Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier Club

Of Southern California

General Meeting

January 22, 2013

The meeting was held at the Spitfire Grill in Santa Monica, California.

The SCWTCSC will begin to offer a monthly raffle to raise money to help off set the cost of hosting Great Western. This month two vintage limited edition prints were won by Vickie Gosnell.

The meeting was called to order at 7:45 p.m.

Roll Call:

A quorum was present. Attending were MJ Carr, Rose Clime, Karla Baer Cohen, Jeanine Flavell, Myrna Flavell, Caroline Goldberg, Victoria Gosnell, Miriam Kahan, Connie Koehler, Ann Leigh, Mary Lindquist, Marilyn Smith, Mike Smith, Lauren Smith, Bonney Snyder, Steve Steging, Beverly Streicher, and Jackie Whitham (all regular members) Debbie Bowen, Mary Lou Piccard, and Laura Virant (all associate members). Kay Baird attended her third meeting as a Guest. Michelle Montes-Capton attended her first meeting as a guest.

Minutes of the September meeting:

Approved as submitted, with Connie Koehler’s corrections, and the addition of Jackie Whitham’s membership report.

Report of the President:

None

Report of the Secretary:

I sent out contract letters to the 2014 Great Western Breed judges, Anne Katona and Virginia Latham Smith, as well as the contract letter to the 2013 Great Western Sweepstakes judge, Tami Herzog. I sent out a letter to the AKC to update their board contact information, and a letter to Anna Marzolino to update the records of the Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier Club of America.

Report of the Treasurer:

Category	Beginning Balance	Income	Expenses	Ending Balance
Rescue	27,3775.21	0.00	236.89	27,138.32
General Fund	6,447.00	2,638.96	2,707.30	6,378.66
Sub Total	33,822.21			33,516.98
Cash Box	250.00			250.00
Total	34,072.21	2,638.96	2,944.19	33,766.98

 

Report of the Rescue Chair:

Currently, there are no Wheatens in rescue. There were three close calls during December holiday season holidays. Rose Clime has reestablished contact with a Dr. Wheaton who will board rescue dogs in Orange County for $18.00 instead of the $30.00 we have been paying the other facility in Orange County. Ann has found another boarding facility in the Desert for 18.00. These discounts will bring the Desert and Orange County expenses in line with our costs at Bonney Briar, without having our members continuing to make the long drives to Sunland from the Inland Empire, the Desert Communities, and Orange County.

Bonney Snyder had a recommendation that she wished to present to the membership for their vote. Bonney’s suggestion is that all dogs coming into rescue whose temperament is in anyway questionable, be taken to Bobby Dorafshar for automatic evaluation at a flat fee of 150.00. This is 50.00 over the 100.00 limit the SCSTCSC is allowed to spend without a vote from the General Membership. However, in the long run it will save us money, as well as liability and heartache. If the dog does not pass the test, it would go back to its owner or the facility from which it came.

Bonney recommended that the rescue chair, co-chairs, or the president be allowed to authorize this expenditure when deemed necessary, for rescue dogs to be taken to Bobby Dorafshar for automatic evaluation at a flat fee of 150.00.

This motion was made, seconded, and passed.

Beverly wants the SCWTCSC to continue to provide a certification of good temperament, which Beverly did during her tenure as rescue chair.

Connie raised her concern that to take a Wheaten out of a shelter, the rescuing SCWTCSC member has been required to put their name on the rescued dog as the new owner. Connie would like our names taken off the rescued dog as soon as possible. She suggested when a rescue dog is adopted out of a shelter we put into the adoption contract that the new owner must change names on the adoption agreement contract, and we will mail it in to make sure that the change takes place, and the club member’s name is off.

Connie made the motion that when a dog rescued from a shelter is placed, the adopting parties will sign on as new owner, and we will send the form to the shelter so our names are removed. The motion was seconded, and passed.

2013 Great Western Planning

The Specialty will be co-chaired by Ann Leigh and Kay Baird this year. The theme is “Let the Sunshine In”. Ann passed round the original artwork by Beth Babos designed for the Specialty. Beth has said that the colors and lines would have to be adjusted slightly to be most effective with embroidery for the Great Western soft goods. Ann invited member’s thoughts on adjusting the design, such as a dark brown center instead of the bright orange, and a longer back on the dog. Ann prefers to use the Desert Ark for the production of our soft goods to keep everything under one roof. There will be nightgowns, tote bags, garden flags, hoodies, and grooming smocks. Some items will be embroidered, and some will be silk-screened.

Budget Approval
The tentative total amount was estimated to be between $10,000 and $15,000. The board recommended repeating last years budget, which was $10,930.00.

A motion was made to approve a budget of $10,930.00 for Great Western 2013, seconded, and passed.

Ann and Kay are exploring ideas for the ring decoration with the help of Mary Lou Piccard and Laura Virant. The archway constructed by Mike Smith will be reused, and decorated with sunflowers in the corners, and perhaps with topiary such as Laura Virant design. Mary Lou and Connie Koehler’s husband will be involved in additional construction with wood and with chicken wire. Ann suggested going with a happy, bright, hippy look to decorate the placement Wheaten figures.

