SUMMARY REPORT 2007 ADGA ANNUAL MEETING

Ft. Collins Colorado October 13-20 2007

HIGHLIGHTS:

ADGA Youth Representative: Tori Kennedy, CA   Alternate: Amber Ezell, WY
See other Youth Events Here

ADGA Pioneers:  Lelia Berry, Dr. Joan Bowen, Jeff Klein, William Turnquist

Dr. Donald E. Bailey  Practitioner of the Year Award (Special Award by the American Association of Small Ruminant Practitioners. Go Here for Details) :  Dr. Joan Dean Rowe, DVM 

Promotional Efforts Recognition Program Winner:
(1) Northeast Ohio Dairy Goat Association
(2) Appalachian Goat Association

Newsletter Contest Winners: 
(1)  National Toggenburg Club
(2)  Orleans Goat Herders 4-H Club
(3)  Minnesota Dairy Goat Association

Spotlight Sale

Products Competition:  Cheese

Products Competition: Bath & Body Products

Flashlight Sale

Committee Chair Assignments

BOARD OF DIRECTORS ACTIONS

Elections: Certified 2007 Directorial Elections

Executive Committee Elections:

Linda Campbell, President
Greg Morris, First Vice President
Phil Cassette, Second Vice President
John White, Member at Large
Robin Saum, Immediate Past President 

ADGA Research Foundation, Joan Bowen, Chair:  Received status report on the research project “Assessment of Diagnostic Tools for Milk Quality Evaluation of Bulk Tank Milk and for Sub-Clinical Mastitis Detection in Goats.”  Action: Approved $10,000 funding for Foundation. 

Advanced Judges, Karen Senn, Chair:  Reported that Committee approved judge’s licenses extensions of for three judges, with three more requests pending additional review. Conducted Advanced Judges seminar at 2007 annual meeting, with topics covering biosecurity, showmanship and judge’s ethics.   Action:  Bylaws change: Article XIV.B.3.c:  adding that if an extension is going to be requested, it should be requested immediately, or as soon as possible, after the circumstance. Verification of the details of the circumstance may be required upon the discretion of the committee.

Annual Meeting, Karen Smith:  Reported total profit from 2006 annual meeting of $6391 for ADGA and $5005 for Wisconsin host group.  Lack of formal host group in Colorado created some logistical problems, individual ADGA members from Colorado, Wyoming, & other surrounding areas came forward to offer planning and onsite assistance.   Action:  Approved providing 25% of final profits or $500 (whichever is greater) to Colorado Dairy Goat Association for 2007.

Annual Meeting Long Range, Joan Vandergriff:  Looking for bids for 2010 and 2012. 2008 annual meeting will be held in Sonoma County CA; 2009 will be held in Buffalo NY; 2011, Grand Rapids MI. 

Artificial Insemination, Tecoa Seibert: Action:  Committee request to have all AI bucks DNA typed was not approved. Discussed breeder input regarding a volume of semen processed by Bill Leer (Superior Genetics) that did not have collection date nor buck collection forms filed.  Leer will be contacted by ADGA to attempt to facilitate obtaining necessary information on behalf of ADGA members who have purchased semen.  Offspring produced from  semen without the required collection information will not be able to be registered until necessary information is provided.  Information regarding the semen will be placed in News & Events, ADGA.org and other appropriate distribution areas.  Known marketers of semen will also be contacted to explain that offspring can not be registered until necessary information is provided. 

Awards, Vivian Proctor, Chair:  Due to health issues, the Chair was not able to attend the meeting. Committee work to date was referred back to committee for coming year.   

Breed Standards, David Funk, Chair: Action: Approved adding Guernsey Goat Standards to Guidebook as a prospective developing breed. Action: Approved request to add online use of PINs for voting on ADGA polls to the work list for IT development.   

Constitution & Bylaws, Jennifer Mellett, Chair:  Action: (1) Approved new Complaint procedure, which will be presented to the membership for final vote. (2)  Add language to Article VII.Elections to state that ballots will be counted next business day by CPA (constitutional amendment, will go to members for approval). (3) Will send constitutional amendments by first class mail. (4) Discontinued use of proxies. (5) Accepted concept of using PIN to vote for constitutional amendments, as soon as necessary technology is in place. (6) Director campaign letters must arrive no later than June 30^th or next business day. (7) Bylaws VI.B.5.a: removed language “only ballots printed therein should be counted.”   This now allows photocopies or faxes to be accepted for breed standard polls. 

