P. O. Box 8534
Columbia, South Carolina29202
Founded in and serving the Greater Columbia area since 1968.
Minutes of the GCOC Board Meeting held February 23, 2017,at the GCOC Training Building, Columbia, SC.
Call to Order: President Peggy Langdoncalled the meeting to order at 6:37 p.m. Memberspresent: Peggy Langdon, Robbie Black, Christi Cooper, Joanne McDonald, Diana Krause, Nell Jenkins, Tracy Seiler, Mitch Mitchiner, Renee Graham, and Gayle Mitchiner. Members absent: Diane Sanderson. TheJanuary minutes were approved as posted.
President’s Report: Peggyshared that the Finance Committee had met and worked out the budget for 2017. After going over the recommendations, Mitch made a motion to accept the budget, with Nell seconding it. The 2017 budget was tentatively approved and will be presented to the General Membership at the March meeting for final approval. Peggy reported that the Fenzi seminar had 10 working spots on Sat and 25 audit spots. Sunday there are 10 working spots with 15 audits. The board discussed whether or not to ask Denise Fenzi to return next year or branch out to other trainers. It was agreed that we would try to work out a rotating schedule with Denise while also looking for additional trainers to share their expertise. Several possible trainers were discussed, and we will look for possible weekends for additional seminars.
Vice President’s Report (Programs): Robbie told us that Kathy Evans will present a program on Conquering Ring Nerves at our March meeting. He is still firming up other programs for the year.
Secretary’s Report: Gayle reported that she had sent sympathy cards to two of our members on the loss of their dogs. Marti lost Skip and Melissa lost Trystan.
Treasurer’s Report: Christi presented the monthly financial report in two forms, the long and short versions. It was agreed that the simpler the report that is given to the membership, the easier it is to understand.
Agility Training Director’s Report: Weave Pole classes are starting this week, Tom and Diana are teaching classes at Booker’s Field but seriously need help finding additional instructors. There was a discussion on how to recruit instructors for agility as most people who have been training for awhile, but still don’t feel confident teaching classes.
Agility Trial Committee Report: Diana said that there are two trials scheduled for April, April 6-9 and 26-30. She is looking for workers to set up on Wednesday. Diana and her son plan to rent a truck and move the equipment to the trial site. The board will work to help find people to help set up for the trial. The April General Membership meeting is being moved to the 13th to avoid a conflict with the trial on the 6th. The Agility Committee has decided that there will be only one April trial in 2018.
Obedience Training Director’s Report: Renee reported that classes are full for the next session with waiting lists for several. There will be a Reactive Dog class in the next session. It was decided to call it, “Too Wired to Work,” rather than Reactive Dogs. There was a question as to whether or not audits would be allowed. Renee will check with Hannah and get back with us. Renee is concerned that equipment is being damaged, not returned to original location, and generally mishandled. She would like to tear down the small building in the back room when the agility equipment is moved and put either shelves or smaller rooms similar to the ones now being used. It was agreed that additional storage would be helpful, but until that can be arranged, she will make signs indicating where equipment should be returned, and encourage members to be more careful with our expensive training equipment.
Obedience/RallyTrial Committee:No report.
Events Committee:The All Novice Trial was very successful. Kudos to our judge, Kathy Evans, and to the committee who worked to make things go smoothly. The financial report from the trial hasn’t been worked out yet, but Nell will get back with us. The C-WAGS Trial on March 11 and 12 is moving forward with one judge on Saturday and two on Sunday. Nell is looking for stewards. The Shadow Dog logo that had previously been used for agility was now approved for use on all Shadow Dog activities.
Membership: Peggy reported that the Membership Committee had been formed. Members will be Renee, Jaye, Nell, Kathy, and Peggy. They met to begin the discussion on ways to encourage club participation, membership expectations, categories of membership, and membership fees. We will hear more from this committee as they prepare their recommendations.
Technology:Tracy is working on a spreadsheet that will allow members to sign up online for a variety of purposes. Hopefully, this will help with finding stewards who can work at specific times. She hopes to have it ready for the April Agility Trial.
Building Committee: Mitch reported that the lights had been replaced and the front door had been repaired.
Unfinished Business: None
New Business:Peggy reported that Jaye has asked permission to pursue a C Match in conjunction with the Pembroke Club before our May Obedience Trial. The board agreed with this and approval was given.
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Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at 8:20p.m.
Gayle Mitchiner, Secretary, GCOC