KIDS AT HEART PYGMY GOAT
CLUB
SUMMER MEETING 2003
May 31, 2003
The
Summer 2003 meeting was held in Shreveport, Louisiana at Red and Polly Mertens’
home. There were 17 members and guests in attendance.
A
potluck lunch was enjoyed by all, with Kids at Heart club furnishing delicious
barbequed brisket and chicken cooked by Scott Mertens.
Club
president, Stetts Stettler, opened the meeting and welcomed everyone.
Secretary,
Sandy Naumann, read the Winter 2003 meeting minutes, which were approved as
read.
Club
treasurer, Red Mertens, gave the treasurer's report, which was accepted as
presented. The New Caney show netted a
profit of $757.13. Sanctions were paid
for the Schulenburg, LA State Fair 03, and the New Caney 2004 shows. The balance in our account as of May 31st
was $6,389.91.
Red
reported that he had opened a separate account named “Kids at Heart Goat Club
Convention Fund” in which to keep the NPGA Convention monies. He opened the account with the $500 from Te
Cabri, $114 from the raffle at the Winter KAH meeting, and $500 for KAH’s
contribution to the Convention Fund, for a balance of $1,114.
Under
Old Business, Annie Stettler discussed the Schulenburg show to be held in
October. It will have a country/western
theme. Sign-up sheets were passed
around for members to volunteer their services during the show. Annie asked that anyone donating a raffle
item fill out a card with the item and donor’s name to be used to label the
coffee can for the raffle item.
It
was discussed and approved to have the Schulenburg 4-H club serve a catered
dinner for around $8 on Saturday evening instead of breaking for supper at a
restaurant. Showmanship, bucks,
wethers, and does will be shown on Saturday, as well as the second wether and
buck shows. There will not be
showmanship on Sunday.
There
was discussion about whether to try to find someone to clean the pens instead
of having to do it ourselves. Most
people indicated that they would be glad to pay a couple of dollars extra per
pen so that they would not have to clean them.
It
was decided that the entry information and forms would be posted on the KAH
website, as well as emailed to all members.
Hard copies will be mailed to those members without Internet access. Members were urged to make motel reservations
early since there will also be a large antique show there that weekend. Annie said that camping was allowed, but
there are no showers.
Red
reported on some changes for the LA State Fair this year. Entry fees per goat will remain at $10, but
pens will cost $5 each, with bedding not furnished. The entry deadline is October 1st - not September 7th as stated in
the letter from the Fair. There will
still be a free exhibitor’s pass given for each 3 goats entered.
Joanne
reported that the New Caney 2004 show will have the same format as in the past
– one complete show + the second buck show on Saturday and the second
showmanship, wether, and doe show on Sunday.
Judges are Jason Overman and Kevin Kress. The Ag Boosters club will have the concession and catered dinner.
Lynn
Farrar and the Stettlers reported on the NPGA Convention Bid.
The
club representatives all met in Shreveport in April and voted on the official
logo. Chairmen were appointed for the
various committees, and members were urged to volunteer for any of the
committees in which they had an interest.
Lynn
reported that there were 8 4-H members who showed pygmy goats at the LA State
Fair and the Parish Fair. Two more have
gotten pygmies since then. Lynn felt
that if some backyard shows could be organized, there might be even more
interest since the 4-H kids could not travel long distances to shows. It was noted that the club had voted at the
last meeting to set aside $500 for sponsorships, and trophies for 4-H shows
could be purchased from those funds.
Sandy
shared a note and pictures from Erin, the FFA member in Porter whom the club is
sponsoring this year. Erin is raising a
Boer-mix wether and will begin showing him at the East Montgomery County Fair
in the fall.
Polly
showed a thank-you card, letter, and pictures from the parents of the
handicapped children to whom KAH donated a scholarship in the equine-assisted
therapy program. They said that more
information could be found on their website:
www.greatriders.org
Polly
reported that she had contacted the Liability Insurance company, and she told
them that KAH would renew the policy just before the Schulenburg show so that
the Fair and New Caney shows, as well as the Convention, will be covered.
Under
New Business, Annie asked if club members would agree to the newsletter being
distributed by email. It would save the
club a lot of money for printing and postage.
Most members were in favor.
Annie was commended for the excellent job she has done on the Pygmy
Publication. She indicated that she
would include a Sales page in future newsletters.
Sandy
reminded the member about the club’s 2003 Wether of the Year contest, with
points awarded for placings in individual wether classes. Exhibitors can email or mail Sandy their
wethers’ placings either after each show or at the end of the show season this
fall. The winner will receive $100 cash
and the runner-up $50. Members were
asked to begin to think about alternative methods of awarding points for 2004.
Stetts
proposed five specific revisions to the KAH By-Laws, since he discovered that
the club is not adhering to some of the current published by-laws. The five proposed changes are as follows:
1)
Omit
the name of the newsletter currently in the by-laws under Article V, Section
2. (We haven’t been using the required
name “Kids at Heart Newsletter.”)
2)
Omit
the publishing of the newsletter as a duty of the Secretary under Article VI,
Section 5. (Now the newsletter editor
does it.)
3)
Since
the club cannot discount entry fees for the Fair, add the words “except where
prohibited” to the Section 3 under Article V.
4)
Add
the word “Executive” to the Section 1 under Article VI so that it will read,
“Elected executive officers ….” (This
would create a distinction between the original 4 officers and the two we’ve
sort of created over the past few years.)
5)
Add
a section just under Section 1 under Article VI stating, “Elected Associate
officers shall be Newsletter Editor and Historian”. (This validates the two extra elected positions for which there
is no current authority.)
After
some discussion, it was voted to table this item so that the proposed changes
could be published on the club website.
Further, the definition of a meeting quorum is vague and needs defined. Now, a quorum of six is needed specifically
for “validating elections” and “raising dues.”
While that’s clear, we can’t tell whether this is also a requirement to
conduct normal business. We are also
not sure if this number should be raised, lowered or remain the same. This will be put on the agenda for the
Winter 2004 meeting for a vote.
There
were several issues about KAH-sponsored shows that were discussed. The members approved these items:
1)
This
sentence will be added to all show entry packet information:
“Only pre-paid pen reservations will be guaranteed”
2)
This
sentence will be a part of all judges’ contracts:
“KAH will reimburse the judge either airfare or
mileage for driving, whichever is the lesser amount”
3)
Show
Chairman should always ask for a written contract from every judge.
The
meeting was adjourned at 2:30 pm.
The
meeting date for the Winter 2004 meeting in New Caney was set for the weekend
after the NPGA directors’ meeting in January.