CDC Board Fall Zoom Meeting Minutes (continued)

ported that the Eastern Region has two viable candidates and Jeremy Crouch reported that the North Central committee was having a difficult time coming up with another person to run currently.

By-Law Committee: Linda Mastin and Bob Schembs reported on the very minor updating of wording and a couple housekeeping issues that needs to be done. After much discussion they will present an edited version of the by-laws for Deb to put in the Winter Newsletter and final voting will take place at the Annual Meeting in March.

NEW BUSINESS:

2023 National Sale & Annual Meeting: The National Sale for Polled & Horned Dorset Breeding Sheep will be at the Ohio Dorset Sale, Greenville, OH on March 17 & 18 and the 2023 Dorset Wether Sires & Dams and Dorset Advantage will be at the Midwest Stud Ram Sale in Sedalia, MO on June 14-17. Deb noted that Sedalia is shortening up by one day but it doesn’t have a great effect on the Dorsets except the wether sires and dams will be shown on Thursday and sold on Saturday. Fitted Dorsets will be shown on Wednesday and sold on Friday, and will be housed in the Sheep Barn. The CDC Annual Membership Meeting and Hall of Fame Induction will be at the Ohio Dorset Sale on Friday, March 17 soon after the sale show. The CDC Board meeting will be Thursday evening at 6:00 PM, Deb will get a meeting room at the sale headquarters. Next year is the 125th anniversary of the CDC. Deb is getting a special anniversary logo developed to be used on awards, banners and promotional items next year. Deb will contact the Ohio Dorset breeders to see if we can do something a bit more elaborate for the social hour/party with the CDC sponsoring. It was also suggested to come up some special promotional items for the consignors and buyers at the National Sales, both Ohio and Sedalia.

NAILE National Dorset Shows: Directors in attendance reported on the 2023 shows at NAILE. The show numbers were very steady from last year. Deb reported that all banners, rosettes and mint julep cups were presented and the help in the show rings was back up to normal. Thank you to Charlie Inbody, Nick Miniter and Ron Waldron for serving as the slick shearing inspectors/educators.

2023 Judge Nominations were selected for the ballots as follows: Polled Fitted/Horned Dorsets: Skip Anderson, Brad Angus, Jeremy Etzler, Chris Meyer and Polled Slick Shorn: Brent Jennings, Brad Angus, Mike Stitzlein, and Casey Sidwell. These names will be put on the ballots send out to NAILE exhibitors for preference ranking submitted to NAILE. As soon as the voting is completed by the exhibitors Deb will take it upon to contact the first choices to get them on board so matter when the get contacted by NAILE they will be prepared and have it saved on their personal calendars. Deb also asked the board for some Junior Show judge suggestions as there will need to be new judges needed and the names of Tim Gadsby, Aaron Crome and Nick Miniter were suggested along with Aimee Rueber for Breeding Sheep Showmanship.

2023 Regional Junior Dorset Show Sites: The sites for the upcoming 2023 Regional Dorset Shows are:

- New England: Northeast Youth Sheep Show, West Springfield, MA July 14-16

- Eastern: TBA looking into Harrisburg/Maryland State Fair

- Great Lakes: Ohio State Fair, Columbus, OH July

- North Central: TBA looking into it being in Illinois as a standalone show

- Great Plains: TBA looking at Pistol Pete Classic, Stillwater, OK Late July

- Western: TBA looking at Oregon State Fair once again

Secretary’s Travel: The board requested that the executive secretary personally attend the 2023 National Sale at the Ohio Dorset Sale, May Ohio Showcase Sale if possible, All American Junior Show in Wisconsin and NAILE. Deb will make arrangements to get the class winning photos from Sedalia posted to the CDC Facebook page and will promote sale from afar on the Facebook page. Rachael Gately or Katherine Kuykendall possibilities for getting pictures posted.

- Bob Schembs brought up a couple of topics to be put on the next meeting agenda, looking at the registration of DA rams and any adjustments to the DA breed standard on color patterns. Deb will get on agenda for March meeting. Also, discussion of Normal Horned sheep and the definition of them and where they belonged in the purebred Dorset breed. It was decided for Deb to write an informative article for the Winter Dorset connection.

Glenn Stunkel moved to adjourn the meeting. Motion seconded by Linda Mastin. Meeting was adjourned at 11:00 PM.

Respectively submitted, Debra Hopkins, CDC Secretary/Treasurer

Cdc Celebrating Its 125th Year In 2023

2023 will bring the Continental Dorset Club’s 125th birthday! The CDC developed a special 125th Anniversary logo that will appear on all of the CDC sponsored awards for the year and we will also be celebrating with some special promotional items sporting the special anniversary logo. Thank you to Katherine Kuykendall for designing it for us! The Annual Membership Meeting at the 2023 Ohio Dorset Sale will be where the 125th celebration will primarily take place and kick off. Stay tuned on the CDC Facebook page for details. Promotional items are being ordered with the 125th logo and they will be first available at the Annual Meeting in Ohio and then later in the year at major events or by contacting the CDC office.

The CDC has worked hard promoting the Dorset breed and its influence in the US Sheep industry for the past 125 years, inside and outside of the show ring. The major focus being on meeting all Dorset breeder needs no matter what type of Dorset they raise to satisfy their breeding program goals. The CDC registers and supports Polled Dorsets, Horned Dorsets and Dorset Advantages whether they are frame, production, or wether type oriented. Programs have been done over the past 25 years to encourage the Dorset breed characteristics to remain a major focus of the breed and to keep its ease of out of season breeding an important part of the breed along with its proficient lambing, excellent mothering and milking abilities in the barn and field. Them providing these maternal traits along with great carcass qualities to boot makes the Dorset breed an important piece in the commercial sheep industry.

The CDC remains focused on promoting the Dorset breed among junior folks as they have developed an ever expanding

Dorset futurity program, the National Junior Dorset Association, the hugely popular Ewes For Youth Grant program, the Annual Tracy Repasky Scholarship Award, supports six regional Junior Shows every year plus the All American Junior Show and National Junior Dorset Shows at the North American Livestock Exposition. Junior involvement in the Dorset breed is also important for breed growth. The CDC also started the Dorset Advantage registry to promote and identify the purebred Dorset genetics in the crossbred scenarios of wether type show sheep. Juniors love to buy these animals with all of their varying color patterns and the program has introduced many new young breeders into the Dorset breed.

The CDC office has modernized in the past 25 years and has much more to do. Making the office as efficient as possible and to communicate on a regular basis with its membership has been a priority. Providing quick turnaround registration service to breeders has always been the top priority. Times have changed, and the CDC deals with many new breeders and owners that have come into the breed, as much more time is spent educating new folks to the Dorset breed and it’s registry process. Ease of getting registration applications into the office has become more digital over the years but breeder integrity is still of utmost importance in the registry process. The CDC maintains that integrity on their end and expects the same of its membership and breeders.

The Dorset breed continues to play an important part in the US Sheep industry and the main reason for that is the breed attributes themselves. It is actually a pretty easy job to talk to interested future sheep raisers on the breed attributes and what Dorsets can contribute to a sheep operation: commercial, farm flock or junior project. The CDC will continue to promote and support the Dorset breed to ensure its future in the US for the next 125 years!