AKCA Minutes of January 9, 2009

AKCA Minutes of February 10, 2012

Officers Present Directors Present Guests Chair: Kristine Peterson Louie Hernandez Vice Chair: Mike Frady Burt Ballou Secretary: Carole Elliott Jerry Kyle CFO: Doug Dahl Brenda Chandler Joan Finnegan Bob Finnegan Charles Phelps Don Chandler

Message from the Chair

You may have noticed that Doug Dahl has ‘unretired’ and is running for re-election. There are some unusual motions in the Nominations Committee report. There are some hostile threads on the Internet. What do these things have in common? I thought it only appropriate to tell the clubs what’s been going on from my perspective.

For some time now, I believe the AKCA Board has been under attack from a few, but very vocal, individuals who want to abolish the organization which has served our clubs so long and so well. They’ve been twisting and using our rules against us to further their hostile takeover attempts.

They would replace the AKCA with an organizational structure yet to be presented to the Board but which by all accounts would abolish it. It would get rid of the current Board members and replace them with a group of new directors, ones who have no understanding of or respect for the fact that we are a corporation, not a club – a corporation which has been providing services and benefits to clubs like yours for many years now.

This takeover isn’t about services and benefits; no, it’s strictly about who gets to drive the AKCA bus. The new drivers want to burn the old road maps and skip the training.

The clubs we represent have told us they don’t want this takeover so we’ve recently coalesced as a Board to block this hostile takeover; first it came through the By-laws Committee and then it came through the Nominations Committee (notice the series of 9-2 votes). In short, we did what was necessary to protect the organization and its commitment to its clubs.

So if your club wants to support and maintain the AKCA as you’ve known it for years then vote YES on the ballot. If you want to abolish the AKCA’s current structure and turn the organization over to a group of yet to be identified directors (with destination, services and benefits unknown) then vote NO.

And, yes, it really is that simple.

Sincerely, Kristine Peterson Chairperson, AKCA

Board Highlights:  If you’re a KHA, please contact Jerry Kyle for input on “Where Do We Go From Here?”  2012 AKCA Business Meeting/Banquet – KHA Wet Lab to be held in Fresno June 30-July 1  Please let your AKCA rep/contact know of any concerns your club may have!  Koi Person of the Year, Koi of the Year and Champion of Champions due by May 1st  Ballots being sent out for 2012-2013 Officers Page 2

The meeting was called to order by Chairperson Kristine Peterson at 6:03 p.m.

Before the formal meeting, Kristine addressed a series of requests from Mike:

Mike’s request for a surrogate in the room: In order to fulfill his duties as Vice Chair and in order to assist the chairperson in conducting the meeting, Mike requested that an individual within the room assist in those duties; specifically, he asked that Burt be made parliamentarian, acting as his surrogate. This was denied by Kristine who pointed out there is no precedent for it and if by his own words “he cannot perform his duties because he is not in the room” then he can choose to resign his office.

Mike’s request for an announcement by name of those taking the floor: As Chairperson, Kristine will make every effort to call on those in order of raising their hand and she will continue to name the individual taking the floor.

Mike requested that members avoid getting sidetracked from the current topic: Every member of the board is entitled to express their opinion and engage in discussion in which they are given time to take the floor. Sometimes discussion of events that parallel the current topic or added reference is needed for the full benefit of the discussion. The chair will try to keep ramblers on topic.

Sergeant at Arms: Though on occasion, the Vice Chair has assisted during the meetings with the duties of Sergeant of Arms, per the By-laws it is not the duty of the Vice Chair. Per Robert’s Rules of Order the duties of Sergeant at Arms is most referenced within the section of maintaining order, disciplinary actions, keeper of the meeting door and would also be the person to assist guests to an outside area during executive sessions. This appointment has been at the discretion of the Chairperson and Kristine appointed Louie as the Sergeant at Arms.

MINUTES: Motion: To approve the minutes of January 13, 2012. Motion by Don, 2nd by Louie. Approved.

 JANUARY FINANCIAL STATEMENT: Doug stated that the investment account gained $283 in Dec. and the Project KHV account interest was $12 in January. He mailed out three 1099 forms, CPA cost $110. Calif. Secretary of State sent AKCA a post card requesting form SI-100 for annual Statement of Information. He sent that Oct. 12, 2011 and the check was never cashed so he voided that check and sent the form and new check to the state again. It seems this form is due from for-profit KOI USA Inc. at a different time than non-profit AKCA and they cannot deal with early submittal. Connie turned over responsibility for the AKCA Bookstore at end of January to Richele who is fully trained. The Bookstore had a problem with many poster orders (more than 5) in December because none reached the customer. It was driving Connie crazy with email complaints from the customers after 3-4 weeks with no delivery. Some orders had to be repeated more than once and Connie hand delivered a poster to a guy in Mission Viejo just to keep him happy. Connie finally figured out the mailing labels, in a time, would curl and fall off of the new mailing tubes we use to ship the posters. So now Connie and Richele put a wide patch of clear tape over the label.

