the clubs) about food options and quality of food.
We also discussed:
*Overall, our show went very well in April and we should be proud of our efforts and accomplishment!
*Crate rentals for next show. We had an issue with several people double crating their dogs, which is against the rules of the ADBA. We agreed that having several extra crates on site for rent (maybe $5 or $10/day) would solve the problem. Also, we may try to have several extra sheets or blankets for owners that need to keep their dogs covered in the crate.
*We had an issue with the software Saturday morning that kept the show from starting until noon. That was a problem that we couldn't really foresee or avoid, but it would have been considerate of us to inform the crowd of the hold up over the intercom. We left a lot of people wondering what the problem was and complaining about the delay.
*Along the lines of better organization next show, we decided that having show duties assigned the morning of the show would make things run more efficiency. There was definitely some confusion last show about who was supposed to be doing what.
*We may want to ask Texas Black Gold if they would like a 3rd person to help in registration next time. Several of our members felt there may have been a need for that 3rd person to help things move along more efficiently.
*Although we've have our issues in the past, the majority of our club members feel that it is beneficial to continue working with, and combining shows with the Texas Black Gold club. They take care of all the registration which is a big plus. They have also offered to pay for all show expenses upfront in the future and then split the profit after the show. This would keep things so much more organized and hassle-free.
*Some concern was expressed about the reputation of the club in the future, namely club member's interaction with judges before the shows take place. We, as a club, want to be as blameless and unassociated with unethical behavior as possible. We don't want to give anyone a reason to complain or suspect.
*As a club, everyone seems to feel that a Fall show would be a great idea. We are going to start the process of petitioning the ADBA for a 3rd and 4th show for next year. We would also like to continue on with plans for another April show next year ( preferably, same date and location).
Moving on from show related items:
*We agreed that bi-monthly meetings are the best frequency. Our location at Pfluger Park this past weekend seemed to be a great meeting place, but we're always open to suggestions.
*Our newspaper advertising has not seemed to be working very well in the past several years. It's starting to seem like a waste of money and we may just need to scratch that idea for now.
*We talked about better organization pertaining to our actual club meetings. It's so easy to get off on rabbits trails and discuss some fun things in between topics, but there are times some members of the club have only a limited amount of time to stay for the meeting. It's important to stay on topic and prioritize discussing the important things before moving on. Also, it may be beneficial to start each meeting with a "report" from the individual officers.
*It was suggested that better organization regarding officer positions, voting, membership roster, and club dues would be beneficial. We discussed the option of membership dues, whether to require them at all, give active members a break, etc. There were a lot of good things said and good points made. Ideally, we felt that people shouldn't have to pay to be involved with this club. That dues were unnecessary. But at the same time, there has to be a criteria in place for who is considered an "active member" or in other words a "voting member". Should we require a certain amount of involvement from a member for them to earn voting rights? Should we continue to collect dues every year only from those who would like their votes to be considered? This was a difficult discussion for us, because ideally we'd like anyone and everyone involved who would like to be. And involved as much as they would like to be without feeling required to pay dues. But then again, how do we stay organized and how do we determine who has a vote when it comes to deciding important matters or even electing new officers? This is somewhat how the discussion was left. Any ideas on this issue are welcome.
*One idea was to have a special dinner/meeting for all club members the beginning of December every year. This meeting's main purpose would be to elect officers. (It's important to have the officers finalized before the end of the year both for ADBA and for tax purposes) All club membership fees would be due either before or by that meeting date, and would allow nominations and a vote for each paying member. Those who were not interested in voting or paying a membership fee, but would still like to be involved in the club, would still be encouraged to come.
Then, we would start the new year with newly elected officers and hopefully a clear idea of where we're headed in the future and what kind of involvement to expect from members of the club.
* We may need to print some more shirts in the next several weeks. Let us know if you have any special orders.
*We briefly discussed starting back with a newsletter again. The newsletter equals a lot of time and effort, so please contact one of the officers if you have some interest in either receiving a newsletter quarterly, or even contributing the the creation and distribution of them.
*An idea that could replace the newsletter would be a Heart of TX blog. If someone could be responsible for creating and updating a blog, this may be a wonderful addition to our efforts in reaching out to the community and even just staying in touch with other members. Also, this may be a great way for members of our club to vote proxy if they cannot make it to a meeting that includes a voting issue. Once we get home Internet back up and running (hopefully in July), I would be willing to attempt the blog. Please let me know what you think of the idea and add any of your own suggestions!
*One of the last topics discussed was fundraisers. We have not had a lot of interest in the direction of fundraisers in the past, but one of the best ideas brought up was a fun show. There was some interest amongst members at the meeting in having a fun show in the Austin area! We will need to check on some of the details, discuss location, rules, focus, etc. but overall I think this is something our club might like to do in the near future! We even talked about having a veterinarian on site, giving affordable vaccinations as an additional fundraiser. It may be beneficial to have a specific meeting for the purpose of discussing the fun show plans. Is there any interest here?
*Last thing on the agenda to discuss was donations. Should we donate this year? How much money? To whom or to what organization should we donate to? Local animals shelters and fighting BSL were the main ideas. Any others?
We are going to try to compile a membership roster of some sort and hopefully in the future, provide a way for everyone to network as easily and efficiently as possible. For the time being though, you're on an e-mail list that includes everyone in our club. If you hit "reply all" you will be able to communicate with everyone at once. Please keep in touch with us and let us know of any suggestions or ideas you may have!
Thanks!
Rebekah Caka
No comments:
Post a Comment