Board Meeting

MINUTES OF THE YEARLY INPERSON BOARD MEETING

OCTOBER 23, 2021

Meeting called to order at 5:30 pm.

Present: Cheryl, Brenda R, Brenda K, Julie Aversa, Amber. Quorum not met for voting.

President Cheryl Loesch gave an overview of topics for future board discussion:

Website: Brittany Moorse, our new Webmaster, is conferring with the website host company to see if we can figure out what is happening with the form capture information for memberships. This is a primary focus right now.

Membership general info: In keeping with the national trend, there are several folks across the country who have put a hold on the hobby and thus have not renewed. There is a slight downward trend in new memberships and membership renewal. It is unclear how much of that might be due to issues with renewing online, and getting information to our club secretary. It has been suggested that District Directors be more directly engaged with their memberships to encourage new members and renewals. To this end, our secretary will be asked to send updated district membership lists every other month to Directors. There was some discussion on membership software applications that may allow for direct member input and payment; we will need to review these to see if they would be cost effective for the club, and if the data would be easily sharable to our Sweeps Chair, since membership and Sweeps are tightly integrated.

Newsletter: Changes to the appearance and delivery of the newsletter may be necessary in the near future. The board and club need to assess what role the newsletter plays in our business, and best delivery methods. It is not financially feasible to go back to printed and mailed newsletters, as the cost is prohibitive, so delivery and access will remain via some kind of online portal.

Overview of new Vote-in Process for colors that complete

“groups”: The ARBA Standards committee approved a process by which clubs can add some colors to complete groups (as defined by ARBA). Our Standard Committee will look at the process, which colors meet this process, and make recommendations for colors to be voted on by the membership for approval.

Committees: The Guidebook committee will continue its work on revising and updating the guidebook. The Education and Club Standards committee will begin their work in the new year. The Constitution and Bylaws Committee may require a new member appointment. A Nationals committee may need to be formulated to do the general work of soliciting and collecting bids for future nationals, as well as prompting the hosts to submit information by the required deadlines.

New Logo: In the coming year, we should look at commissioning a new logo; potentially this would be something that could come out of collaboration with the Education and Standards committees.

Treasurer’s Report: Brenda Reilly gave out copies of a comparative analysis of the last 3 years’ budgets and spending to show where we might need to adjust our expenses. She also gave a report of expenses year-to-date for our current fiscal year. We are running a little below our usual reserve due largely to cancelled shows and lack of income from sanctions over the past year, though these appear to be picking up again.

Golden Fleece Auction: Amber Henderson gave a report on this years’ auction donations, in which quite a few youth have participated. The donations took a bit more finesse this year, due to a drop in people being able to show and differences in how people approached breeding this year. There were not as many young seniors for breeders to select from as many breeders changed the timing of breedings. There will be a need to look at our rules and guidelines in the coming months to see what exceptions and changes make sense for our process.

Meeting adjourned at 6:30 pm.

MINUTES OF THE YEARLY INPERSON MEMBERSHIP MEETING

OCTOBER 23, 2021

Attending

Becky B, Steven Michelle & Cody Landis, Cody, Michael, Kathy M, Diedre, Helen

Membership meeting Reports President VP Treasurer Secretary

Board meeting 10/23/21. We did not have a quorum to vote. Board members discussed several items for review by the full board, including Membership renewal problems and needs; District Director responsibilities; Website needs, Guidebook Committee progress; Education Committee Progress.

GFA report (numbers donated, time to be there, etc) Oranges: Short update on Oranges

New Vote-in Variety Process from ARBA: certain colors can be voted in by ballots sent to club membership if they meet specific criteria. “Group Completion” varieties can be voted in by club membership if they are a recognized variety in the breed, i.e., we could vote in chocolate and lilac pointed whites to complete the AOV group. Other colors specifically mentioned were Otter, Silver Martin, Steel, Tortise Shell, and Tan. The NJWRC Standards Committee will take up the new proposal, get clarification on some questions, and make a recommendation for membership ballots. Raffle—why we didn’t do one this year, don’t get enough people to man the booth, online auction does better Open for Membership Questions and Concerns.

BK: idea for youth—polish gave all youth an apron (something for youth to promote) Thank yous to youth parents for running! Boutique: new shirt every year, smaller items, grooming items window clings, vinyl victory pass, Robin Estrella makes items

Michael Wolfe volunteered to help with Youth/FFA/4H promotion

Deidre: theme for 100th anniversary of ARBA “a century of change” for the booth have examples of changes in the breed.

The Fluff Wants Your Wooly Wins!

NJWRC Members, Do you have a great Wooly Win? Submit your wins to fluffeditor@gmail.com subject line: Fluff Win. Be sure to include: • Your Name, District # and State • Your Rabbit's Name, Variety, Class, & Sex • Date, Show Name, and Show Location • What award(s) your rabbit won

Attach a HIGH-RESOLUTION photo* of your rabbit (or you and your rabbit). Color photos are preferable, but not necessary.