The Boxer Club of Canada Inc.
Minutes of the General Meeting held on Monday February 2nd, 2014
The meeting was called to order at approx. 8:00 p.m. - on-line Moderator/Chair. – President: Dave Gilmour
Attendance (27 members): Christine Burton, Cindy Thomas, Dave & Patti Gilmour, Doris Avery, Francine Gillanders, Irene & Len Waddell, Jack Ireland, Jenny & Michael Catton, Josie O'Reilly, Karen Kipling, Karen Parton, Kim Long, Bernice Langley, Lee & Mary Jane Nowak, Melissa & Mark Mathers, Marta Nettlelfield, Mary Curl, Paul and Judy Wilcox, Tammy Ranta, Sandra Beck, Shirley Bell
Reminder: A quick reminder that there is a prize at the end of the year for everyone that has attended a meeting, served on the exec or a committee. You get one entry for every meeting attended, committee served on or exec position. They go into a hat at the end of the year and a name is drawn.
Minutes:
Dave: Thanks everyone for taking time out of your schedules to attend tonights meeting. Everyone should have had time to read last month's meeting minutes. Are there any errors or omissions?
Sandra: were the minutes altered to reflect Renaissance rather that WCBC for 2016 national?
Mary: I don't think so - that would be a correction that I will add to these minutes
CORRECTION TO JANUARY MINUTES:
Old Business: Dave: Western Canada Boxer Club to hold the 2016 BCC National Specialty on March 26, 2016.
SHOULD READ: Rennaisance Dog Association to hold the 2016 BCC National Specialty on March 26, 2016.
Dave: I would like to move the minutes be accepted as written with the exception of the correction Mary will be making
Seconded by Mike Mathers.
Business Arising From the Minutes – None
Programme: Mary: Lillian posted this to the Yahoo List: warning for dog owners .....re heliotrope plant is a killer.
Treasurer’s Report – Kim Long
- Kim: Debits – Monthly Service Charge - $19.99 ($17.00 Monthly Plan Fee, $2.00 Paper Statement Fee), Staples (Accounting Computer Program) - $112.99, Boxer Club of Central Ontario (Royal Canin Sponsorship Regional) - $200.00, Manitoba Boxer Club (Royal Canin Sponsorship Regional) - $200.00, Alberta Boxer Club (Remaining Royal Canin Sponsorship-National) - $800.00, CKC (Club Renewal) - $85.05, Mijen Awards (Plaques, Trophies, Shipping) - $1306.97
- Credit – Membership Renewal - $965.00, Trophy Donation - $55.00, Donation - $500.00, Exchange on US cheques - $18.82
- Balance - $10,776.66
- Kim moved her report, seconded by Mary Jane
- Christine: If we are not anticipating any major expenses, perhaps we should invest another 5,000.00 in a GIC
- Dave: Not a bad idea Christine we should check into this as to rates and whether we can tie up that much money
- Christine: We would still have almost 6,000.00 in the account and we could put it in Tangarine's daily savings. We are earning nothing on the money keeping it in the day to day account
- Dave: That would give us daily access to the money if we needed it without tying it up in long term?
- Christine: Yes. When Bernice was treasurer she invested 5,000.00 for the club and all these years later we still only have 5,000.00
- Marta Interest rate on a high yield savings account is currently about .8%
- Cindy: I think we need to look into how much a non profit organization can have invested. I'm not sure if there are any limitations.
- Christine: The ODKC was advised that you could have one year of expenses on hand (in the bank).
- Dave: Any volunteers to check in with the non profit group to make sure we can still do this
- Christine: Would you check with Revenue Canada?
- Dave: I am not sure?
- Christine: I will look into it and report back.
- Dave¨ Another side note on the treasurer's report is that we now have Paypal setup on the main page for members to pay dues etc.
Dave: Moving on to committee reports.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Show Committee
- No report
- Christine: Sorry, regarding show report do we know where the National will be held this year. I have heard from several people that Kilbride is not returning to Milton. Have not confirmed but heard from several they are going to Erie Shores
- Dave: I haven't heard anything and the BCCO has not got back to us as of yet
- Christine: Show chair may want to follow this up
- Dave Gilmour: As of yet we have no show chair. Will find out though
Publicity: Rich Tarrington – No Report – not in attendance
Trophy Committee: Anne Not in attendance – No report
Membership:
- Dave: Welcome to Kimberly Smith, who will be starting her probationary membership this month.