COMMITTEE FREPORTS:  Scientific/KHA: Don gave Jerry’s report with Jerry talking more about it later. He asked we include entire report: “WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?” We live in a different economic climate than we did in 2002 when it was correctly determined we needed to get more involved in scientific aspects of Koi husbandry to better learn and understand in order Page 3 to promote and teach good Koi husbandry practices. Without good Koi husbandry, Koi in this country would not live long enough to achieve the goals of having pride in raising quality Koi. What good is there to have Judges if there is not the quality to judge? One importer back then openly said to me that the average life span of imported Koi once it was sold in this country was 2 weeks. The biggest sales were in low end product for this reason. Very few bought the good stuff. That was in the year 2000. Few veterinarians dealt with fish and information was sparse at best. Koi health information was extremely limited. Looking on the internet constantly turned up misinformation on Koi health issues. People generally did not know and/or posted information based on hearsay or experience learned the hard way but not scientifically understood. Much of it was wrong. Too much. The AKCA promoted the Koi Health Adviser Program (KHA) with a goal to educate about 250 hobbyists in the AKCA family of clubs to promote and spread good viable information as a way to provide help to member clubs and promote the hobby as a whole. All this was at considerable expense. Much time was donated by volunteers but expenses for a number of professional people to travel across country to personally be face to face to give students hands on experiences was picked up by AKCA in order to have high quality instructors in our learning program. Our economic situation allowed that at the time. Lab courses later got moved to Seminars which cost and lost thousands of dollars. Our economic situation allowed that at the time. We were promoting our hobby. There was such a huge need it was felt the cost and effort was worth it to promote and better all that we do. That was then. Today much information gathered through the effort and expense of AKCA through the KHA Program is widely available as we deliberately made it public through our website and magazine to be available to everyone interested in good Koi husbandry practices. Instead of a lack of information, today we look on line at a number of websites with information we pioneered in developing and see the information is available to all. Professional sites such as that of Dr. Eric Johnson, DVM, and others has the information along with too many other sites to list. Koi dealers and Koi pond equipment dealers have sites with this same information. www.akca.org has this information. What was financed and accomplished by AKCA in the last ten years has been rewarding to all and has immensely helped promote our hobby and saved untold numbers of Koi. This is a success story of the decade. In the next decade the same teachers who have helped so much can not be expected to endlessly work for free even if it is for the love of the hobby. Much of the KHA non professional instructors have backed off and moved to other pursuits. Our classes do not have 30/40 students as the most interested have taken the class and are back in their clubs passing on the information as we intended. Clubs are no longer at a loss as to what to do as they now have the information in their own membership-thanks to us—as well as easily available on the web. Six students a year is what we produce today. Do we need to rethink our direction? The original organizers of the KHA Program were scientifically motivated and connected in a personal way that we are not today. They were organized and motivated with the stated original goal to teach approximately 250 students. They did that or pretty close to it before student attendance began to slowly decline. These same people moved on after a number of years and, unfortunately, when they departed their organization departed with them. Personal contacts were lost and knowledge of who did what was lost. Records were lost. There was not a good transition. They operated as a close knit family which was their strength. We still have some dedicated people but not the level of family as before. In the beginning they had the advantage of large financial resources in AKCA. We do not have that today in this economic climate. We do not have 200 or more students waiting in the wings starved for information. I question our ability to rebuild with limited resources exactly that which we had a few years ago. I also question the need and dedication. As one who was a part of the original KHA class as well as an involved believer in AKCA, I became a transitional Director for a promised two years. Not a lifetime. I loved the KHA concept and felt I was a good choice at the time or I would never have taken the job with it’s on the job training. Over two years of experience later I question my fortitude to rebuild a program which, while noble and valuable, is not the huge necessity it once was. I still love the hobby and enjoy being able to contribute as I can. I simply want to do something I am capable of doing and that we are all capable of doing. Something positive for a feeling of accomplishment – for me and for AKCA. I suggest it is time to take a hard look at what we do and how we do it. A simple first start might be for the AKCA Board to recommend a simple change in the Bylaws. Scientific Committee does not say who, what, or why we are. What we are is a Koi Health Education Page 4

Committee and could have as our mission to advance the KHA Program in various ways. What ways? That’s where we decide the answer to the title of this report – “Where do we go from here?” Do we want marathon nearly year long on-line classes as we have now or do we want to simplify it? Do we want to make available presentations by KHA for Koi shows or Seminars? Do we want to open up special presentations? What do we want? What we want is to not ignore a problem but deal with it in order to move forward to develop a success story for the next decade.

 AKCA-PROJECT KHV: No report.

 PUBLICATION: Joan reported that Bob informed them that we are 9 ½ pages short; need more articles. Mike, Don, Burt, Brenda and Jerry all had items they were working on to help fill out the issue. Several people are hustling to come up with articles to complete the magazine. Patti gave a good report that included a suggestion that clubs add the AKCA and KOI USA logos to their website. Joe White has transferred registration of the koiusa.com domain to Doug Dahl, with Dale Gingerich as the Primary contact. Now Dale can start from scratch to resurrect the koiusa.com email network to include Editor Larry Iles. That network was previously controlled by Alpha Servers. It was decided to make the email accounts office specific rather than name specific. Joan reported that our editor, Larry Iles, is in the hospital in Shawnee, Okla. with pneumonia. We all wish him a speedy recovery. Mike has been filling in for him in the meantime. Discussion on the KOI USA trademark. Motion: Approval of $350 for the authority towards renewing the KOI USA trademark. Motion by Don, 2nd by Burt. Approved. Connie reported there are 6 accounts 90 days overdue for $8835. Doug went over the KOI USA budget with a projected net profit of $16,341, however A/R as of 1/31/12 is -$28,062 which leaves income in the negative. Due to the finances, they will not be able to give AKCA any money this year. Doug reported that there is a new invoicing procedure with board members replying favorably; this will make Connie’s job easier. Doug also reported that we raked in a huge $7782 in subscription income in January which equates to 311` combination of new and renewal subscriptions. Don reported that although our advertising contracts contain a 1 ½% interest for late payment we haven’t been enforcing it due to the downturn in the economy; that the Dealer Listing fee has been increased from $240 to $260; and that the per issue fee for Dealer Listing magazines purchased for resale has been increased from $3.60 to $4.50.

