While running for District 8 Director 2 years ago, two of my major goals were to improve communication throughout the district and to get more members involved in club activities. I believe great strides have been made in accomplishing these, but if the membership will give me the opportunity, I wish to accomplish even more in my next term.

I’ve worked hard at improving communication throughout our District. I began by appointing a District Webmaster whom I have much confidence in. The D8 website was totally rebuilt. Upcoming shows in our district are listed. Providing we are able to obtain a flyer for the show, that is also posted. A listing of our district’s judges and registrars is on the site. The judge/registrar is requested to give permission before he/she is listed. Announcements are listed regarding news items in a timely manner so that members don’t have to wait for the next DR to be printed.  Following are two items that I’m very proud of. First, each month an Article of the Month is featured on the website. The topic alternates between rabbit and cavy issues so that both are treated equally. Obtaining the articles can sometimes be very time consuming. I’ve tried to mainly use authors from inside our own district, but as time goes by, I have been requesting articles from outside D8. Everyone contacted may not be able to do an article. Some requests are not answered while others respond with a no. And that’s ok. I’ve been up at 2 or 3 AM sending emails in attempts to obtain articles. But in the end I believe it’s worth it. These articles hopefully prove both entertaining and educational for those who read them. The other item I’m very proud of is the D8 mailing list from which the monthly email newsletter is sent. Members may register for this on the D8 website. The newsletter contains a letter from me, upcoming show information along with links to available flyers, important updates, and other information. This mailing list can also be used to send urgent news at a moment’s notice. Besides these mailing lists, I also maintain others for judges and registrars in D8 that I have email addresses for. From this I send periodic updates and reminders when needed. Our District also makes use of its Facebook page.

Much of the correspondence I deal with is via the internet…either emails or Facebook. Whether by phone, internet, or letter, I take it seriously and do my best to follow-up in a very timely manner. There are times that I have to deliver answers that a member may not like, and quite frankly I might not like either. However, I’ve got to be honest and give what I believe is the correct answer.

When members call the ARBA office, many times they are referred back to the District Director. Some questions may be as simple as, “Who raises Californians in my area?” But other times the question may involve a serious issue that requires much time to discuss, research, and resolve. There are times that the member’s issue isn’t something for the ARBA to become involved in…a local issue…however, just by listening often helps the member. It’s not uncommon to be on the phone with an upset exhibitor or show official at midnight. Some issues may involve much follow-up with other ARBA board members, show officials, and/or judges and exhibitors.

I write a column in each issue of DOMESTIC RABBITS. I do my best to include pertinent information to keep our membership advised of ARBA and District 8 events. When elected, I made an offer to the state and provincial associations in D8. I offered to write a periodic letter for their newsletters so that I could address issues on a more local and personal basis. Four of these organizations have taken me up on my offer.

Much time is spent at shows speaking with members face-to-face. When possible, I believe this is the best form of communication. In the big picture, attending around 70 shows per year makes me readily available; however, I can’t be everywhere.  Each District Director is permitted to appoint a maximum of 3 representatives for each state/province in their district. I’ve done my best to appoint reps who both have a good reputation as well as attend many shows. I believe this will increase our members’ opportunities to speak with either myself or a rep while attending a show. If that doesn’t work, I’m only a phone call or email away.

One of my main methods of getting more members involved in ARBA business has been by appointing mostly new state/provincial representatives each year. I want our members to know that it’s just not a select few who get to serve and take part. This organization belongs to us all.

As the ARBA Convention approaches, I’m involved in forming the district teams for our youth members. The district teams are primarily for youth from those states and provinces that do not have an active youth program or team for them to join. After those youth are served, then those from areas with a youth team may join. This does not sound difficult, but it can be quite time consuming. I’m currently working with the youth leaders throughout District 8 in creating a formal, written policy on district team formation as no written ARBA policy exists.

I devote much effort to promote our youth members. I recently created the District 8 Youth Advisory Council with the purpose of helping keep me appraised of youth issues from a youth’s point of view. Each council member is a youth. My goal is to eventually have a youth member from each state and province in D8 serve on it. I’m having some issues finding reps from Ontario and Manitoba, but I’m working on it! While our adult reps help keep me informed, I believe hearing about youth issues from a youth point of view is very important. This past year I offered an amount from the district’s educational budget to those state/district teams who requested it. This money was used to purchase an additional Standard of Perfection, or help with printing costs, for our youth teams as they prepared for Convention.

As a Board member I’m involved in the planning of our organization’s budget. I believe we’ve been successful in improving our financial situation while still being able to provide for our members’ needs. Times are still tough, so we must remain prudent in our actions.

The ARBA’s legislative committee is tasked with keeping an eye on legislative issues throughout the country and in seeing what the organization can do. I believe in today’s political climate, this should be one of our most important committees. As a Board member, I fully support this committee and the tall tasks that it has.