MAY MINUTES

A meeting of the Katahdin German Shorthaired Pointer Club of Greater Portland was held on Sunday, May 16, 2004 at the home of Pauline and Steve Marcq. In attendance were Tom Dwyer, Jeremy Thompson, Pauline Marcq, Steve Marcq and Pat Russell.

President's Report: The minutes of the last meeting were accepted as printed in the last newsletter.

Tom Dwyer passed around the AKC 2003 Annual Report, pointing out that one of our members, Ken Marden, is on the AKC Board. He also passed around a Christmas card from Wilna Sarna, which included a picture of her with her grandchild. A discussion was held on the success of the new website, which he feels will be the focus of growth for the future.

Secretary's Report: Pat Russell reported on membership renewals to-date. Four people or couples have not yet renewed for the year. It was decided to not send them a newsletter until they renew. She will be updating the Membership List with email addresses, where known. She reported that Katahdin contact information has been updated at the GPSCA, Hobby of Champions, and Bird Dog News. She also passed out information on the New England Sporting Dog Association, which is sponsoring events in the area. Their events will be added to the Katahdin Calendar of Events.

Treasurer's Report: Jeremy Thompson reported that the account balance stands at $3,950, which includes $687.90 for Rescue. This amount does not include income and expenses from the May Hunt Test. Our dues to the GSPCA have been paid

Show Committee: Sandra Kretz delivered the Club's Doggy May Day basket to the Specialty Show as our contribution to their raffle. Jane Dwyer did a marvelous job of putting the basket together and wrapping it. There was discussion about sending a delegate to the National Specialty Show next year.

Hunt Test Committee: The May 1 & 2 Hunt Tests went very smoothly. Many thanks to all who worked to make them a success. It was recommended that there be an additional person to help out as needed. There were about 30-35 dogs attending each day, and we were pleased to see a number of new faces. Steve Marcq volunteered to Chair the Fall Hunt Test, Tom Dwyer will be the Secretary and Pat Russell will shadow. The Hunt Test Committee will be Steve, Tom, Pauline, Jeremy and Pat.

Rescue Committee: Discussion tabled.

Club Championship Committee: The Club Championship will be held on August 28th. Jeremy will follow up with Debra Broad regarding planning. It is recognized that we need to train enough people to know how to run a Hunt Test or a Club Championship so that the same people don't do it each time.

Election of New Members: No potential new members were presented..

Website Committee: A discussion was held on what we want on the website. It was suggested that we could separate links into categories, such as Members Links, Breeding Announcements, Other Clubs, Magazines and Newsletters, etc. If anyone wants to put in an announcement please send it to Kim Leeman.

Training Committee: Our Training Day in April went very well, and it was good to see some new members in attendance. The Training Committee consists of Jeremy Thompson, Suzi Moore, Jerry Newcombe, Carl Olsen and Steve Marcq. We had a sudden change of location due to the flooding of Sharp's Farm and ended up at the Wilderness Adventures Hunt & Angling Club in Hillsboro. The cost was slightly more, but people seemed to enjoy the new facility.

Old Business:

· AKC Hunt Test Seminar - tabled

· Membership Drive - Tom spent about 27 hours on the telephone contacting former members and those who had not yet paid their 2004 dues. His efforts paid off, as we have many renewals.

· Team Shoot - we need a date, place and someone to run it.

· Katahdin Decals - Tommy will order more. They are available on the website or by email.

· Good Sportsman Awards - Need to be completed, then will be handed out.

New Business:

· Life Member Nomination - It was decided that there could be one Life Membership granted per year. Ken Marden was voted a Life Membership this year.

· Club merchandise sold well at the Hunt Test. More hats will be ordered in the two-tone beige. We still have quite a few orange hats.

· Discussion of the John Sarna Day Event was tabled

· Tom led a discussion of making PayPal available on the website for purchases of Club merchandise, payments of Hunt Test fees and Club dues.

· Membership lists will be included in the next newsletter.

The next meeting will be potluck at Pat Russell and Fred Newcomb's home at 5PM, Sunday, July 18th. All members are welcome. The meeting was adjourned at 7:25 PM.

Respectfully submitted:

Pat Russell
Secretary