 MEMBERSHIP: Doug stated that Kristine has approved Don Chandler to take over the membership committee from Doug and Don has agreed. This will lighten Doug’s work load; effective mid-month. Motion: To approve Don as the Membership Committee Chair. Motion by Joan, 2nd by Carole. Approved.

 MEMBERSHIP QUESTIONS: None

 JUDGING: Charles said that next week he plans to go to Quality Koi to check out the Judging Seminar site, hotel, and restaurants. Mike will be going with him. He said that there are two upcoming koi shows: Koi Club of San Diego at the end of February and in Orlando, Florida in March.

 SPEAKER’S GRANT: NR

 GUIDES: N/R

 INSURANCE/RISK MANAGEMENT: Brenda reported that she reached out to Joanne for pointers on what to expect on insurance renewals. There have already been several club inquiries. 24 clubs have purchased the Premium Insurance so far. Valley of the Sun Koi Club is re- considering if they want to purchase the Premium Insurance due to the vendor waiver requirement.

 AKCA CFO is holding their check until the club decides, per their request. There were also questions on Canadian insurance. Brenda reported that whereas Hartford did not include Canada in their coverage territory Philadelphia does, so there was no additional cost to the AKCA to bring Canadian club liability insurance up to parity with the American clubs.

 By-Laws Committee: Committee consists of Chairperson Don Chandler, members Jerry Kyle and Mike Frady with Kristine Peterson as ex-officio member. There was discussion about by-law changes being made piece meal rather than going over entire by-laws. It was felt that we needed to act piece-meal as there were motions made in the past that needed to be addressed by by-law changes. 1st by-law change: regarding International Friendship clubs. Motion: To amend the By-Laws to allow for AKCA Friendship Clubs and to pursue banner exchanges between websites with the requirement for subscription to KOI USA dropped. Motion by Don, 2nd by Louie. Approved. There was discussion about changing the date to send out renewal notices that would coincide with a due date of July 1st. 2nd By-Law change: Motion: To accept Version 2 (parity plus timeline shift) of proposed Article III, Section 4: Membership dues stating Active Membership dues shall be $100.00 per year for individual member clubs; includes general liability insurance. Associate Membership dues shall be $25.00 per year; does not include insurance. Professional Membership dues shall be $240.00; does not include insurance but does include a one line “Name” listing in KOI USA. Dues shall be invoiced no later than March 28 (thereby allowing 90 days for receipt of payment). Dues must be received or postmarked no later than the first day of July each year. If not paid, that club will not be in good standing and will be suspended from AKCA membership, voting powers, general liability insurance, KOI USA reduced subscription rates and dropped from KOI USA club listing effective the first day of July. If suspended, a reinstatement fee of fifty ($50) dollars will be assessed. Motion by Don, 2nd by Burt. Approved with 1 opposed. Motion: To start combing through the by-laws with members of the Board bringing suggestions to the committee. Motion by Burt, 2nd by Doug. Approved. It was suggested we have a special meeting to just address any By-Law change when the committee is ready.

 Nominating Committee: Chairperson Bob Finnegan, members Louie Hernandez and Doug Dahl. Kristine stated that the committee would present their recommendation office by office with additional nominations taken from the floor. Motion: That there be only one name on the ballot. Motion by Don, 2nd by Brenda. 9 Approved with 2 opposed. For Secretary, the committee recommended Carole Elliott. From the floor Mike Frady nominated Dale Gingerich on behalf of the Central Florida Koi Show, Inc. club. Kristine asked for qualifications for Dale which Mike could not detail. A vote was taken for the office of Secretary with Carole receiving 9 votes and Dale receiving 2 votes. Carole’s name will be placed on the ballot. For office of CFO, Doug Dahl was recommended by the committee. There were no other nominations. Voting was 11-0. For the office of Vice Chairperson, the committee recommended Mike Frady. There was a nomination from the floor for from Brenda on behalf of the Nishiki club Louie Hernamdez. Qualifications were asked for but since those present know of his qualifications, this was not necessary. Voting for Mike was 2, voting for Louie was 9. Louie’s name will be on the upcoming ballot. For the Office of Chairperson, the committee recommended Kristine Peterson. Mike Frady nominated Burt Ballou from the floor on behalf of the IKONA club. Voting was 9 for Kristine, and 2 for Burt. Kristine’s name will appear on the ballot. Nominations are closed. Motion: To not allow or count write in votes as those will not count. Motion by Doug, 2nd by Joan. 9 Approved with 2 opposed.

 Koi Person of the Year: Koi Person of the Year is due by May 1st; please email Burt with info. Form to be attached with these minutes.  Champion of Champions: Contact Garry Chin at [email protected]. Entries are due by May 1, 2012. Only club AKCA Dir/Rep may submit Champion of Champions entry.

 AKCA Koi of the Year: Entrants must have been selected by the AKCA Club between April 1, 2011 and April 30, 2012 to be eligible for the Koi of the Year in 2012. Since there was no 2011 AKCA Seminar, the entries for 2011 and for 2012 will be held for judging separately by the AKCA attendees at the 2012 AKCA Annual Meeting. Only the AKCA club Rep of the sponsoring club may enter the digital photo or CD of the fish that won Koi of the Year. Contact Garry Chin at [email protected]. Entries are due by May 1, 2012.

SEMINAR REPORTS:

 2012 Seminar: Carole reported that the registration form and ad for the 2012 Business Meeting/Banquet/Wet lab will be in the next issue of KOI USA. It was suggested that maybe the Central California host club could arrange for a Pond Tour; will be addressed by Carole.

