Thanks to everyone who gave me input for the topics discussed at the 2009 ACFA Annual Board Meetings. I brought your comments to the board. The subject on which I received the most feedback was the question of judges and exhibitors riding to shows together. By a substantial majority, North Central members who responded felt that the rule should remain as it is, requiring exhibitors who ride with judges to pull their cats from that judge's ring. However, several of you mentioned that you felt that a show committee member picking up the judges from the motel to go to the show hall or an exhibitor and a judge sharing a ride from the airport to the motel should be considered as separate cases, and the board will take those up in a future year when show rules are on the agenda. For now, there's no change to the rule.
At the Friday morning session of the annual board meeting, each regional director reported on his or her region. Here's an expanded version of my report about North Central:
Members
As of August 13, the North Central region had 147 members. We have six new members this year, but our overall numbers are down about 20% from last year.
- 14 are life members
- 106 are regular members (including 2 partial year)
- 23 are family members
- 4 are junior members (double the number from last year - a good sign for the future of ACFA)
These numbers are ACFA memberships. We also have a number of other people in the region who are active members of their local cat clubs but are not currently ACFA members.
Expirations: The majority of the memberships in the region expire at the end of 2009. About 25% of the region's members took advantage of the three-year reduced price deal [which is offered once again this year] and their memberships expire at the end of 2011. Jim and Phyllis Nelson set an example for us all by extending their memberships with another three-year term, ending at the end of 2013. Way to go, Jim and Phyllis!
Clubs
13 North Central clubs have renewed their charters this year. Two (Iowa and Illinois and North American Birmans) have disbanded since the previous Annual and donated their remaining funds to ACFA. Two other clubs haven’t yet renewed their charters: TIMACS and Le Dairy Aire.
Regional Finances
The region’s checking account has $24.54. $750 went to the Des Moines club for regional awards and $135 covered the fee for Sunshine Software (the Internet Service Provider) for the North Central web site plus domain name registration. $5.01 is in the savings account. A $5 deposit was required before opening a checking account, and we earned $0.01 interest.
Shows
The North Central region held 11 shows between August 2008 and July 2009.
Awards
The North Central Regional Awards banquet is October 3 in Des Moines, hosted by the Cat-N-Around club. Pictures from regional award winners are due to Sarah Walker or ncregional09@yahoo.com by September 15. Note that if your cat was a Top 20 IA winner, we already have its picture, and you don't need to send it again. Here are the details from the Regional Shows section of this web site:
If your Cat, Kitten, Alter, or Household Pet placed in the top 20 for the 2008-2009 show season, please mail or email a photo (jpeg) for us to use in a PowerPoint presentation to be shown at the awards banquet. We need the following from you:
1. A picture of your cat
2. Cat’s Registered Name
3. Your phone number
4. Your email address
5. Cat’s breeder(s)
6. Cat’s owner(s)
7. Regional Category & Placement
If you want your cat’s photo(s) returned, please send a self-addressed, stamped envelope with the photo(s).
Please mail your photos with the information listed above to: Sarah Walker, 1433 62nd St., Des Moines, IA 50311; or email them to ncregional09@yahoo.com. Email is preferred. Write information on separate paper, not on back of photos. Photo(s) MUST be received no later than September 15, 2009.
North Central cats were well represented in the IA awards, as one would expect, since we’re the largest region. But the numbers are higher than you’d get if the wins were evenly distributed among all ACFA members. Another factor is that we have a relatively large number of shows within driving distance, which makes it less expensive for exhibitors to get to more shows. And there simply are a lot of excellent cats in the region, in each of the four categories:
- Cats: 10 of the top 20, including #1 and #2
- Alters: 10 of the top 20, including #1 and #3
- Kittens: 12 of the top 20, including #1 and #4
- HHPs: 9 of the top 20, including #2 and #3
Other Activities
www.acfanorthcentralregion.org
- The North Central web site (which Jo and I maintain, as unpaid volunteers) has a revised front page to highlight upcoming shows. It also includes sections for regional news, judges, awards, shows, and photos.
- The web site's picture gallery needs recent pictures. If you have some pictures of ACFA activities in our region, please send them to me so I can post them on the web site and share them with others.
- Besides listing upcoming shows, the web site lists past shows back to 2004 for historical reference.
Regional basket challenge
For the North Central regional basket, we have SPAM, cheese curds, wild rice, Lodi's Idol canned goods, Patsy Unger’s fudge, regional wines, and many other great representatives of North Central. Thanks to Melanie Galka for coming up with this clever idea. Also thanks to Melanie and Carl for the hospitality reception Thursday evening.
Volunteer Opportunities
- We are looking for a regional representative to the disciplinary committee (formerly jurisprudence), which will be headed by Kathy Irmscher.
- We have a volunteer (Andrea Dorn from the Des Moines club) to write a North Central newsletter, but articles from anyone in the region are welcome.
