2019 Annual Meeting Highlights

Submitted on Friday, February 8, 2019 – 11:20am

Executive Council Changes/Updates

Effective upon the completion of the 2019 Annual Meeting, Steve Greger resigned as the NAVHDA Secretary.

In preparation for Steve’s resignation, Angie Coenen was voted in by a unanimous vote of the Executive Council to replace Steve as the Secretary. Angie’s term will last through the 2019 calendar year.

During this conversation, Steve Greger was asked to leave the EC meeting. At that point the following was discussed and voted upon. Motion 19-8 That the NAVHDA EC re-establish the existing Director of Information Services and to fill that position with Steve Greger as a full member of the EC. This motion passed. The Director of Information Services position was vacated upon the retirement of Jim Applegate. Steve’s responsibilities as the Director of Information Services will focus on managing the organization’s IT resources, processes, and procedures.

2019 is an election year. The EC has submitted the following individuals as its chosen candidates for the upcoming election:

President – Dave Trahan
Vice President – Bob Hauser
Secretary – Angie Coenen
Treasurer – Rick Holt

Any member in good standing is eligible to run for any of these four offices. If you are interested, please contact the Central Office to ensure you follow the correct protocol for qualifying to be on the ballot.

Chapter Relations

In light of feedback received via the recent member surveys, the EC has agreed to create a committee to develop a process for welcoming newly sanctioned chapters. This committee will focus on providing new chapters (or existing chapters needing assistance) with guidance on establishing the chapter’s organization. This guidance will focus on organization of the chapter, insurance, by-laws, training days, etc. The committee will also investigate the re-establishment of a “new chapter clinic” to assist with these issues.

Also related to feedback we received from the member survey, the EC has agreed to pursue a new program where the parent organization will sponsor, in some way, some guidance to chapters who need help with training issues. This may include how to organize a training day, assistance with training techniques, etc. Note that the program is merely an idea at this point. The Judging and Testing Committee has been given the task to develop this new program.

Newly appointed Judges, Senior Judges, and Handler’s Clinic Leaders

Newly appointed NAVHDA Judges
Pete Aplikowski
Jake Bartells
Etienne Canuel
Charles Coulter
Tanya Gates
Bryan Gray
Randy Hanson
Matt Minich
Chris Mokler
Kat Pippitt
Dawn Watkins
Ted Wentink
 
Newly appointed Senior Judges
Darin Tolzin
 
Newly appointed Handler’s Clinic Leaders
Tim Otto
Brian Thoman
Lance Vernam
 
Invitational
2019 Invitational
Will be held in Ohio September 12 – 15, 2019
 
2020 Invitational
Dates and location TBD
 
2021 Invitational
The EC agreed to accept the Zia Chapter’s bid to host an Invitational in the western region. The specific dates are yet to be determined but the goal is to have the Zia Chapter host the 2021 event in New Mexico. Congratulations to the Zia Chapter for submitting a successful bid!

Motions submitted by NAVHDA Chapters

Submitted by Chesapeake, Potomac, and Missouri Uplands Chapters.

Motion to hold a public drawing/lottery the evening before the Invitational for field brace mate selection or, to the degree such a drawing/lottery is already public, to ensure that all handlers are aware of the time and location for the drawing. The technology or software of choice for this drawing can be that of the NAVHDA office. Invitational handlers and the public shall be allowed to attend. An evening drawing will eliminate the perceived notion of handlers training together prior to the event.

Presented by Ryan Burke, Potomac Chapter. 2nd Lisa Pehur.
No discussion.
Delegate vote 3 for, 42 opposed, no abstentions.
 
Presented again by Bob Ubbelohde, Missouri Uplands Chapter. 2nd Ryan Burke.
No discussion.
Delegate vote 3 for, 42 opposed, no abstentions.
 
No delegate present from the Chesapeake Chapter.
EC vote on this motion – opposed. This motion did not pass.

Submitted by Potomac, Missouri Uplands, Keystone, and OK NAVHDA Chapters.

Motion to change the NAVHDA Utility Score Card classification for search to a 4 in order to earn a Prize I for the NAVHDA Utility Test.

Presented by Bob Ubbelohde, Missouri Uplands Chapter. 2nd Al Harmeyer.
No discussion.
Delegate vote 6 for, 38 opposed, 1 abstention.
 
Keystone Chapter pulled their motion. No discussion or delegate vote held.
 
Presented again by Ryan Burke, Potomac Chapter. 2nd Bob Ubbelohde.
No discussion.
Delegate vote 6 for, 38 opposed, 1 abstention.
 
No one present from the OK NAVHDA Chapter. Delegate Dave Kuritzky presented on behalf of OK NAVHDA.
No discussion.
Delegate vote 6 for, 38 opposed, 1 abstention.
EC vote on this motion – opposed. This motion did not pass.