 2013 Seminar: Kristine asked that the committee meet to start working on the 2013 Seminar. She also pointed out that the timeline and requirements need to be updated; Doug to address that issue.

PROXY CALLS FOR March:

. Does your club have any questions or concerns? . Is anyone in your club interested in writing an article for KOI USA?

Upcoming AKCA Annual Calendar Events for MARCH: . Ballots to be sent out. . Send out notices to clubs for Koi of the Year and Koi Person of the Year

OLD BUSINESS:

 Speakers Grant – Doug stated that we had one club, Michigan S.E.Club, who gave us written feedback on the Speakers Grant. Their proposal was to open it up to 4 clubs at $250 maximum for expenses. Also, in order to be in the lottery, the club must apply by Sept. 1st and would be included in a drawing. The following year clubs who have not won would be given priority. Requirement would be that the club must provide an article to KOI USA magazine. Discussion followed. Motion: To have 2 Speakers Grants that are koi related per year at a cost of no more than $250 for reimbursement of expenses effective July 1st, 2012; to be revisited at the end of the first year. Motion by Don, 2nd by Carole. Approved 7 votes, 4 opposed.

 2011 Irrigation Show: Connie attended and did not charge us. There were no new ads as a result of attending. Connie, however, did bring in 3 new ads.

NEW BUSINESS:  Koi Person of the Year: Burt asked that applications be sent to him by May 1st.  koihealthadvisorforum.org.website: the Board agreed to let this domain registration expire.  AKCA.org email accounts: Doug asked whether the AKCA wanted position/title email accounts setup similar to KOI USA and the Board agreed they did.

REPRESENTATIVE CONTACTS:  Written report submitted by Burt: Norbun Watson, of Middle Georgia KS, said they are working on their next koi show at the end of March, otherwise nothing is going on. Rob Forbis, of Orlando Area K&PC, said that Jennifer and Alex Calder hosted their January meeting. A beautiful pond with rocks and waterfalls. They were all quite impressed to see the pictures of how Page 7

 it all came together. The landscaping complements the pond and backyard wonderfully. John Melz’s gave a presentation and led an interesting open discussion on water quality. Sonja Kahkola, of Rainbow River KC, said their next meeting is next Sunday and nothing is planned. They are working on their club’s part of the Central Florida Koi Show, which are the centerpieces for the banquet tables. Barb Flowers, of Rocky Mountain KC, said their next meeting is a chili cook-off contest and a local veterinarian talk on koi. The March meeting will be a vendors meeting for the vendors that advertise in their newsletter; last meeting members brought their worst pond horror stories; was educational for all. Bill Edwards, of San Francisco Bay Area KC, said their last meeting Bill did a talk on bringing your pond up from winter to spring. They got somebody to do the newsletter; held off on elections last meeting because they don’t have a plan worked out yet. Fred Blundell, of K&WGC of North Texas, said it’s the club’s 20th year and are picking the best programs from past years and using one each month. They are doing the Dallas Fair Park & taking care of the lagoon and plant monitoring; water quality for the fish and turtles. Ben Soedjono, of Dallas Koi Kichi Group, said there are no meetings until March due to weather. Got Dallas out of the drought due to rain; they plan on their annual auction which is a money maker for the club. Sanjiv Kapoor, of Santa Clara Valley K&WGC, said the annual holiday banquet was at Mariani’s Restaurant in Santa Clara and held on Dec. 4th. As always, this was a terrific party and this year they had 44 attendees. Club volunteers get a free dinner at this event. Their next club meeting is March 10th. Debby Young, of Southern Arizona KA, said they are getting “emergency supply stations” set up in the next month at 3 member’s homes for SAKA members only. Club members said they wanted more basic beginners articles in KOI USA instead of advanced articles and judging. Linda Montgomery, of Cascade K&GFC, said they had their annual banquet and it was a lot of fun. They will be buying koi food for the Japanese Gardens and also the Chinese Gardens, otherwise all is quiet. Dr. Jim Hooper, of Mendocino Coast K&WGS, said there are no meetings yet; everything is quiet. Their next meeting will probably be in April. Burt tried but was unable to reach ZNA Southern KA and ZNA Northern Calif. Chapter.

 Written report submitted by Carole Elliott: Jan Jordan, of Mid-Columbia K&PC, said there’s nothing to report; they’re all still in dormancy. Jerry Woodbury, of Miami Valley WGS, said they have kicked off a new year with a great meeting about what trees to introduce to your pond area. Their new vice president has lined some really good speakers this season. Monte McQuade, of Puget Sound KC, said they will have a luncheon on March 10th for the PNKCA event. April 19- 22 they will put up and staff an educational booth promoting koi keeping at the Puyallup Spring Fair. On Aug. 3-5th, they will have their Annual Young Koi Show at Hoshi Koi in Puyallup, WA. Mel Barutha, of South Carolina K&WGS, said there isn’t much to report for this month as they will have their board meeting tonight and their regular meeting Feb. 18th. Their first newsletter of the 2012 year is going out to their members this week. He’s sure the various committees will have much to report about this years events when they meet, especially their pond tour for June and the Koi Show for first weekend of October. Jackie Allsup, of Eastern Iowa PS, said they are still on winter hold. Their first 2012 meeting won’t be until Feb. 25th. Their Winter has been so mild there that everyone is shaking their heads in disbelief. Usually many of the fish go under the ice, not to be seen for at least 3 months, while this year many of the ponds have stayed open or only frozen over briefly. They’re excited to get together for their first meeting and hopeful that Spring is just around the corner. Jim Vaden, of the KC of Middle Tennessee, has taken the winter months off. Their next meeting to start the season is March 25th, which will be an organizational and planning meeting. Their first function of the year will consist of manning a booth at the Nashville Lawn and Garden Show on March 1-4 for a membership drive. On April 13-15 they will do the same for the Bloom ‘N’ Garden Expo in Williamson County, Tn. They did both shows last year and was very successful. Bryan Bateman, of Midwest P&K S, said they are already planning for a special 20th Anniversary Koi Show this year. They are honored that Toen Feyen, a ZNA Judge from Holland, who is also organizing a new judging program in Holland and has been Chairman of the prestigious Holland Koi Show for many years, will be their guest judge. Their other judge will be Steve Childers, and one Candidate Judge to be determined. They are looking Page 8

