I received a phone call this morning, fortunately I was not available
to take the call. I then received an email with a few questions.
> Hi Heather,
> I received your post to alpacasite and I wanted to discuss some of
> the questions you raise. Please give me a call at your earliest
> convenience my home number is xxx-xxx-xxxx. Some of the points I
> would like to discuss are:
> · Difference between livestock breed associations and pet
> show systems
> · Why AOBA has a for profit subsidiary
> · Please explain to me what you mean by, "But somehow, I
> just don't believe all of what "They" from AOBA tell us, because of
> so much hanky panky and the dangerous ethical environment" there..."
> · How AOBA communicates with eBlasts, some of the
> challenges we face with electronic communication and where they are
> stored for member use.
> · Question, are you a member of AOBA I do not find you
> listed in the 2008 directory?
Hmm. Well first of all, I never post on alpacasite, and almost never
read the thing.
And we've been over these issues before. But many of us still don't
buy the narratives we're fed. And I refuse to be hassled on the
telephone, put on the spot, and pressured by anyone.
Funny, AOBA is somehow vastly different than AKC. Yet AOBA can also
not be compared to say, the Cattlemen's Assn., which I suggested that
the AOBA membership dues schedule should emulate. Somehow, that
parallel isn't appropriate, either. They can say all day long this is
not the same as that and the other. Is AKC just a dog show system? I
don't think so.
Why AOBA has a for profit subsidiary. Yes, we all know what we've
been told. But as I said, many of us do not believe the story,
because many other marketing orgs have publications that are not
required to be run by a for-profit.
What do I mean by that statement. Well, see above. And the "Dangerous
Ethical Environment" statement was made by an AOBA board member who
suddenly resigned a few months ago. Shocked many of us, and we're
left wondering what exactly _really_ happened. One board member
resigned last summer, stating other responsibilities as the reason,
one board member was forced to resign, at least that's how it looks
to a lot of us, and then this board member suddenly and mysteriously
resigns. I dunno, looks pretty toxic to me.
Um, let's see. eBlasts. Ok.
And finally, am I a member of AOBA? Well, I did pay my dies in 2008,
after the cutoff for inclusion in the print directory. I'm sure there
were lots of people who did the same. And no, I have not renewed for
2009 yet. It's been a tough year.
I don't approve of nor appreciate strong-arm tactics to keep the
membership under control, or the chilling effect of being singled out
and "educated". If "They" want us to know what is going on, make it
public and transparent! Tell everyone!
Anyway, that's my story.
Heather
And I'll attach a copy of most of a very nice alpaca politics post by
my good friend John Merrell, I truncated it a little bit. Yes, John
and I sometimes agree, sometimes not. But when I agree with him, I
really agree! But this speaks to that statement of mine regarding the
"hanky panky". And, there's lots of stuff he didn't even mention,
like a former AOBA board pres who was forced to resign and barred
from ever holding office again due to his diversion of leads lists
for his own use. Hmm.
> Do Boards make rather surprising announcements sometimes without
> seeking input from the general membership? I can think of a few...
>
> * Dumping ALSA and creating a new AOBA show division
> * Dumping UC Davis and taking DNA testing in house
> * Dumping ILA and taking registry maintenance in house (followed by
> two years of major disorganization)
> * Dumping the Hobarts and hiring a new contractor to administer AOBA
> * Dumping the new contractor and taking AOBA administration in house
> * Moving Corporate Headquarters to a building owned by a sitting
> Director
> * The creation of a new, for profit subsidiary of AOBA
> * Moving the National Conference from Kentucky to Ohio
> * Seeking merger of ARI and AOBA
> * Significant changes to show rules, almost on an annual basis
>
> Now, I am getting old and my memory is not what it once was. Perhaps
> you could remind me of your or Jerry's involvement in any of the
> above events? I can't quite keep track of who was sitting on which
> Board of Directors when anymore.
>
> Do committees dissolve or get disbanded? It would appear that they
> do on occasion.
>
> * AOBA education committee (2008)
> * AOBA Show Committee (2003)
>
> Again, my memory just isn't what it once was. Perhaps you could
> remind us all who sat on the AOBA Board of Directors during those
> times?
