ADAA
Meet the Board members ADAA President, Lynne Fancher, is a longtime dairy goat breeder (Dream Fire Farms) whose experience with Akbash Dogs dates from the early 1990s. Her involvement with dairy goats includes serving as President of the Central Texas Dairy Goat Association. An artist whose work includes commercial design and production of logos, banners, T-shirts to one of a kind bronzes, watercolors, pen and inks, and metalwork, she is currently working on ink renderings of the "ideal" representatives of the dairy goat breeds for the American Dairy Goat Association. Her goal-focused attitude and her experience with a large club make her a valuable addition to the board as does her experience with the CTDGA's member friendly website and successful club store. In fact, she has set a personal goal of creating artwork for ADAA. T-shirts anyone?
ADAA Vice President, Tamara Taylor, and her husband have used Akbash Dogs with livestock since 1985. She has served on the board or various committees of ADAA in one capacity or another almost constantly since her first involvement with the club in 1985. Her foundation kennel name is Patteran, which is also her dairy goat herdname. She teaches writing and grammar at the ESL program at the University of North Texas. Also a freelance writer, she has published articles on livestock guard dogs and Akbash Dogs in particular for magazines such as UKC's Bloodlines, Dairy Goat Journal, and SHEEP! Thanks to her travels to Turkey, we are able to stay updated on the status of the Akbash Dog in its homeland.
ADAA Secretary Nancy Rix is the immediate past President and agreed to take this critical position which has not received the attention it has needed. With her longtime experience in the association, she is well-prepared to meet the responsibilities of this position. She was also the Editor of the ADAA column in UKC's Bloodlines magazine until that magazine changed format. After over 25 years of running her own dog training facility and living in Florida, Nancy relocated to Texas last year, renting a small farm where she lives with working Akbash and Kangal Dogs, sheep and goats, and "Really" the rat terrier. She is our resident dog behavior expert and often gives advice on the ADAA email list to training and behavior questions. Having at one time owned the largest kennel of Akbash and Kangal Dogs in North America and run sheep and goats to start her pups with livestock, she is well-versed in the behaviors of our breed.
ADAA Treasurer Patrick Beaver of Colorado is a relative newcomer to ADAA and Akbash Dogs. However, he brings with him a background in Great Pyrenees and Kuvasz, which he bred and exhibited for many years in AKC. Patrick is the first Akbash Dog owner to exhibit his dog at the Premier, UKC's most prestigous event in Michigan. He not only finished his dog, Ch. Patteran Tanis, making him a UKC Champion but also showed him to a Best in Show win -- only the second in UKC history for this breed.. While Patrick does not own livestock, he is dedicated to the preservation of correct working disposition and spreading the word about the Akbash Dog as a protector of both flock and home. To this end he has traveled repeatedly out of state to exhibit his Akbash Dogs. His organizational skills have been put to good use in his position as Treasurer.
Reports from the Board Complete Minutes are available to the ADAA Membership on the association's yahoogroups site.
Report of the May 2007 Directors Meeting
Today many meetings are held electronically; however, the ADAA Directors held a physical meeting in Texas in May in order to be able to spend an afternoon on items critical to the ADAA and its members.
The first agenda item for the meeting was to accept the resignation of two Directors and to name interim Directors and Officers to fill several vacated positions. These changes are thought to be very positive ones and bring on to the board new officers who are dedicated to the future of the ADAA and our breed.
The next item on the agenda was setting the date for the Annual Meeting, which was determined to be December 17. Additional information about the Board of Directors and the Annual Meeting is listed below. The dates for July and August electronic Directors meetings were also set. The new BOD discussed the importance of holding open online and physical meetings that welcome association members to attend.
After the meeting, the Constitution Committee chaired by Craig Lamkin met to finish discussions on proposed Constitution changes. The Membership Committee also met, chaired by the new Secretary and discussed updating membership lists.
Additional Monthly Directors Meetings
The Directors have continued to hold open discussions and scheduled meetings monthly. In July, the Directors voted unanimously to accept the revised Constitution as submitted by the Constitution Committee and submit it to UKC for approval. In August, reports were given by the Treasurer and the Secretary. ADAA members should refer to their yahoo group list for further updates.