 forward to their Kodama Koi Academy weekend, which is scheduled for the weekend of April 14th. They are also planning to charter a bus for club members to travel to Koi Acres’ big Spring event, in Minnesota, over the weekend of May 12- and 13th. Gary & Debbie Floyd, of Amarillo KS, said they haven’t scheduled a meeting yet this year. It is snowing with temps in the teens. They are still way behind in rainfall but will take what they can get when they can get it. Koi pond is doing fine and koi are warm and toasty in the greenhouse he puts up each year. They had sent some pictures of their pond and new koi that was handpicked by Ron Goforth in 2009 from Dainichi farm (beautiful koi!). Steve Dumas, of North Texas WGS, said they are starting off 2012 with a new meeting location: The meeting will still be held on the 2nd Tuesday of each month, but until further notice will be held at the Community Meeting Room at Half Price Books located on NW Highway in Dallas. They are still in the planning stages for a busy spring. Their spring projects will include Dallas Zoo stream project on March 31st, Aquatic Plant Potting Workshop & Pond Cleanup at the Discovery Gardens and also planning for their 21st annual Tour of Ponds coming up June 3-10th; for more project information see their website at http://ntwgs.org/. Clark Shea, of the Canada KC, reports they held their first meeting of the year on Sunday, Feb. 12th. 21 members were in attendance. The new President, Neal Boxrud outlined his vision for the year and led the group in a wide ranging discussion on the steps he would like to see taken to ensure a good year. There was much attention paid to the fact that the mild winter we have experienced may lead to problems because of the current temperatures. Aeromonas loves to pay them a visit when their fish, in their weakened condition, spend time in ponds that stay around 50 degrees. Aeromonas and gill disease were discussed at length. Following the meeting the new Executive met and discussed a variety of items including the Club newsletter, the Club awards and the activities for the upcoming summer. The day ended with the Club members and Executive in a good frame of mind and eager to start another wonderful koi season. Carole tried but was unable to reach Central Alabama K&WGS, Niagara Frontier K&PC, Southwest K&PA, and the WGC of South Texas.

 Written report submitted by Phil Hunter: Linda Kinney, of the Dayton KC, reports that the club is on winter hiatus and will resume their meeting at the end of February. Havid Hardcastle, of the Gainesville KC, reports that February meeting was held at the home of Fred & Susan Chelf. The members discussed the upcoming Central Florida Koi Show in Orlando. Volunteers are always needed. Anyone wishing to enlist please contact Don Hellard or Henry Culpepper. Koi rescue will be arranged for two ponds in April. Shirley Stone was voted Koi Person of the Year. The club will not hold a meeting in March due to the koi show. Laurie Turner, of the Shasta K&WGC, reports that the club’s January meeting was held at the Salazar’s home. Connie, the host, described her liner pond with a French drain and about 20 koi. There was also an update on the preparations and arrangements for the club’s upcoming koi show, which will be held in May at the Mt. Shasta Mall in Redding. The club is also planning to have Dr. Scott Webber VMD, VetSci/Pathology Associate Professor of Clinical Aquatic Health at the University of California. Davis will speak at the March meeting. Recognition was given to the past presidents Eda Eggeman for 2010 and John Laubin for 2011. Renee Ottman was named Koi Person of the Year for 2011. The meeting program was presented by Kirk Hall who discussed koi dealer feeding for growth. Pat Ware, of the Springfield WGS, reports that the joint meeting with the Friends of the Garden, was very well attended. The attendees saw a slide show presented by new Master Gardener President Barbara St. Clair. Her presentation was on plants that made it through last summers heat and drought in the best condition. The February meeting will be held at the Springfield Greene County Botanical Center at Nathanael Greene/Close Memorial Park. Cliff Fitzwater of Fitz Water Design will be the guest speaker. He builds and maintains all kinds of water features from small garden ponds and koi ponds to pond less waterfalls and the new water caves. He was unable to contact the Capital Area K&WGC and the Inland Empire WG&KS, both of which have been on winter hiatus.