- Dave: Patti Gilmour has resigned her position as membership chair and several people have expressed interest in the position
- Thank you Patti for all your hard work
- Dave: We will be extending the membership renewal deadline due in fact to getting everything setup again after Paul's passing. We as of yet have not got the email transfer system in place to direct deposit into the account and just this week have got the Paypal option running again. The late fee still applies but the reapplication procedure will be waived until Feb 28, 2015 at which time any members that have not renewed will be removed from the membership list and will have to start the application process over again.
- Christine: Dave we have debated this extension and it is against the by-laws. Also it was Paul that implemented this. How many members have not renewed. I previously asked but did not get a reply. Also no one has indicated they had problems paying so this extension is setting a precedence
- Cindy I don't have any issues with this due to the struggle it has been to get banking sorted out after Paul's death. There are members who can't send an email transfer or use cheques due to living in the US. PayPal works best for them.
- Mary Jane: I agree Cindy, and yes we had a multitude of issues getting it paid.
- Christine: The account was sent up May or June we are not in February. Funds were due January. Members could have contacted the executive or attended a meeting if they were having difficulty. What is the point of having by-laws or the constitution
- Paul Wilcox: I agree Christine
- Mary Jane: I think that with Pay Pal we have the options in place now to cover everything
- Christine: The paypal account set up by Paul was and still is active. If members that used it in the past asked they
- Cindy: I still don't think it is an issue. Yes we have bylaws and a constitution to follow but sometimes we have to make an exception.
- Paul Wilcox¨ Do we not have to vote on changes?
- Mary: We were advised by the auditors not to use the former Pay Pal account. Members were under the impression that all would be set up in time for renewals. It just didn't happen. Due to the special circumstances surrounding the loss of our former treasurer I don't understand why the club cannot make an exception in this case.
- Shirley¨ I agree with Mary, an exception because of the death of the treasurer. Should not be a big issue IMO
- Christine: Mary if members were under the impression paypal would be set up why was this not relayed to the executive. At the last executive meeting it was decided that members would be given a reminder. Not one person mentioned that members were having problems getting funds to the treasurer. The auditors were only given the paypal password by you halfway through the audit. How could we ask members to use something we had no access to
- Mary: The members were under the impression that the bank account would be able to receive e-transfers etc. We did not think that the old PayPal account would be unavailable this long.
- Jenny: We paid by e transfer directly into the BCC account.
- Cindy: I paid by e-transfer to Kim's email address for this year not directly into the BCC account.
- Paul W: I paid by e-transfer to Kim's email address for this year not directly into the BCC account.
- Kim: No Jenny, Mike sent the email money transfer to my email address and I deposited to my personal account and then out to deposit to the bank
- Cindy: But those in Canada can do e-transfer and those in the US can't.
- Jack: Under these circumstances, we will not have a problem with the CKC, who is our governing body as far as our Constitution goes. If we are going to go by the letter of the law , then why don't we make sure that all report are in for each meeting
- Mary: We are dealing with human beings here not the constitution of the whole country. A little leeway in giving members a break to renew is not out of line
- Dave: This would not of been suggested if it was a detriment to the club. We have thirty plus members who have not yet renewed and some of them are Americans.
- Cindy: Should we just make a motion at this meeting? If yes, I make a motion to extend the membership deadline to February 28th
- Motion: Cindy – I make a motion to extend the membership deadline to February 28th
- Seconded by Patti
- Discussion:
- Bernice: People forget they have not paid, some need a wakeup call. Make a list of unpaid and send one email to therm. When you see your name in print it wakes you up
- Dave: Bernice we are currently doing that exact thing
- Paul W: Did Americans pay by cheque before there was pay pal?
- Dave: I can't answer that as I don't know
- Mary Jane: yes we did
- Josie: very good point Bernice. Some of us belong to many clubs & magazine subscriptions it can be difficult to remember who one paid & didn't pay.
- Paul W: There are reminders sent out
- Christine: Dave perhaps these members have no intention of renewing. Did Cindy not send out a final reminder?
- Dave: Folks we have a motion on the floor
- Christine: Is this a motion to change the by-law?
- Cindy: No Just for this year.
- Sandra: I would like to see the motion more carefully worded. one time shot due to extenuating circumstances. if i vote in favour i would be willing to take the rap given the situation IF it were made clear in the nmotion
- Christine: There are no extenuating circumstances. 36 people have not renewed and the club needs/wants the money
- Josie: The question was asked whether each member that has not renewed was sent an individual reminder?
