The BLU board met by teleconference on the evening of Tuesday, June 9th.
Outgoing treasurer Cindy Cieciwa gave her report, stating that she has recently sent newly appointed secretary /treasurer Lisa Rodenfels all the records, files, checkbooks, and the most recent Quickbook financial recordsThe association is down on memberships, transfers, and registrations compared to last year at this time. The treasury is down $362 in income year to date. This could change as members often wait and do their paperwork in one batch later in the year.
Since the former secretary has not yet submitted the August 6th minutes to the board, approval of these minutes was tabled until the next meeting. The board was provided with the notes that former president Lisa Rodenfels took during that meeting, and used them to help inform themselves of old business.
Because Margaret VanCamp ran for and was elected to the President’s position while a sitting Vice-president, that position is empty. In accordance with bylaw provisions Cindy Cieciwa was appointed by the board to fill this term, which ends in 2015.
Newly appointed Genetics Committee Chair Heather Landin gave an update on the status of ovine semen imports from the UK to the USA. USDA has reopened the border to semen importations, but there are still roadblocks. Heather says it may be the date that semen was collected, and that the blood testing may not have been done correctly by Inovis. Because of this, each ram is being looked at by USDA on a case by case basis to be sure that the testing protocol was correctly followed. Heather is staying on top of it with USDA, the UK owners, and Inovis and feels positive that her 4 rams will eventually be approved by USDA and the semen allowed to enter the US.
There are some housekeeping duties on the website which the board is addressing. The membership list on the website has not been updated for two years, and is seriously out of date. The board feels it is imperative that this is corrected promptly, as one of the major benefits of membership is that potential breeding stock and fiber customers use this list to source purchases.
There are also some outdated downloadable forms in the registration section, and these will be updated and posted.
There will be a breed display at the Black Sheep Gathering this year thanks to new board member, Karen Szewc. Karen has banners from Robina Koenig, and will print off some judging cards, flyers, etc from the BLU website.
The board welcomes comments and concerns from members. Please contact any board member to have your issue addressed during quarterly meetings.