Regional Director's Corner
September, 2011

Dr. Glen Newton Dr. Glen Newton,
North Central Regional Director

At the Friday morning, August 19, session of the annual board meeting, each regional director reported on his or her region. Here's an expanded version of my report about the North Central region:

Members

As of August 13, 2011, the North Central region had 153 members. This is 9 more than a year ago and 6 more than two years ago. This 6% increase in membership is a welcome change from the 20% decrease we saw from 2008 to 2009.

  • 15 are life members
  • 109 are regular members
  • 24 are family members
  • 5 are junior members (compared with 2 junior members last year)

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 and even more who exhibit at our shows but haven't yet joined ACFA. Let's encourage these cat lovers to become ACFA members and make their voices heard!

Expirations: 79% of the memberships in the region (121) expire at the end of 2011. Compare this with the 63% that were due to expire at the end of 2010. 8 expire at the end of 2012 and 9 expire at the end of 2013. That suggests that many are taking advantage of the 3-year membership renewals, and I urge every one of you to consider this option; not only does it save you money, it means you only have to remember to renew your membership once in three years, rather than every year. Lonnie Alitz has set an example for us all by extending her membership to the end of 2014. Way to go, Lonnie!

Clubs

13 North Central clubs renewed their charters this year. The Chippewa Valley Cat Club joined ACFA as the region’s newest club and we welcome them to the ACFA family!

Regional Finances

The region’s checking account has $417, and around $250 more is due to be paid after the cash flow in Central Office improves. (This was the figure as of the August 19; regional funds due from shows held after that date will also add to the regional treasury.) Each time you send in the show surcharges to Central Office, our regional treasury grows, because we get 50 cents per cat plus half of any listing fees. The principal regional expenses are awards, ads in the Yearbook, web site hosting and domain name registration.

Shows

The North Central region held 12 shows from August 2010 through July 2011. As a comparison, the region held 11 shows between August 2009 and July 2010. In August and September of 2011, our region held three more shows.

Central Wisconsin sponsored the annual board meetings and the show the following weekend, so let’s all thank Don Finger!

Awards

On October 1st, the Cat 'n' Around Cat Club will host the North Central Regional Awards banquet and ceremony at the Des Moines zoo. We're looking forward to an evening of camaraderie, good food, and recognition for achievements. Please send the pictures of your top 20 winning cats. 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. As a reminder, here's what we need:

If your Cat, Kitten, Alter, or Household Pet placed in the top 20 for the 2008-2009 show season (but not breed awards, which are handled differently), 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, along with the picture:

  • The cat’s category and placement (e.g., 19th Best NC Kitten).
  • The cat’s registered name.
  • Your name, phone number, and email address.
  • The name(s) of the cat’s owner(s).
Please email your photos with the information listed above to glennewton@comcast.net. Email is preferred, but if that is not practical, mail your photos to Glen Newton, 1359 Michelle Drive, Eagan, MN 55123. Write information on a separate paper, not on the back of the photos, because the ink might bleed through and affect the picture. If you want your cat’s photo(s) mailed back, please send a self-addressed, stamped envelope with the photo(s). Otherwise, we'll plan to return them at the regional banquet.

North Central cats were well represented in this year's Inter-American awards, as one would expect, since we’re the largest region, and we have a relatively large number of shows within driving distance, which makes it less expensive for exhibitors to get to more shows. Of course, it's the excellence of our cats that earns them these top rankings! Here's a summary:

  • Cats: 9 of the top 20 IA, including #1, #4, #5, and #6 IA; in addition our region's top two cats had perfect 50 point scores!
  • Alters: 8 of the top 20 IA, including #2 and #5 IA
  • Kittens: 7 of the top 20 IA, including #2, #3, and #5 IA
  • HHPs: 8 of the top 20 IA, including #1, #2, #4, and #6 IA

In addition, three North Central cats claimed their Legacy of Achievement, which they earned by being in the top 10 regionally or top 50 IA during three show seasons:

EagleRock Pretty Boy of Yeahimmy, owned by Jim and Phyllis Nelson
MiKyttens In Like Flynn, owned by Greg and Marlys Bartling
Wavelets Prof. Chaos of Kenwyn, owned by Kathy Owen and Sarah Walker

Two North Central cats claimed their Legacy of Excellence, which they earn for producing Grand Champion offspring (ten for males, five for females):

QGC Theatricats Buddy Ebscoon, owned by Chris and Patrick Buck and Cathy Earleson
GC Cattail’s I’m Miss Tiger Lily Too, owned by Susan Siebecker

In addition, the North Central region was well represented in the Inter-American breed awards.

Finally, this year's Inter-American Breeders of the Year, Carl and Melanie Galka, and 3rd Best Breeder of the Year, Victoria Pecotich, are members of the North Central region.

Congratulations to all of our regional and IA winners!

www.acfanorthcentralregion.org

  • The North Central web site (which Jo and I maintain, as unpaid volunteers) 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.

Club Profiles

We have a profile of Cat 'n' Around on our web site, and I would like to have historical profiles of all the North Central clubs on the web site. Are you interested in writing one? If you're not confident of your writing skills, Jo and I can help you edit your rough draft.

Email me at glennewton@comcast.net or call me at 651-688-9504.