Submitted by the N. Michigan Chapter

Every member (life, renewal, and new) receive a NAVHDA window decal free of charge and mailed out automatically each year.

Presented by Brent Kroll, N. Michigan Chapter. 2nd Gary Engebretson.
Discussion:
If the motion is voted down, is there any chance that the EC explore other options?
Cost? Estimated $9,078/year, less labor, to the organization.
Option – when registering have the option on the membership form to request a sticker.
Opinion – the sticker should only be provided to new members.
Delegate vote 6 for, 39 opposed, no abstentions.
EC vote on this motion – opposed. This motion did not pass.

Note: subsequent to the delegates meeting the EC presented and passed the following motion: Motion 19-21 – That the EC provide 10 stickers, free of charge, to each sanctioned chapter for use as they see fit. This applies to the 2019 calendar year only.

Submitted by the Wisconsin River Chapter

The Wisconsin River chapter makes a motion that NAVHDA disclose a copy of the new insurance policy. Additionally, NAVHDA will put together a plan to allow chapters to opt out of NAVHDA’s policy or being required to pay premium, provided proof of insurance listing NAVHDA International as an additional insured is provided annually.

Presented by Jacob Zueske Wisconsin River Chapter. 2nd Dave Dulak.
No discussion.
Delegate vote 5 for, 37 opposed, 3 abstentions.
Wisconsin River then presented an amended motion:
The Wisconsin River Chapter moves to ask NAVHDA to annually provide a current copy of the NAVHDA insurance policy to an officer from each chapter.
Presented by Jacob Zueske, Wisconsin River Chapter. 2nd Bobbi Benson.
Discussion:
Is there currently a NAVHDA point of contact so that chapters are not contacting our agent or the company individually?
Current protocol – contact the office and they contact agent or president depending on the question/issue.
Understand that if a chapter were to contact the broker and say something that could invalidate our policy, it could shut us down immediately.
It is important that chapters know what is covered by the policy so, if they decide, the chapter can fill any gaps they feel are necessary to be covered.
Current system – anyone can ask for insurance information from the Central Office – we will provide a policy and/or certificate of coverage.
Trahan – we are afraid of providing the full policy because we’re afraid of shopping – raising a red flag and having the company drop our coverage.
The EC has already agreed that we will contact the insurance company to determine what they are comfortable sharing with our general membership.
Clarification – just proof and the limits or the entire policy?
The motion is asking for the entire policy.
Asking to again, amend the motion to include requirement that all questions to addressed to the central office only. No action taken on this request.
Delegate vote 21 for, 21 opposed, 3 abstain.
Motion failed – EC commits that we will do what we can to get the chapters more detailed information that is still within reason.

Submitted by the Potomac Chapter

That NAVHDA endorse and sponsor the development and publication of a training book consisting of a collation of the best training practices from NAVHDA members.
 
Presented by Ryan Burke, Potomac Chapter. 2nd Desiree Stormont.
Discussion:
Having NAVHDA sponsor this may cause liability to NAVHDA in regard to current or future sponsors. Training resources should remain at the chapter level or sourced via current means.
Delegate vote 5 for, 40 opposed.
EC vote on this motion – opposed. This motion did not pass.
Note the statement made above in the Chapter Relations section. The EC is committed to responding to your feedback. While this did not pass, we will consider other options to provide more assistance to chapters and members.

Miscellaneous motions or actions taken by the EC

The following Motion (19-18) was discussed and passed by the EC: That the Registry committee develop a policy no later than April 1, 2019, that requires submission of DNA for both Sire and Dam before a litter may be registered with NAVHDA.

** 2/12/2019: The following Amendment to Motion 19-18 has been proposed and will be voted on by the EC within the next few weeks.

•   Amended Motion 19-18: The incoming NAVHDA Registrar is charged to identify and offer an evaluation of the pros and cons of a policy that requires submission of DNA for both Sire and Dam before a litter may be registered with NAVHDA.

Regarding the idea of hiring a professional Executive Director for NAVHDA, the EC discussed and passed the following motion. Motion 19-20 – That within the next 24 months (no later than 2021), the EC will officially review the financial stability of the organization and the ability to hire and sustain an Executive Director, who would report to the EC, to lead the Central Office.

The EC has agreed that the organization’s IT infrastructure needs to be modernized. With this in mind, the EC agreed to move our IT infrastructure and operations to a cloud-based system. As Director of Information Services, Steve Greger will be leading this effort and will be recruiting several ad hoc committees to assist with the move.

Motion 19-3 – Rick Holt, 2nd Chip Bonde – That the NAVHDA EC approve the creation of an operating reserve fund to be calculated as 50% of the NAVHDA operating budget. Passed.