- Cindy: I can reword the motion if needed.
- Dave: We are just in the process of contacting each outstanding member separately
- Jack: I agree with Sandra. Are you saying Christine we should let 36 people go from our Club ?
- Christine: If 5 or 10 members did not renew would you contact each and every one. I am not saying we should let 36 I am saying given the poor turnout at the meeting and lack of participation maybe the 36 have no intention of renewing. They were given the same amount of notice that was given every other year. We are using Pauls death as an excuse. People could contact the club if they could not pay or did not know how to
- Mary: Perhaps by showing that the club has a heart is a way to show members we care that they belong
- Karen Kipling: I agree Mary
- Dave: Cindy please reword your motion
REWORDED MOTION: Cindy: I make a motion to extend the renewal deadline to February 28th, for the 2015 membership year only.
- Shirley Bell: Seconded the motion
- Further Discussion:
- Dave: Yes Christine we have contacted the 5 or ten in the past when we noticed they had not renewed the only difference was we did not wait this late
- Christine: Dave could you please forward the list as I would like to see how many actually renew after being personally contacted
- Shirley: Does Christine have the right to demand to see the list?
- Karen K: I, for one, did not receive a renewal notice for my 2015 dues. It dawned on me just before Christmas that I owed them. It's a wonder that I did. lol. I contacted Mary and she steered me in the right direction to get them paid.
- Josie: In past years I have seen the list of late renewers published
- Christine: Shirley I asked for list as a member of the executive. At the executive meeting what is happening is not what was discussed or decided
- Paul W: I certainly saw all the reminders for paying dues
- Shirley: This petty BS is the reason I do not attend meetings. There is a motion on the floor it has been seconded
- Cindy: Folks it has been a very unusual year. We need patience and understanding. Can we please move forward and vote now.
- Dave: All those in favor please say yes
- Dave: Motion Carried (16 yes, 5 No)
Discipline Committee:
- Jenny: Discipline report - no cases therefore no report
Obedience Committee: Marta Nettelfield -- No Report
Fund Raising Committee: -
Dave: As for fund raising report Patti Gilmour has resigned. Any volunteers to take the position?
Awards Committee: Kristi Wagg – No Report Not in attendance
- Paul W: Mary, is the application form for award plaques going to be on the web site in the near future?
- Mary: I will contact Kristi about that - should be able to have it up soon
Nomination Committee
- Christine: Both Jenny and myself are on the nomination committee. Would any member like to be on the committee? Two postions are up for election. President and Corresponding Secretary
- Jenny: Regional Directors are up as well
- Dave: I will let my name stand for president
- Kim: I will let my name stand for Regional Director NB/PEI
- Christine: Thank you Dave. If anyone else is interested in running for President please let Jenny or myself know. Thank you Kim
Reading of General Correspondence: Cindy Thomas
- Cindy: Just a note that the application to hold a Regional Specialty Show from the Manitoba Boxer Club has been withdrawn.
- Christine: That is too bad. Did they give a reason
- Cindy¨ It was due to the new condition of not attending a certain number of meetings even though the member could not log in a number of times like many of us through out last year.
- Dave: That is too bad as they have been faithfully holding regionals for many years
- Josie: sorry if I missed this, but is that in the bylaws? about attending so many meetings?
- Dave: Yes it is
- Dave: personally I think they should of been grandfathered but that is only my opinion
- Josie: what should have been grand fathered?
- Dave¨ I meant that anyone that has previously and consistently holding regionals should be able to continue but this again is just my personal opinion
- Josie: was the attendance at meetings always in the bylaws? or is this recent? Sorry for not knowing.
- Dave Gilmour This just happened recently
- Cindy Thomas If you look at the April meeting minutes from last year and then June you will see it was voted in then Josie.
- Josie: I looked through past minutes and did not see any reference to a vote? Maybe I missed it?
Special Service Committee: Deb Allardyce – No report - Not in attendance
Good & Welfare: Lillian – Not in attendance
Old Business:
- Dave: We are in the final stages of tallying the points for the attendance raffle which will be drawn this month and announced at the March meeting. Points are awarded for the following activities: 1 point for every meeting they attend including AGM regardless of membership status probationary etc.. 1 point for every committee they sit on 1 point for every committee they chair 1 point for being a member of the Executive but no point for attending Exec Meeting because not everyone would be able to get points here.