DNA Typing, Joan Bowen, Chair: Action: Temporarily suspended current DNA Typing Voluntary Random Sampling Program and replaced with a program (for 2008) to have every 40^th buck registered to be selected for voluntary DNA identification or parentage verification at ADGA expense using funds normally budgeted for Random Sampling Program. 

Finance: Action: (1) Approved 2008 budget with $90,000 loss projected. Cash reserves are at about $300,000. (2) Article VI. B. 1.: Removed reference to “grant-in-aid” going to Research Foundation, as that policy was previously changed. (3) For cost savings, starting in 2008, minutes of the general membership meetings will not recorded by court reporter, but will be summarized to be included with the annual meeting minutes.  Written comments will be included with minutes summary.  (4) Profits from annual meetings will be split 50/50 between local host group and ADGA.  Decisions will be made by EC in the event local host group chair and ADGA annual meeting chair cannot agree on specific cost items.  Local host will not be responsible for a loss.  (5) Approved wage and salary increases for staff. 

Government and International Liaison, Linda Campbell, Chair: Action: (1) Approved providing website links from ADGA.org to U.S. state and territory goat import regulations (interstate shipping requirements). (2) Approved letter of support for National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) program to conduct survey and gather information from goat producers to determine issues most important to producers. 

History, Shari Reyna, Chair:  Action: (1) Approved a surcharge of $1.00 to be added to adult and junior membership dues for a period of two years.  Funds generated will be used for preservation and restoration of historic ADGA records  (currently at National Agricultural Library) and for processing animal records still in the ADGA office but not yet in ROSS database. (2) Approved establishing check off box for donations to History Fund to be used for ongoing record preservation efforts.

Information Management, Gary Moore, Chair:  Action: (1) Approved 2008 Operating Plan and Budget to include new services vendor and additional staff.  (2)  Approved termination of contract with current services vendor.  

Judges, Stephen Considine, Chair:  Action: (1) Issued letter of concern for violation by Judge William Turnquist. (2) Issued letter of concern for violation by Judge Todd Biddle. (3) Approved that a complete list of judges may be listed on a judging website, without being in violation of ADGA rules that prohibit judging solicitations. (4) Bylaws Article VI.B.12: Removed reference to complaints from fair shows being first handled by fairs before consideration by ADGA. (5) Bylaws Article XIV.G: reversed location for numbers 5 and 6, as recommended by legal counsel. 

Judges Ethics Task Force, Linda Campbell, Chair:  Action: (1) Bylaws Article XIV.E.2: Requires that judges must sign a Pledge of Ethics stating that they have not been found guilty of a felony of sexual offense violation. (2) Require that all licensed judges file the new Pledge of Ethics by December 2007. (3) Referred action back to Task Force to complete additional implementation steps. 

Judges Training Conference and Pre Training Conference, Stephen Considine, and Julie Matthys, Co-Chairs:  Action: (1) Bylaws Article XIV.B.2.: Added language regarding extenuating circumstances for license extensions. (2) Moved rules from Article XII.E. 14, regarding CGS show wins to end of Article XII.J. 

Linear Appraisal, Jennifer Bice, Chair: Action: Approved increase in minimum stop fee (from $200 to $225); increased $.50  in per animal fee to help more fully cover program costs.   

Linear Appraisal, Long Range, Sheila Nixon, Chair: Committee working on Innovative Appraisal Plans; correlation of production and type data and other projects. 

Membership, Lisa Johnson, Chair:  Future work to look at possibilities to reduce multiple membership directory mailings; voting ages; voting on multiple membership.   

National Show, Helen Snyder, Chair:  Action: (1) Ban exhibitor for one year from exhibiting at National Show for having bucks in pens.  (2) Bylaws Article VI.B.18: (Guidelines for Inclusion of Additional Breeds) Requires a minimum of 35 animals, 20 in milk from at least 5 exhibitors from at least 5 separate herds.  (3) change from 40% in milk to 40 in milk. (4) Bylaws Article VI.B.18 Guidelines for National Show Judges: Years as an Apprentice Judge do not count as years towards continuous judging. (5) Bylaws Article VI.B.18 Guidelines for National Show Judges, items (a) and (b) changed from recommendations to requirements. (6)  Bylaws Article VI.B.18: (Guidelines for Inclusion of Additional Breeds) Any new breeds not meeting this requirement must start the process from the beginning and resubmit a request for inclusion in the National Show. (7) Referred back to committee discussion regarding whether or not National Show or National Show Long Range chair must first visit proposed site before contract signing. (8) Net income for 2007 National Show expected to be approximately $20,000. 