Connie and Jann Lane have met with a ceramicist in Laguna Beach who will create a design intended for a huge platter or serving piece. The design will focus on the site; the Queen Mary, the rings, the dogs, and the Southern California sunshine.

Dinner and lunches will be Panera bread. Morning hospitality will be a simple continental breakfast. The Saturday night “Dinner on the Green is tentatively to be a Mexican meal which will offer a varieties of meals, vegetables, and side dishes. Even for a meal with all the trimmings, the cost would be much more modest the dinner prices of the previous years. Ann has identified a good caterer who will charge us $12.75 per plate for the whole thing. We will price the dinner in turn for $25.00, and make a profit to help balance the costs of other areas of the weekend’s hospitality.

A motion to offer the Dinner on the Green for $25.00 per plate was made, seconded, and passed. The deposit for dinner caterer will be due February 1st.

There was a discussion to revise a Standing Rule passed in 1990, which set limits on judge’s remuneration. A motion was made, and then withdrawn. The discussion was tabled, to be discussed later by the board, and worded properly. The board will then come back to the general membership for its approval.

Kathy Apogee has agreed to chair the dinner on the green. Connie and Beverly will co-chair the raffle.

Website Development

The Rescue section and as well as the search for a puppy or a breeder areas have been renewed. The password will be changed at end of period for membership renewal.

Membership Report

A quarter of the members have renewed, using either Pay Pal or personal check. The first year of membership for rescue families will be free. We have lost contact with Joseph Bates. Kay Baird is now a new regular member. Tonight was the first reading for Laura and Conrad Virant. Three new associate members have joined.

Jackie Whitham raised the policy change regarding rescue owners getting free membership. She was not notified in advance, or at the time of the vote to make the change. The board agreed that it should not have been a surprise, and notification should have come to her though the proper channels.

A SCWTCSC member asked, “when does a member become delinquent?” The cut off date to renew membership is 90 days after beginning of fiscal year, in other words, March 31st.

A second inquiry was “Should we send a welcome letter to new members? And to both new associate members as well as new regular members?” After a discussion, the majority of the club members present felt that a welcome card would be nice, and should come from a board member. Miriam agreed to write them, adding this to the greeting cards she sends out. Jackie will cc: the new member’s contact information to both Miriam and Jeanine in future.

Beverly said we should modify the application process so that new applicants have a copy of the constitution before they join so that they know what the constitution contains prior to joining.

Greeting Cards

Miriam Kahan has sent out four this month; a get well card to Jackie Gottlieb, another get well card to Joan Johnson, a card to Linda Fussel for the death of one of her dogs, and a card to Maxine Custer on the occasion of Bob Custer’s death.

Storage

The Club’s property is currently scattered in several locations. The board feels that it is important to collect all the club’s property in one location, and catalog it, so that more Club property is not lost or misplaced. Everyone is requested to produce a list of what they are storing of the club, so we know what size storage looker we would require if the Club decides to rent. There was a discussion of which area is most central. Van Nuys has been identified by Bonney as the least expensive location.
Jeanine will send an email out to the membership, asking them to list those items they are storing for the Club, and to email that list to Steve Steging. Steve will compile the results, and estimate the space required.

Supported Entries

The Club voted to consider supporting entries at shows which had attracted majors three years in a row. The Santa Barbara Kennel Club has now done that. Each year, Connie Clark, the secretary for the Santa Barbara KC, has asked the SCWTCSC to support at least one day.

A motion was made to support one day’s entries at the Santa Barbara dog show in 2013 was made, seconded, and passed.
A motion to support one day’s entries at the Desert Empire Terrier Specialty in 2014 was made, seconded, and passed.

Pet Expo

Laura Virant has bought her own tables for the event, which will be on April 19th to 24th. The dates this year do not conflict with Easter, Passover, or the NorCal Terrier Specialty weekend.

New Business

Ann Leigh suggested hosting a seminar to focus solving common Wheaten behavioral issues with Bobby Dorafshar as the speaker. The event could be held at Bobby’s west LA office, which has the advantage of being relatively central. This would mean either in the evening or all day Sunday. It is a very large space. So there is also the possibility of bringing in other clubs and breeds as participants, to raise money for the club or to help cover the cost of hosting Great Western. The Scotties and Wirehaired Fox Terriers have already expressed interest. The event would only be for people to attend, not our dogs. Bobby Dorafshar has already demonstrated that he is a great speaker. As to what topics or issues he would address, we can request whatever subjects interest us.
Awards

2013 Events

We have some firm dates, and some tentative dates to be determined later.
February is the Westminster Kennel Club dog show
March could be the Bobby Dorafshar seminar
April 19th to April 24th is the Pet Expo
June 21st to June 23rd is Great Western
July is Pot Luck General Meeting
October is the National Specialty in Montgomery County, PA.
November is Fun Day with the park costs to again be shared with Los Encinos.
Holiday Dinner and Awards TBA. Miriam will chair again.

Once the dates are clear, the membership agrees that the board may decide on the dates and the locations.

A motion to adjourn was made, seconded, and passed. The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.

Brags

The next General Meeting is March 19th.

Jeanine Flavell
Secretary
Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier Club of Southern California