MINUTES
BOARD OF DIRECTORS' MEETING
of the Outgoing Board
September 22, 2005

The Big E Fairgrounds, W. Springfield, MA

The meeting was called to order by President Sue Barker at 7:05 P.M. Present were Steve Shafer, Ed Julian, David Day, Cindy Cieciwa, Carla Hellander, Sue Barker, Margaret Walters, Jean Kamenicky, Larry Bullock. Absent were Maria Rooney, Lois Aylestock and Kelly Ward.

Minutes - Jean read a re-cap of the approved minutes of the teleconference meeting in April 2005.

Treasurers report – Jean reported that ARBA is in much better shape financially. We ended the fiscal year with some money ahead ……………….$2396.71. The boards actions to increase registration and transfer fees plus the withdrawal last fall of some savings to get caught up has allowed ARBA to remain financially stable. As of August 31, 2005 the Junior checking account had $2350.37. As of September 13, 2005, the ARBA checking account had $2739.40.

Budget – Sue handed out the previously approved printed budget for 2005-06. It also showed the comparison of the 2004-05 budget and actual numbers. Discussion followed including savings, proposed savings and the improved financial condition of ARBA.

OLD BUSINESS –

2005 National Show – Carla reported that we are below budget. We will make 2% on the sale. As of this meeting time we have 65 reservations for the Friday night banquet.

Election results – Jean reported that 302 ballots were sent out to paid active members and 110 ballots were received back. It was discussed that the nominating committees when contacting possible nominees need to tell more about the position and the financial commitments for travel to meetings. We will work on this going forward.

Audit report – David handed out a written report to the board which stated that the “Audit Committee concluded that the books were in order and that the income and expense statement fairly reflected the financial condition of ARBA. The Committee did not discover any apparent discrepancy in the income and expense records.” The Committee made suggestions for a physical examination of the books in the future “not to suggest any concern of impropriety but simply good business practice.” “A complete inventory of personal property should be compiled” and “consideration should be given to either obtaining liability insurance or confirming that due to state laws and/or nature of ARBA activity, insurance is not warranted.” The suggestion was made that, in addition to the CD back-up that Jean does regularly on the Registry program, another back-up CD be taken to an “off location” regularly.

Registration Forms – With our new format in place we need a couple changes; 1. larger print; 2. label sire and dam; 3. add a fourth line to breeder to allow for farm name and individual name. Also, David suggested getting the form on the website that could be filled out on the computer and then printed off and mailed to the ARBA office. David will ask his son-in-law to look into this for us.

Ed mentioned an idea for National Shows that exhibitors needed to be ARBA members and he so moved. Cindy seconded and the motion was carried. It was also discussed that when breeders sell to juniors that it would be nice if the seller paid for a one year membership for the junior.

The board reviewed the new American Romney booklet and the leaflets. Both are now in color and a nice improvement. The booklets are given to new members and the leaflets are handouts for fairs and gatherings.

NEW BUSINESS –

2006 Annual meeting - Steve moved to have the meeting at the Western Washington Fair, Puyallup, WA. Margaret seconded and the motion was carried. Maybe the District 5 Regional will be there too.

Ramblings Youth Reporter - David moved to table this item pending the Youth Committee report in the new board meeting. Larry seconded. There was discussion then the motion was carried.

Sue thanked outgoing District Directors Carla Hellander, Larry Bullock and absent Kelly Ward for their service to ARBA.

Cindy moved to adjourn, Steve seconded and the meeting was adjourned at 8:40 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Jean Kamenicky, Secretary/Treasurer

APPROVED

MINUTES
BOARD OF DIRECTORS' MEETING
of the New Board
September 25, 2005

The Big E Fairgrounds, W. Springfield, MA

The meeting was called to order by President Sue at 9:03 A.M.

Those present were Sue Barker, Ed Julian, John Shelton, Maria Rooney, Toni Scholder, David Day, Margaret Walters, Cindy Cieciwa, Steve Shafer, Joanne Smith and Jean Kamenicky. Absent was Lois Aylestock.

The board members introduced themselves as well as the regional area that they serve.

It was agreed that it was a very successful annual meeting, banquet and silent auction on Friday night……………all there had a good time.

The Banner Sales results were passed around for the board members to see.

The new promotional item……………the ARBA notebook……….. was presented for the board to see.

President Sue handed out the approved budget to the new Directors. We discussed the timing of the board meetings, the duties of being a director, work done by emails and responsibilities were discussed.

Steve moved to keep Jean as the Secretary/Treasurer for another year. Ed seconded and the motion was carried.

A report was given on the income from the Miss Romney Barnes ewe lamb raffle…………it was estimated approximately $1200.00

Joanne had questions on the “Baby Ruth” line of the quarterly report. Discussion followed and it was explained by several members of the old board.

Sue requested that Jean create a spreadsheet for the Junior account which will include the six districts and the NAILE Junior Show. The money is kept in one separate account but divided on paper.

Promotional – Maria gave a presentation for a forum of sales/shows for ARBA using possibly the sales in Reno and Springfield. She encouraged the board to seriously consider having these sales to get Romneys in the forefront of the sheep industry. Reno is popular………it’s a 3 day event and we need 20 head with white and colored and limited bucks. Springfield puts the sheep where more juniors are located. There are lots of transport options from both sales. There was much discussion about the possibilities of these sales. Toni moved to investigate with Greg Deakin for Reno and/or Springfield on an annual basis. Then there was more discussion. Cindy seconded and the motion was carried. Maria will contact Greg.

Youth Committee – David handed out report sheets to the board. One was the results of his Romney youth survey and the other listed suggested goals and possible activities for the youth. The board reviewed these and much discussion followed. From that discussion, a youth mission statement was developed. Toni moved to accept the mission statement. There was more discussion and it was recognized there’s a need for a youth advisory group to establish templates. Maria seconded and the motion was carried. The Youth Mission Statement is: “To encourage youth to care and maintain Romney sheep as a way of learning responsibility. To encourage youth to join with other Romney youth to learn sportsmanship, enhance social skills, ethical behavior, leadership traits and a better understanding of success and failure.” David will coordinate getting an advisory committee together to establish different activities for youth and have guidelines on how to structure the activity. It was suggested that there be a “tab” on the home page of the ARBA website for the Junior page. So we will get a specific tab for juniors with activities, stories and pictures and useful information.

Youth Reporter - Steve moved that Stuart Watson’s application for the position advertised for a youth reporter be selected for the Ramblings Junior reporter. Ed seconded and the motion was carried.

2007 National Show - David moved to have the 2007 National show at NAILE. Margaret seconded and the motion was carried. President Sue asked Ed to be in charge of the national show, Ed accepted. It was mentioned to have the 2007 national sale at Springfield which would be separate from the show which is late in the year.

NSIP - Steve had previously sent board members a printout of NSIP progress and his recommendations. The board spent time discussing NSIP.

Romney List on Yahoo - Steve recommended to the board that they commend Mary Pratt for her Romney List………..recognizing that the list has no affiliation with ARBA. Toni seconded and the motion was carried. The list provides useful information and discussions about all breeds. Contact Mary Pratt if you are interested.

John moved that the meeting be adjourned. David seconded and the meeting was adjourned at 11:55 A.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Jean Kamenicky
APPROVED