Fall, 2005
James Watson, Gulf Shore Regional Director

CFA Region 3

 

 

Region 3 News:

 

New Webmaster

Gene Wright has decided to step down as our Regional Webmaster and give someone else an opportunity to spend countless hours keeping up with all the changes and updates to the Gulf Shore Region Web Site.  Gene has contributed greatly to the look and content of the site and we will all miss his input.  Congratulations and THANK YOU to Gene for a job well done.

Our new Regional Webmaster is George Snell of Houston, TX.  George has lots of experience with web site design and maintenance and will be a great asset to the Region.  Welcome to George and lets not be too rough on him.

By the way, those show pictures don’t just come out of the air.  Well, actually they do in some cases, but someone needs to take pictures at each show and send them to George so the tradition of having “show pictures” after each show will continue.  Terry Brown is printing those pictures and placing them in a ‘scrapbook” for each show season.  If no one sends in pictures, the history of the Gulf Shore will soon be only a memory.  Please send in the pictures to George so we can keep the tradition going and give him something to do.

 

THE DISASTER

About the time you think things are going pretty smooth, all h### breaks loose.  Our region has been the recipient of more than our share of grief this year.  Not one, but two of the worst Hurricanes in modern history hit the Gulf Shore and what the first one didn’t get, the second one did.  Many of our exhibitors and breeders were displaced to higher ground and most escaped with their animals.  Several lost their homes and many lost most of their belongings.  As usual, the Gulf Shore people stepped up and offered help in any way they could.  Due to the problem of logistics, most could only offer money or a place to stay.  Every effort was greatly appreciated by those that received the assistance. 

Shortly after Katrina struck, I got an email from Peggy Schulman asking about a disaster relief fund.  That got the ball rolling for the most impressive show of compassion from the cat fancy that I have ever seen.  Within two days, we had the “Fund” in place and ready to help those that needed cash.  I appointed the Finance Committee as the Fund oversight committee and any request for funds was presented to the whole committee for consideration.  Betsy Gaither (Regional Treasurer) became the lead person as she had the checkbook and was very helpful in finding ways to actually get the money where it was needed.  I spent countless hours on the phone trying to track down people that we knew were displaced to see if the GSR could help.  Very shortly the Fund had over $5,000, then $8,000, then $10,000 and the total as of last weekend at the Regional Fund Raiser in Tulsa, was $18,526.23.  We have donations from individuals, Regions and several Vendors.  Please visit the GSR website for a list of contributors. http://www.cfagulfshore.org/gsr_fund/fund1.htm

I would also like to thank Peggy Schulman for arranging for the contribution of a Sturdi Products “Show and Go” setup that was raffled off to raise funds.  The winning ticket was drawn at the Regional Fund Raiser by Judge Larry Swanson.  The Sturdi cage was won by Sherry Smerigan of Region 6.  The raffle added $2,600 to the Disaster Fund.

This is not over and many are just now getting power back in the Houston area hit by Rita.  If you know of anyone who needs help, please have them contact me or one of the committee members for information.

 

 

 

Gulf Shore Officers and Committee Chairs

GSR Director - James Watson

GSR Secretary - Trudie Allen

GSR Treasurer - Betsy Gaither

GSR Finance Committee - Chair Betsy Gaither, Bill Coombes, Chris Willingham, Jimmie Hawley

GSR Legislative News - Lynette Clooney

GSR Webmaster – George Snell

GSR Regional Shows Committee - Chair James Watson

GSR Fund Raising Committee - Chair Grace Guidry

GSR Clerking Committee - Chair  Dick Cullen

GSR Grievance Committee - Chair Michael Barber ,  Terry Brown, Gene Wright

GSR 2007 Annual Chair - James Watson

GSR Historical Committee - Chair-Terry Brown,

GSR Pure Breed Rescue - Chair- Betty Haden.

GSR Junior Showmanship Committee - Chair-Cheryl Peck, Grace Guidry, Brenda Moore

 

If you are interested in any of the above committees, contact the Chair to see how you can help.

 

ANNUAL 2007 COMMITTEE CHAIRS

As it stands this week, the following have agreed to Chair the respective committees.

 

2007 Annual Chair                                         James Watson

Entertainment and Hospitality nights           Paul & Toni Huff

Delegate Services                                          Marsha Ammons      

Banquet Decorations                         Betsy Gaither & Betty White

Publicity                                                          Karen Crooke

Special Projects                                              Lonnie & Gloria Hoover

Delegate Bag contents                                  Karen Godwin

Vendors                                                          Peggy Schulman        

 

Once again, if you want to help, check with the committee chair and volunteer your services.  This is a preliminary list and will expand as the Annual approaches.  And it will approach much sooner than you think.  Clubs, start thinking about what you are going to donate to the Delegate Bags.  You can contact Karen Godwin for ideas and suggestions of where to look for “goodies”.