>
> Is it not the primary purposes of a Board of Directors to set policy
> and strategic direction of the organization?
>
> Let's look at the list sent out by the AOBA Board, without drama:
>
> Objective #1: Develop and promote national and regional qualification
> show system based on commercial trades.
> Objective #2: Create and promote a sustainable health management
> model.
> Objective #3: Create national end production marketing program
> similar to
> "certified angus beef."
> Objective #4: To improve member benefits (increase "no additional
> charge"
> benefits to membership
> Objective #5: Create and promote a sustainable end products production
> model
>
> Now, that looks to me like a Breed Association (as opposed to a
> Marketing Group). While the devil is in the details, the framework
> is certainly covered there.
>
> 1. Shows
> 2. Breed Health
> 3. Product Certification/Branding
> 4. Member Benefits
> 5. Production Models
>
> The thing "missing" is a specific item for marketing of live animals.
>
> Let's go through that list in a bit more detail
>
> 1. Shows - The AOBA memberhip has complained for a long, long time
> about shows. SLC is NOT a west coast venue. Cost are too high. The
> National Show is too big, too far away, cost prohibitive, etc. etc.
> Looking at this with an open mind, it would appear that the Board may
> be responding to years of complaints by looking at new ideas for
> addressing member concerns. A qualifying system could be as simple
> as "The animal must have placed in a local or regional show," which
> would not be an undue burden on most owners - particularly if costs
> were brought down. Further, a smaller national show might well be
> less expensive, more accessible, and carry greater prestige.
> 2. Health - it was only a year ago that there was great wailing and
> gnashing of teeth about AOBA's failure to respond to the "snots".
> Again, perhaps the Board is listening to the concerns of the
> membership, and is committing to dedicating Association resources
> tohealth issues?
> 3. Product Marketing/Certification - A large number of owners have
> been seeking the development of a North American fiber industry for a
> long time. Perhaps the Board is listening, and looking at ways to
> actively market North American produced fiber
> 4. Improved Member Benefits - This has been an ongoing issue for
> almost a decade, with many, many members complaining about the lack
> of benefits. Member retention has been a major problem over the past
> few years. The subject has been beat to death on any number of chat-
> lines. Well, maybe not to death, since there is a thread on this
> subject over on the AlpacaNation forums even as I write these words.
> Perhaps the Board is listening to the membership, and beginning to
> address these concerns.
> 5. End Product Production Model - Again, many have been clamoring for
> focus to be placed on a fiber industry. Perhaps the Board is
> listening, and committing to dedicate Association resources to the
> development of a sustainable model fir such an industry.
>
> An open mind might conclude that there is nothing to be upset about.
> The list contains nothing more than broad statements about general
> areas needing to be addressed.
>
> It is a framework, one to be filled in over time.
>
> I would hope that as the details are filled in that there is member
> involvement in that process - because I'll tell you, I have a lot of
> thoughts about the whole fiber industry/end product subjects,
> thoughts based on the hard won knowledge gained of experience in
> trying to piece together a workable model involving thousands of
> small scale producers spread across most of the North American
> continent.
>
> What I don's see is the sky falling.
>
> What I do see is a potential threat to the AOBA Marketing (only)
> Machine that has existed for the past several years - a model that
> provides far more benefit to large breeders than small. Yes, in this
> case it is a large/small paradigm, since the large breeder stands to
> get a much better return on the investment of a much smaller
> percentage of gross income. In other words, a small breeder getting
> perhaps $30k in annual sales might spend as much as 20% of sales on
> marketing (assuming a $5k investment to be a Platinum Sponsor,
> Marketing Program, Show Division member) where a large breeder
> grossing $1 million would be spending 1/2 of 1% of gross income for
> the exact same services. This is the basic inequity that has led to
> the raging success of such services as AlpacaNation.
>
> And, it is an inequity that will have immediate and dramatic effects
> on the business models of any number of large(r) breeders should AOBA
> choose to shift resources away from marketing and into traditional
> Breed Association activities. Large breeders will simply no longer
> be subsidized by small breeders.
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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