Thank you to all that took the time to comment on my first posting and for the encouraging words. One of the advantages of this communication format is that it can be dynamic and address subjects in “real-time”. Almost every week, I provide an update to the Board of Directors on things happening in the office. I hope to leverage that report in some of my posts to you.
Having said that, I feel like there is a lot of recent activity to catch up on. For example, in June I had the privilege of attending an International Congress of Kennel Clubs that was hosted by The Kennel Club in London, England. When I first heard about the invitation, I quickly nominated our Chair, Bob Rowbotham, to make a presentation on behalf of CKC which he graciously agreed to.
69 delegates representing 29 different countries attended the Congress and overall, the experience was very positive and worthwhile. Bob presented an overview of CKC, the Animal Pedigree Act and showcased some major initiatives such as the IT4YOU project. It provided a positive and new profile for Canada and the CKC on the world stage. It also created valuable new contacts in the industry. There was a sort of bittersweet comfort in hearing about issues common to almost all kennel clubs: declining volumes, supporting youth, competitive forces, counterproductive legislation and weak promotion and communication, but the Congress also showcased examples of innovation and ideas being used to address the issues.
I was particularly impressed by comments from Clemente Giorgio from the Italian delegation who made some eloquent observations regarding strategy and communications that accentuate the positive and promote our heritage. Some comments that stuck with me: “Since 1993, all laws related to dog breeding must be vetted by the Italian Kennel Club,” “…instead of banning hunting events, we are promoting them as a means to control the environment naturally,” and “…our first metric for a dog’s performance is it’s ‘lifespan.’”
This event was a “one off” but based on the feedback, I am hopeful that we will be fortunate enough to see another one organized over the coming years.
One of the aspects I have been looking forward to the most with the creation of this blog is being able to answer questions and interact directly with membership. I will take some time during every blog post to answer a few questions that were posted on my previous blog entry. Here are some questions from last week.
Question 1 from Linda Williams:
How are or are there still talks going on about CKC acknowledging Therapy Canine as AKC does.
Answer: Yes, a task group is working on the final phases of the plan with the intent to present for approval in 2017 and development in 2018.
Question 2 from Roy Aitchison:
Has the Board considered ways to increase membership not only in the national club but at the local level as well?
Answer: The Board considers support for all clubs from various perspective such as rule changes for events, promoting their engagement in breed issues (e.g. recognition, standards, ROE) with an ultimate goal of encouraging entries and membership.