National Show Long Range, Greg Morris, Chair:  Action:  (1) Accepted bid from California State Fair to host 2009 show July 18-25, 2009. (2) Accepted bid from Minnesota Dairy Goat Association to host 2010 show July 10-17, 2010 (both actions pending successful contract negotiations). (3) Approved funding for hotel expenses for ADGA president to be covered from National Show funds, if not exhibiting at that show. 

National Show Colorama Sale, John Miglio, Chair:  Reported 2007 sale average $1500 and net income of $834. 

Ombudsman, Mike Korhonen, Chair: Reported that a few inquiries for assistance were received and resolved. 

Products, Karyl Dronen, Chair: Action:  Approved budget for World Ag Expo,  World Dairy Expo booths and annual meeting program. Also discussed looking for more ways to help encourage and support commercial operations. See list of Cheese Competition winners Here.  See list of Bath and Body Products winners Here. 

Production Testing, Joan Dean Rowe, Ruth Weaver, Co-Chairs: Action: Bylaws Article IX.A.16.a. Completed lactation records with 5 or fewer tests and having an interval from last test to termination of lactation greater than or equal to 90 days will be reviewed by the Performance Programs Coordinator prior to acceptance in the ADGA database.  

Publicity/Promotional/Educational Materials, Anna Thompson Hajdik, Chair:  Held second annual photo contest at 2007 annual meeting, with plans to use the winners on ADGA.org.  Will continue work on revising Own a Dairy Goat Booklet.

Registration, Lelia Berry, Chair:  Action: (1) Guidebook Appendix:  Added clarification that electronic ID is supplementary method of identification.  (2) Added new section to further explain Wether Certificate of Identification program. States  that castrated bucks can continue to use original registration papers for identification purposes, with opportunity for ADGA revision to reflect wether status (3) If member experiences loss of registration or recordation certificates due to disaster, they may send letter with evidence of the loss to receive a currently owned list at no charge.   

Scholarships, Christen Adels: See list of winners Here 

Scrapie Oversight Committee, Joan Dean Rowe: Action :Adopted resolution to support research for goat scrapie genotypes.  

Shows, Pete Snyder, Chair: Action: (1) Bylaws Article XII.J.4.c : Add “ADGA” to clarify that offspring must be ADGA registered to qualify. 

Sire Development, Teresa Wade, Chair:  Gathering data  regarding Young Sire program. 

Spotlight Sale, John White and Kristina Bozzo Baldenegro, Co-Chairs:  Another successful sale was completed.  See Summary Here. 

Superior Genetics Task Force, Lisa Shepard Reporting:  Action: Bylaws Article XX.A.1. The BOD agreed that to qualify for Superior Genetics (SG) the animal must be in the top 15% (5th percentile ranking or higher) and have a production type index value of 0 or greater for their breed according to the Production Type Index (PTI) ranking at least once during the life of the animal. The ranking may be either in one area (PTI 2:1 or PTI 1:2) or in both areas.

Type, Pat Hendrickson, Chair:  Action: (1) Approved funding for mats, frames and glass for new Type portraits.  First portraits (Saanen, Sable and Nigerian) were on display at meeting. Lynne Fancher of Texas is the artist.

Youth Activities, Annual Meeting, Carrie Koch, Chair: Conducted successful youth program.  Committee to work on developing Guidelines for conducting events. 

Youth Activities, National Show, Paul Plummer, Chair: Reported on successful 2007 ADGA national Show, with 103 youth participants. 

Youth 4-H/FFA, Clara  Hedrich, Chair: Action: (1) Changed Youth Showmanship Certificates to show details about show. (2) Approved funding for FFA booth at National FFA Career Show, with expectation of over 50,000 visitors. 

Other Actions:

(1) Upon recommendation of hearing panel, took the following actions: Albert Swind, Helen Swind, Marvine Harris, Julie Einsiedel, Nancy Nickel and Bruce Nickel are permanently expelled from ADGA and all memberships and privileges are permanently revoked and forever denied. 

(2) Approved request from Sally Callahan to incorporate ADGA logo in hand knit sweater to be donated to 2009 annual meeting fundraising committee. 

(3) Directors may provide their regular News & Events insert letter during their election year if they refrain from campaign oriented comments.