 

CFA News:

 

 

 

CFA Treasurer's Report:
Based on May 1, 2005 through August 31,2005
Revenue from registrations are down 3.2%
The Yearbook is on par with last year. However expenses are higher than last year due to the reallocation of salaries between the Yearbook and Almanac.

The Almanac is on par with last year.  However expenses are lower due to the reallocation of salaries.

Central Office expenses are on par with budget.
CFA Programs are all within budget.

Bottom line….CFA’s expenses have exceeded income by $6,865 to date.
 

Club Applications:
The following clubs were accepted,
Happy Island Cat Club, Fukushima, Japan - Region 8
China Purepet Club, Beijing, China -  International Division
Sina Cat Club, Beijing, China -  International Division

 
Central Office:
The question of eligibility of a cat to enter both Veteran and Premiership class in the same show needed clarification.  It was determined that the cat must declare which class it will compete in when entering the show and only in one category.  Also the Veteran count is included in the show count unless a separate judge is used for that class.

Breed council renewal notices will now be mailed in January starting in 2006.  This should reduce the confusion caused by the earlier mailing.

 

 

CFA-IAMS Cat Championship Show in New York.  This is old news now but just a note of interest.  Due to “a large event” on the same weekend, we had to split our move in between Thursday and Friday.  This was going to cost an extra $3,000 in union wages.  This was not negotiable.  The problem was an U2 concert scheduled for Friday night.  The road manager for U2 heard about our problem and said they would take care of the extra union fees.  Thank you to U2 and go buy some of their CDs.  Note: we should have a financial report by the end of the year.

 

 

International Show

The show will be in San Mateo, CA in 2006 and 2007.  This site selected for the 2008 and 2009 shows will be the Georgia International Convention Center in Atlanta, GA.

 



 

 

 

Judging Program Committee:

ADVANCED TO APPROVAL PENDING AB:

Carla Bizzell

Kathy Black

Rick Hoskinson

 

ADVANCED TO APPROVED AB:

Ellyn Honey

 

ADVANCED TO APPROVED LH:

Iris Tanner

 

ACCEPTED AS TRAINEE –SH

Iris Tanner

 

 

Centennial Celebration Challenge

The following are highlights of the program.  Final rules will be published soon.

This will be a Regional Competition that starts in December 2005 and runs through the end of the show season.  Only shows in your region of record will count.  Two shows per month will be designated as the Challenge Shows where cumulative scoring will be kept in order to determine the highest-scoring cat in Championship, Premiership, Kitten and Agility (where available).  The winner in each category will be awarded the title of Centennial Cup Challenge Winner for the Region.  Points will be accumulated by SHOW rather than by ring.  After the final show of the season the winner will be determined and presented the award at the Regional Awards Show.  Recognition will also be given at the 2006 CFA Annual Awards Banquet with the Centennial Celebration Challenge parade of the Best of the Best from each region.

Now…we need to determine the 2 shows in each month that will be the Challenge shows.

I’ll make some suggestions then see what the response is.  I will post this to the list by the end of the month.

 

 


Business Development Committee:
4Kids Entertainment is moving forward as CFA’s representation of our Brand.  We now have a CFA image logo that will be used for all national public marketing.  Visit their web site for more information and to see the marketing logo.  http://4kids.homeunix.com/properties/catfanciers.html

This does not affect our “official” CFA logo.

Things are really moving forward, but in the corporate world it can be like pouring cold grease.

The CatBank is also underway and moving at a somewhat faster pace.  See the web site at http://www.catbank.org  We should have online registration in about 6 months.  There were some “technical problems” getting it started but it is now getting set up and tested.

Pet Partners Insurance is up and running and you should be getting flyers from CFA with all mailings.  Be sure to provide this information to your pet buyers.  See the new information at http://www.cfaphp.com/BHIA

 

 

Management Committee:
Our mission was to Analyze the efficiencies of Central Office and address the make up of the Board of Directors.  This was done and presented at the June Board meeting.  It was approved to move forward with implementation of the plan to develop a Operations Manual for Central Office.  However the cost of such an undertaking will be over $10,000 and there was no budget for this expenditure, the project was set aside until the funds can be arranged.  With that in mind, I started to work on the Board.  A committee was formed and we produced a Board Members’ Guidebook.  The first draft was presented at the Oct. meeting and the request to proceed with it was approved.  I should have the completed product ready for the Feb. meeting.  The guidebook consists of Job Descriptions, Fiduciary Responsibility, format for board reports, and Committee Chair responsibilities.  Phase 2 will be individual committee’s mission statement and goals.

