The first meeting of the Kids at Heart Pygmy Goat Club was held on January 30, 1999 in Porter, Texas at the home of Bill and Sandy Naumann. Attending were Bill and Sandy Naumann, Red and Polly Mertens, Dell and Sandy Lutz, Michelle Pierce, Joanne Timm, Jack and Melody Fullerton, Bill and Bonnie Cornelius, and Glenn and Marie Trout.

We first discussed the purpose of the club. An emphasis on fun, fellowship, and harmony emerged as an important aspect of Kids at Heart. This theme was included in the by-laws, along with the mission of promoting the Pygmy goat breed and sponsoring at least one NPGA-sanctioned show per year. We voted on names for our organization, and "Kids at Heart" was chosen as our first choice, with all agreeing that the president was authorized to change the name slightly or choose another name at the time of incorporation if our first choice was already used.

We talked about the need for incorporation to protect the assets of the club officers and an annual liability insurance policy to cover our shows and/or other activities we might sponsor. Joanne volunteered to make contact with appropriate people to determine costs and procedures necessary for incorporation and purchasing insurance.

The following slate of officers was proposed:

President - Sandy Lutz

Vice-President - Bonnie Cornelius

Secretary - Sandy Naumann

Treasurer - Red Mertens

Jack moved and it was unanimously passed that this slate of officers be accepted for 1999.

Proposed by-laws were discussed and unanimously accepted with a few revisions and additions. A copy of these by-laws is attached to these minutes.

Possible logos designed by Sandy Lutz's daughter were looked at and one was chosen with a dark pygmy kid inside a single heart. Sandy Lutz will use this logo on club t-shirts and it will be displayed on any written documents of the club. Sandy Naumann will create a web site for the club, which will also feature the club logo. Caps with the logo in embroidery were discussed, and Joanne will check into costs.

Bonnie brought up the issue of banning dogs from all shows and activities sponsored by Kids at Heart. We discussed the effect this might have and whether or not to put a statement to that effect in our by-laws. Jack suggested and all agreed to make this statement an official rule of the club instead of including it in the by-laws:

"Because of insurance liability issues, we cannot allow dogs or other animals, either as pets or for sale, in the show barn or in the immediate vicinity."

We will include this statement in all show entry packets.

We talked about the Southeast Texas Pygmy Parade show on March 6-7 in New Caney that Bonnie and Sandy N. are coordinating. Since we had not began organizing our new club when they starting planning this show, they accepted United Pygmy Club's offer to sponsor the show. After much discussion, we decided that Kids at Heart will pay a vendor fee of $10 and have a Silent Auction table and a Sales Items table to raise money for our club. Melody volunteered to handle our tables at the show. We will also have club membership applications and information about our club at the tables. Marie volunteered to prepare homemade chili to serve on Friday evening.

We discussed our first show sponsored by Kids at Heart at the Louisiana State Fair in Shreveport the first weekend of November, 1999. Red and Polly Mertens have already spoken with the fair officials and committed to holding the show. They have contacted Michael O'Kelley and Kevin Kress, who both agreed to judge. We talked about various aspects of the show including local motels, parking, and pens and wash facilities at the fairgrounds. Red and Polly will meet again with the fair official and try to get answers to several questions that were brought up.

Our next meeting is scheduled for Saturday, June 5^th at Red and Polly's home in Shreveport.