 Written report submitted by Don Chandler: Rosimeri Tran, of Central California KS, reports the 2012 AKCA Business Meeting, Banquet & KHA Wet Lab will be held in Fresno June 30th thru July 1st at the Ramada University with room rates at $78 + tax. The Saturday night banquet is $30 and the Saturday lunch is $17.50. The registration form has been completed as well as the color full page ad for KOI USA magazine. There will be a 50/50 raffle to help raise money for the AKCA as well as their (host) club. Dues are due Feb. 1 but one can pay at the Feb. meeting. Check out the club’s web site at http://www.cencalkoi.com. Debbi Gillis, of Central Coast KC, reports the Feb. meeting was hosted by Sara Bilsten at her lovely home. Linda Sims, the club’s new Treasurer, was installed and everyone thanked the outgoing Treasurer (Phyllis), for all she’s done for the group. Lecture topic/media presentation: The club watched two koi DVD’s and learned a lot about the Japanese koi trade in general and their championship koi show in particular. James McAdams, of Deep South K&PS, reports they met January 22 at the home of Sandra Auck. The Group discussed and voted to accept “Braveheart Children in Need” as the recipient of funds from the 2012 “Tour of Ponds & Gardens.” Suggestions were made on ideas to add new ponds to the tour as well as sell more tickets. A planning meeting will be held at the end of February for the upcoming LSU Garden Show to be held March 24 & 25. The Club will again sell water and garden plants, goldfish and koi. Check out their website at http://www.deepsouthkoi.org. Rick Paul, of Macon WG&KC, reports the first meeting of the year found several members discussing Great Blue Heron predation at their ponds; several suggestions were shared. January marks the time members need to contact Bobbi Floyd to renew their membership. The Feb. meeting was to be held at Jeaneane’s at Pinebrook on the 2nd. Check out their website at http://www.maconkoi.org. Dennis Long, of Metro-Detroit P&GC, reports the members of their club are starting to get restless. They’re ready to get started on a new year of ponding. They’re looking forward to the Central Florida Koi Show in March and hope to see you there. Check out their website at http://metrodetroitpondandgardenclub.org. Susan Boland, of Mid-Atlantic KC, reports plans are underway for MAKC’s 2012 Young Koi Show on Saturday, June 2nd. Quality Koi Co./Nisei Koi Farm in southern New Jersey is hosting the show. Koi Show Chair is Kavent Bwint ([email protected]) and Mike Frady ([email protected]) is koi show advisor. Vendor Chair is Joyce Spears ([email protected]). In December, Herb & RoseMarie Ehrich hosted the Saugerties Chapter Holiday Party in New York. The South Chapter’s “Better Late Than Never” New Year’s Party (held on January 7th) was hosted by Floyd & Carolyn Broussard in Virginia. The winter of 2012 has been mild so far. They all have their fingers crossed that it stays that way until March 21st! check out their website at http://www.makc.com. Dot Wilbanks, of Moto-Kara Koi Kai ZNA Chapter KC, reports they did not have a Jan. meeting so they have nothing yet to report this year. Stay tuned for details and check out their website at http://www.mkk-zna.org. Rochelle Kalinke, of Nashville PS, reports at the Jan. meeting she was elected President but will continue to serve as the club’s AKCA Dir/rep. Plans have been completed for their club’s participation in the Lawn & Garden show at Nashville Fairgrounds on Mar. 1-4th. Contact the club for further details. A new webmaster has been retained by the club with a full website overhaul to come soon. Check their website at http://www.nashvillepondsociety.org. Marc and Tamara Skaggs, of Northern Midwest ZNA KC, report the club is holding their 11th annual Koi Show June 15-17 but at a new location in Carmel, IN. Unfortunately, the nursery where it had been held was sold. The new location is in Carmel at the city center next to its Japanese garden and pond. Carmel has a sister city in Japan and is quite excited about hosting the show. The area is designed as a pedestrian thoroughfare with many community activities taking place nearby. More info to come. Check out their website at http://www.nmzna.net/index.html. Phyllis Anderson, of North Idaho Koi Keepers, reports the club is proud to host a one-day workshop featuring Toshio Sakai and they’re beyond delighted this world famous koi breeder will be holding a West Cost Seminar in North Idaho. Feb. 25 is the date and the cost for this event is $50 per person. Seminar to be held in Hayden Lake, Idaho, less than an hour’s drive from the Spokane Airport (driving directions will be posted soon). In the meantime, mark your calendars. There is still space but the seminar will be limited in size to the event so they can plan for lunch and seating for this unique workshop. Dan Olson is coordinating this event ([email protected]). Page 10

Check out their website at httjp://www.northidahokoikeepers.com/id8.html. Dorothy Connors, of Rhode Island & Massachusetts KC, reports the club is on winter break this almost snowless, record breaking warm winter! A group of members met for dinner at the Yarmouth House on Dec. 4th to talk about strategy for the 2012 season and they plan to have their first 2012 meeting in April. Check out their website at http://www.rimakc.org/joomla. Lois Rosmarin, of Siskiyou K&PC, reports they are looking forward to a good year in 2012. On Mar. 12 they will celebrate their 5th Anniversary and Normal Call, Oregon K&WGS, will be their guest. He was instrumental in the formation of this club and has continued to be a supporter and good friend. Their website at http://www.siskiyoukoiclub.com is still under construction. Dick Hadley, of Upper Midwest KC, reports they’re still looking forward to their first meeting of the year. Check their website at http://www.umkoiclub.org/htm/meetings.html.