 
CFA IT/WEB Committee:  
The For Kids..About Kids site launched on June 29th to rave reviews.  As of August 30th, the site has received 70,360 page loads.  This is over 1,000 pages a day!  Stats show visitors from around the world.  Please check out this feature on the CFA website.  Let your kids and their friends know about it.

http://kids.cfa.org

 

The Mentor Committee:

There will be several changes to the Mentor/Ambassador Program.  Look for new items added to the application form to better meet the needs of the mentors and protégés and assist with the pairing of people.  As of September 2005 there are 472 protégés, 266 members and 441 pairings.

There are 199 people enrolled as CFA Ambassadors.

 

Education Committee:

This was somewhat covered under the IT/WEB report.  A flyer telling about the Kids page can be downloaded and printed to pass out to kids at school (with permission of course).  See it at

http://www.cfa.org/forms/forkids.pdf

Ethics Committee:

Peg Johnson is now chair of this committee and is moving forward with actual results.  The codes that will be published are: Board Members, Judges, Clubs, and Exhibitors.  CFA already has a code of ethics for Breeders.  I will be working with Peg on this committee as it has some effect on the Board Members Guidebook and we want to be sure that any related statements are not conflicting.

 

Media Committee:

This was a fantastic report given by GSR’s own Donna Brawner.  There is too much to cover in detail but the basics are to let a publisher tell us how to put together a “coffee table book” that will be our Year Book.  There is a market in the general public for this kind of book if it is designed correctly.  Donna has found a publisher that can guide CFA to that market.  This would allow CFA to sell outside our current market….us.  The potential is great and the board voted to proceed.  This will allow us to have a Year Book but constructed in such a manor to make it marketable to the general public.  There will be no changes in the current publication for this year.  The suggested name will be “CFA Yearbook of Pedigree Cats….of the fancy for the family”.   More as it develops. 

 

National Scheduling Committee:

Committee chair is Gina Lehman and she proposed the following, which was passed by the board.

 

All new requests for show dates and changes to existing traditional shows in location or date should be routed through the regional director and national show-scheduling chair.  From the date of receipt of the request, there will be no more than 10 calendar days for research and discussion regarding this new show/date.   After this time, the club requesting the show will be advised of the outcome.  If a show is approved, the regional director or his designee will notify Central Office and the club.  If a show is not approved, the national scheduling committee chairman (with the regional director) will work with the club to find a more suitable date.

The Committee consist of the Regional Directors or their representative and Terri Zettler. 

 

Relating to the above committee, a Market Analysis Report has been started by Peg Johnson.  It will cover a vast amount of information about CFA’s operations.  Relating to show scheduling, she will be looking at number of days, format, HHP, Agility, entry limits, show dates, location, population, gate, clubs and just about anything she can regarding any show.  This should help new clubs or existing clubs maximize their potential to have a successful show.

 

Breeds and Standards:

Breeds and Standards are normally considered at the Feburary meeting.  However, to avoid unnecessary travel and expense by the PixieBob representatives to present their breed at the Feburary meeting, the board voted to reject their application for new breed registration / Miscellaneous Status.  PixieBob breeders openly discuss that the cats are descendents of wild cats interbred with domestic cats.

“The Cat Fanciers’ Association, Inc. does not encourage or promote the breeding of non-domestic (wild) cats of any species to any domesticated cat.  Furthermore, the Cat Fanciers’ Association, Inc. will not consider for registration the offspring of such a breeding.”

 

From the last newsletter.  I wish we had moved on this issue.

DISASTER PROGRAM GOES REGIONAL.   Pam DelaBar suggested that each region set up a list of equipment and facilities that can be used in the event of a disaster.  This would include spare rooms or even a garage that can be used by evacuees.  Those with generators that can be loaned would be appreciated.  If you are interested in gathering this information, please let me know.  This will develop over the years but just a list of small boats, campers, motor homes, spare cages, etc. will go a long way to helping those in need.

 

 

CLUB ACTIVITY REPORTS

Clubs need to get in their Activity Reports.  Please do this, as it is very important to several committees.  The information is used to provide information to various organizations and committees.  You can do this on line at   http://www.cfa.org/exhibitors/club-activity-report.html.