April 16, 2010

Sometimes life does not always deal us a good hand.  At those times of health, family and business circumstances we all must set our priorities, knowing we can always play again.

Such is the case with two of our board members.  The TASAA Board of Directors has regretfully accepted the resignation of our President, Edyna Shaw and our Vice President, Ruth Vanderhoof. We all thank Edyna for her service to the board and getting our newsletter, Toy Talk, out during her term.  Ruth's contribution to the Club and Breed is beyond words.   None of us would be here without her.  However, she has graciously agreed to continue to serve the club.  The board has named her as Honorary Consultant.  Her guidance as we move forward will be greatly valued.

According to our Constitution, the remaining board members are to vote in the officers to replace those positions vacated until the end of the term.  We had a Special meeting on 4/15/10 to accomplish that objective.   

The results are:

Shirley Shannon moved from Director to President.   I will continue as membership chairman until the remainder of the board is elected or possibly the remainder of the term.  We did not want to change the addresses for new or renewal members mid-stream.

Julie Causey moved from Secretary to Vice President.  She will continue with Secretarial duties until that office is filled also to keep continuity with our National so close.

Secretary - Vacant

Stephenie Rose will remain as Treasurer.   She is also our Show Chairperson for 2010.

Jim Howard - Director, Show committee in charge of Toy Bucks.

Kelli Reichert - Director, Toy Talk editor, Show committee

Patti Moore - Director, Show Committee in charge of trophies.  Patti was a front runner in the officer's election in 2010 but there were not enough available positions.

As your new President and with the help of the board, I hope to achieve a transparency that will inspire our membership to want to come forward and be a part of the advancement of not only the Breed but the Club as well.  One idea that was approved is the inception of a "TASAA Members Only" Yahoo group discussion list.

All current members will be invited.   We hope that you watch for the invitation and join in.   If there are any club issues, breed issues, show issues, ideas, desires, whatever, we hope you will bring it to the list for discussion.   Discussion, even though you may disagree, should be kept respectful because everyone has a right to their opinion. Most important to remember is that although the board members may be a participant in some discussions, they will NOT monitor the list. If, after discussion on the list, the members feel the issue needs to go further, THEY will be responsible to write or email the secretary with the details of their request.  Then it can be made a board meeting agenda item and action taken... not just list talk.  The
board welcomes all input from the membership.

We will have committees to work on fine tuning our Breed Standard, possibly taking a good look at our Constitution, a Standing Rules committee for policies that vary with time and situation and maybe some sort of Judges Selection committee to come up with the qualifications we expect from them and a few choice names for the future.  If you have ideas on any of these issues, please volunteer.

Send your intent of interest to the Secretary (TASAASecretary@gmail.com) or myself.

I feel honored to have been asked to fill the Presidential position and hope to prove worthy of that trust.

Thank you,

Shirley Shannon

ShirleyTASAA@gmail.com
T O Y   A U S T R A L I A N   S H E P H E R D   A S S O C I A T I O N   O F   A M E R I C A

T O Y   A U S T R A L I A N   S H E P H E R D   A S S O C I A T I O N   O F   A M E R I C A

Thank you for visiting the
Toy Australian Shepherd Association of America's Website.

"Our Mission is to join together and work toward the recognition and betterment of the Toy Australian Shepherd, always keeping in mind that the type (impression) should be that of the Australian Shepherd."
Presidents Message