 Written report submitted by Brenda Chandler: Johnna Hansen, of Charleston Showa KC, reports the club met and learned some tips on taking photos of koi. They are still planning their 9th Annual Pond Tour on May 12 and have 27 ponds and private gardens in the Charleston, SC area signed up to participate. They are sad to report they will discontinue including a subscription to KOI USA with membership dues, as Treasurer Ralph Owens has explained how difficult it has been for him to arrange all of this. They are all looking forward to Orlando! Check out their website at http://www.charlestonshowakoiclub.org/. Joe White, of Florida East Cost K&PC, reports the Jan. meeting was held at the home of Steve & Dorothy Jasse in Deltona. Steve talked about their new pond and they were to hold elections for a new slate of officers. Check out their website at http://www.floridakoi.org. Mike Lane, of High Desert Koi Fanciers, reports the club recently held their 2012 elections and in Feb. members were invited to meet the new Board while having breakfast at Birdies in Palmdale. They are planning this year’s events so stay tuned for details or even better – get involved! Check out their website at http://www.hdkoifanciers.com. Brenda Chandler, of Nishiki KC, report the Feb. meeting was held at the lovely and spacious home of Mike and Pam Sarr in Buena Park. They have a beautiful pond, fat healthy koi and the golf course view was to die for! Discussion items included nominations for their upcoming slate of officers, Louie Hernandez’ recent nomination for the office of AKCA Vice Chair, Koi Person of the Year selection (Ginger Hernandez, their longtime ‘Den Mother’) and planning efforts for an upcoming (hopefully) koi auction. Check out their website at http://www.nishikikoiclub.com. Todd Bong, of Prairieland K&PS, the club’s new President & AKCA Dir/Rep, reports their first meeting of the year was scheduled for Sat, Feb. 11. Stay tuned for details! Check out their website at http://prairieland_pond.tripod.com/. Jan Thompson, of Southern Colorado KC, reports their Anti-Freeze Party is coming up on Feb. 18 and they have so few “reservations” that those who do show up will need some big take’home bags. PLEASE RSVP ASAP! It’s being held at Southside Johnny’s. They will soon see 3 types of Japanese koi available for a group purchase and be able to pick one. There is also an upcoming koi food buy from Kodama. So bring your checkbook or your credit card in case you haven’t paid your dues – or if you just want to get a koi this spring. Check out their website at http://www.socokoi.org. David Yee, of Valley of the Sun KC, Inc., reports their club has just completed the 2012 Chinese New Year Festival/Celebration event at the Phoenix Chinese Culture Center, which was attended by over 15,000 folks. WOW! The club had a booth with 12 tanks of koi which drew a large crowd in this the year of the Dragon 4710. Check their website at http://www.vskc.net. Mary Oxman, of Ventura County KS, reports the Jan. meeting was held at the home of Marv & Reeva, who recently suffered a complete pond wipeout but still managed to pull off a successful meeting. The scheduled speaker for their Feb. meeting is Burt Ballou, topic will be “What Your Koi Need to Live a Healthy Life” and questions may be submitted in advance. Check their website at http://users.vcnet.com/rrenshaw/vcks.html.  Written report submitted by Joan Finnegan: Joan reports that the SoCal Koi Club will not have a meeting in February; they are encouraging members to enter koi or attend the Koi Club of San Diego’s koi show at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. On March 11th the club will meet at Andrew’s International Koi and see Andrew’s newly arrived koi. Andrew will talk about purchasing koi. On April 15-16th the Page 11

 club will man a booth at the annual Hanamatsuri Festival at the Orange County Buddhist Church; lots of displays, good food, wonderful produce and plants, etc. In January, we had a great meeting and refreshments at the Long Beach home of Steve & Susie Brasch. Norman Call, of Oregon K&WGS, said the club is doing fine. Their membership is shrinking as are other clubs in the area. They are planning for their koi show June 9 & 10th as well as a Koi Club Auction. The new officers took over and their 1st meeting was held at the Dogwood Motel. They are planning on some field trips. The Northwest K&GFC-ZNA Northwest Chapter’s newsletter said they are behind in rainfall and not receiving as much snow as in the north. They will start feeding their koi soon as it gets a little warmer. They are looking for meeting places in homes or otherwise the club will be meeting in restaurants. This meeting will have Sally Kero speaking on goldfish which is the other half of their club membership.

 Written report submitted by Bob Finnegan: Charles Phelps, of Greater Louisville K&GFS, said that everything is OK; no complaints! Don Stump, of Great Ponds & KS of West Michigan, said that he is the new president. He is bringing in a lawyer and an accountant to the club meeting to have the members know about non-profit organizations in the State of Michigan. Jon Floden, of Gulf Coast KS, said that everything is OK. Ken Lau, of Indiana K&WGC, is that he is also the club’s new President. The club is very active. Michele Hurley, of Northern Iowa P&KC, said that they would like a certified AKCA Judge as a guest speaker at one of their club meetings. Jon Lockerman, of North Florida KC, said they had no meeting in January but will start again in February. Everything is OK! Mona Coleman, of Northern Nevada PC, said that everything is OK. Jerry Hames, of Olympic K,GF&WGC, said they have not been meeting since last November. They will start again in March. Jerry is also Chairing the PNKCA Seminar this year. Ronald Bikis, of Tropical K&WGC of So. Florida, said that everything is OK. They are looking forward to the big Central Koi Show of Florida in Feb. David Muraoko, of Sierra KC, said that everything is OK!

 Written report submitted by Kristine Peterson: Doug Sudbury, of Santa Clarita K&WGC, said they welcomed 17 members to the Oct. meeting at Keti Koi Farms at the home of Jim Thirkettle. Jim discussed his fall sale of some baby koi from his current breeding project that should duplicate certain color patterns that he would like to achieve. Koi were available for sale to the members and viewed after the meeting. The club will have the annual Koi Growth Contest during the May meeting. The Christmas dinner was held at George’s Bistro in Santa Clarita where they also had an optional gift exchange of items valued between $20-25. For the 2012 calendar, Doug announced that meeting hosts are needed and a sign up sheet was circulated. One member had suggested holding one meeting during the summer in the cooler early evening hours when his pond and garden lighting can be enjoyed. The members were in favor of this idea. Another general meeting involving discussion and viewing of three ponds will be included in the 2012 meeting calendar. Options under consideration are returning to the Huntington Library and Gardens or Descanso Gardens. Members discussed other possibilities including visiting the Gardens of the World near Calabasas. One member discussed a small portable underwater filter system used by another member noting that it could be useful for his type of pond. Mountain View KC reports that their first meeting for 2012 will be planned for March or April depending on the weather. The club is pleased to report that the membership has grown to over 24 members between Ontario and Quebec. Club members were very motivated with the pond design and display at the International Plowing Match and plans to submit a write-up for KOI USA. Hawaii Carp and GFA reports that they are looking forward to planning the events for 2012 and expect even more events than last year. The club’s show will be at either the Japanese Cultural Center or the Home and Garden Show. KC of San Diego is counting down the days to their 25th Anniversary Koi Show. Booths are sold out and tanks are expected to also sell out with only a few tanks remaining. The show will be held the last weekend at the Del Mar Fairgrounds and admission is free. The Fairground charges a parking fee per day or ask for the availability of a weekend pass. The Silver Bay Kennel Club Dog Show will be in the neighboring building and also has free admission. Due to the koi show, no monthly meeting was scheduled for February and the next monthly meeting will take place the 2nd

 weekend of March. For more information on the show and other events of KCSD, visit www.koiclubsandiego.org.