- Shirley: I have to wonder why everything is so difficult in this club. Are we working hard to discourage people?
- Dave: Seems that way
- Kim: Agree
- Dave: We are looking at putting a position statement on the site in regards to black boxers and approaching the ABC to use the one they have up on their site. I have included it below. If you could take a couple minutes to read it I would like to hear peoples thoughts on it. ABC black boxer position statement Black Boxers In recent years there have been a growing number of people advertising "black Boxers," or worse "rare black Boxers," usually at inflated prices. The American Boxer Club condemns this practice because the Boxer breed does not carry a gene for a black coat. At one point in the history of the breed, there were some dogs that were solid black. These dogs were acknowledged as descendants of a Schnauzer-Bulldog cross. The extinction of this line is documented in the mid 1920's, at the time when the German breed standard was changed to disallow dogs of any color other than fawn or brindle. Some brindle Boxers may be so heavily striped as to appear to have a black ground color, especially as puppies. These dogs may be termed "reverse," "seal," or "black brindles," but responsible breeders will never try to pass them off as black. Nor will they use the term "sealed," implying that the fawn color is sealed out by the black. The breed standard states that the fawn background must clearly, if barely, show through the black striping. As a dominant color, a black coat cannot lie hidden for generations. Therefore, any Boxer with a solid black coat must have another breed in the background.
- Dave: We will approach the ABC to see if we can use this
- Sandra: this should suffice in informing the public on the issue, if it's good enough for the ABC web should be good enough for ours.
- Dave: Royal Canin has not completed their budget yet so we will be informed as to what budget we have to work with once they are done. Anyone still looking for sponsorship for a regional must get their replies into Cindy ASAP
New Business:
Director Reports:
- Ontario North: Shawn Mealy: Nickel District Kennel Club show -- March 27-29 2015 in Coniston, ON. Closes March 14, 2014. Northern Ontario Boxer Club Specialty weekend of April 24-26, 2015 at Victoria County in Lindsay, ON. Judge is Anne Felske-Jackman. More details to follow.
- Manitoba: Bev Pope : Manitoba Boxer Club Specialty being held in conjunction with MCA show in August 2015 o Four Boxer Breeders in Manitoba had litters later in the summer of 2014 so we are hopeful to see all shows in Manitoba having a few more boxer entries this year. o No BCC Specialty this summer as things just did not work out for us this year to hold the Regional Specialty.
- NB/PEI: Kim Long: Everything is quiet in NB/PEI...Our shows have not started yet and we are all busy with the shovels.
- BC: Sandra BEck: april3/4 Chilliwack BCC specialty show/obed/rally. premiums on canuck dogs.
- Dave: We recieved a $500 donation from Len & Irene Waddell of Bracara Kennels. Thank you very much for your generosity.
- Sandra: Irene & Len rock ! Thank you:)
- Jenny: Thanks Irene and Len
- Dave: I am also including a schedule off all the upcoming meetings both regular and executive.
- Exec meetings: Jan 28,Feb 25,Apr 1,Apr29,May 27,Sept 2,Sept 30,Oct 28,Dec 2,Dec 30
- Regular meetings: Feb 2, Mar 2, Apr 6, May 11, Jun 1 (& AGM), Sept 14, Oct 5, Nov 2, Dec 7
- Mathers: Will the website be updated to have the BCC regionals and nationals for this yr on it somewhere. Or perhaps I couldn't find it.
- Dave: Mary do we have all the info yet to post them
- Mary: As soon as we know them we will try to put them up at least on the calendar. Would be best if they send us the info (Cindy or I) that they want included
- Mike Catton: Dave We used to have the Legion of Merit Award but it hasn't been given out for some time. Do we still do this award or was it discontinued when the Grand Champion came into effect.
- Dave: It is still in effect but that is not an award easily obtained and needs to be applied for
- Dave: Is there any other new business to discuss
- I would like to make a motion to adjourn the meeting
- Seconded by Cindy
- Dave: Good nite all and thanks for attending
Meeting Schedules 2015:
Exec meetings: Jan 28, Feb 25, Apr 1, Apr29, May 27, Sept 2, Sept 30, Oct 28, Dec 2, Dec 30
Regular meetings: Feb 2, Mar 2, Apr 6, May 11, Jun 1 (& AGM), Sept 14, Oct 5, Nov 2, Dec 7