the
Gossip column
MARCH…DETROIT, LOUISVILLE, TAR HEEL CIRCUIT and that other yearly MARCH MADNESS (to take a basketball phrase) occasion, the elections of AMERICAN KENNEL CLUB BOARD OF DIRECTORS. The March annual meeting has the biggest turnout of delegates. This year the delegate body had a field of five to choose from. The five delegates running for the CLASS OF 2014 have served on the board or were currently serving. The nominating committee nominated CHARLIE GARVIN & PATRICIA SCULLY (who left the board last year because of term limits… so wait a year and jump back in, so what’s the good of term limits) and WILLIAM NEWMAN (who was currently seated). Two candidates ran from the floor. The currently
90 Dog News
By Eugene Z. Zaphiris
seated CARMEN BATTAGLIA (who was alleged not to know there was a deadline to let the nominating committee know that he was interested in running, and so the run from the floor) and STEVE GLADSTONE, who also was off the board for a year due to term limits (hopefully, the delegates will abolish this useless rule sometime this year). So following all the phone calls, letters and questionnaire conducted by JOHN MANDEVILLE that appeared in the Westminster issue of DOG NEWS, as it does every year, the votes are in. Of over 600 delegates, there were 396 who voted at this election. A majority vote is necessary, so the magic number is 198 to win. The first ballot elected the three winners: CHARLIE GARVIN with 238 votes, PATRICIA
SCULLY with 218 votes and WILLIAM NEWMAN with 217 votes. The two unelected were CARMEN BATTAGLIA with 175 votes and finally STEVE GLADSTONE with 172 votes. The wise money was on GARVIN & SCULLY winning and with GLADSTONE & NEWMAN duking it out. So now CARMEN can go back on his cruise seminars and STEVE can field law suits against the Kennel Club, where he found his fame to begin with. But, you never know, both men could be back next year for another try, never say die. One change I would hope the board would make is when directors (because of their position as board members) are placed on other boards like the Canine Health Foundation or CAR, that when they are no longer directors
they also relinquish their positions in these affiliate organizations. In other words, it’s the position as a board member not the individual who holds the position. So now we get a month or two off until the next round of elections becomes fodder for the delegates. Handlers CHRIS MANELOPOULOS & RACHEL CORBIN just returned from a trip to Australia, from where CHRIS hails. It was a special reunion as CHRIS hadn’t been back home in twenty years. EDD BIVIN celebrated his birthday with a trip to Germany and Poland, so who needs sand and surf in March? An interesting referendum put to the voters of Switzerland last week that would have compelled all districts to hire lawyers to defend the rights of animals in court cases. The
thought behind the proposal was that those accused of mistreating animals have the right to an attorney in court and so should the animal. 71% of those voting rejected the proposal, a big blow to animal rights groups. Switzerland is said to have some of the toughest animal rights laws in the world. A 2008 law requires prospective dog owners to take a fourhour course before buying a pet. In a nod to our northerly neighbors, all of us at DOG NEWS are pleased to welcome ALLSION FOLEY, a well known and much traveled Canadian as our newest columnist. ALLSION will keep us abreast of what’s happening north of the border. She is a much welcomed addition and fills a big void in our reporting of all things dog show related.