 Written report submitted by Louie Hernandez: Sot Chimonas, of Idaho WG&KS, said they have a brand new slate of officers for 2012! On the helm is an avid koi enthusiast, Jon White with Keith Schuttler as his VP. The Treasury was taken up by the dynamic duo of Fred and Susan Elsey and the Secretary is Delanie White with a couple of the old cronies serving on this year’s Board of Directors- at-Large: Sue Boydstun and Sot. Still to recruit is their Commercial member Director-at-Large. Looking forward to a great year with their usual Kick-off Banquet, Pond Tour, 19th Koi Show in Sept. this year rather than August and a few new events that are in the planning stages. Louie, of ZNA Southern Ca. Chapter, said they had their meeting in Jan. at Eastern Nishikigoi & Waterscapes in Westminster, CA. Updates on their show were discussed and the viewing of two outstanding show koi for member comments on attributes. Neal Friedman, of Washington K&WGS, reports they are in the process of choosing their AKCA Koi Person of the Year and their PNKCA Ed Fujimoto Award recipient. They are having a master gardener speak at their February meeting (their Jan. meeting was cancelled due to snow). Their 2012 Show Committee chair has had his first meeting; they will be back at Country Village and are looking forward to their 21st show. Their new officers began their terms in January. Brian Dunic, of Dai-Ichi Koi & Japanese Garden Club of British Columbia, said they will not meet in Nov., they are planning a Christmas dinner at the home of one of their members in Dec. Due to the winter they will then resume meetings on a bi-monthly schedule starting April 2012. Jerry Kyle, of Camellia KC, said they just had their first meeting of the year which is traditionally an organizational planning affair. On the table for 2012 is a combination Progressive Dinner/Pond Tour for members and guests, a lab course to teach recognition of microscopic problems, a tour of koi import dealers, new ponds to see, club koi auction, visit to a koi artist studio, water garden nursery demonstration, and participating in an independent dealer’s Small Sized Koi Show to learn what to look for in Tosai. Plans are to update and improve their website to be more users friendly and a go to place for others. It is going to be another interesting year for CKC members! Glen Hubenthal, of Austin PS, said the new board hit the ground running with fresh ideas to keep their club moving forward. Austin Zilker Garden Festival will be the first place to promote their club March 31 and April 1st. Bart Thompson, of Bakersfield K&WGS, said their January business meeting was held at club member Glen Porter’s Re/Max office. They had a poor turnout, even though the meeting was held inside with a beautiful view of Glen’s pond and delicious refreshments. Although the turnout was light the meeting was fantastic with club secretary Ron Unruh accepting the Koi Show Chair for the 2012 Golden Empire Koi Show. They discussed having multiple fundraising ideas for the show and Wounded Heroes Charity. They are planning for a seminar by Grant Fujita on the etiquette of koi buying, and at their annual joint club meeting they will have Michael Hernandez as a speaker on Koi Nutrition. They will be attending the San Diego Koi show February 25-26th and the SoCal Koi Show in March 17-18th. Louie tried but was unable to reach Las Vegas KC and Lone Star KC.

 Written report submitted by Doug Dahl: John Rae, of Michigan K&PC-Southeast Chapter, reports the first event of the year, March 17th, is titled “Spring Pond Opening and Pond Protection.” Joe Barson of Barson’s Greenhouses will be the featured speaker. The dos and don’ts of pond opening will be covered as well as how to start the season with a healthy pond environment. The club’s AKCA Dir/Rep and President have prepared a recommendation to change the AKCA Speakers Grant program which will be presented to the AKCA Board at the February Board meeting. The basic parts of the program are: clubs must fill out an online application and submit it to AKCA Speakers Grant program by Sept. 1 to be considered for the drawing; 4 Speakers Grants for a maximum reimbursement of 1 room night and travel expense receipts up to $250 total will be drawn so the annual Program total cannot exceed $1000. Clubs applying, but not winning a Speakers Grant this year will be given preference after applying again for the next year’s grant; all AKCA clubs may submit an application each year.

 Written report submitted by Harlan Glenn: No report. Page 13

 Written report submitted by Mike Frady: North Carolina K&WGS reports there isn’t a great deal of news to share right now. They don’t meet in Dec. In January, they held their annual holiday meeting at Casa Carbone Restaurant in Raleigh. Members were treated to product samples such as food and waterfall cleaner from Pond Depot. They discussed the 2012 NCKWS Carolina Classic Koi Show which is set for Sept. 21-23rd. The venue for the show will be East Coast Koi Imports in New Hill thanks to Bobby Want, one of their corporate members. The pond tour was also mentioned but there are no concrete plans as of this meeting. Their next meeting is scheduled for Sat., Feb. 25th. They will be discussing upcoming events such as the koi show and their annual spring cull sale. ZNA Potomac is not meeting until March due to the winter weather. Plans are being discussed for the Young Koi Auction this spring in May. Over forty toys were donated to Toys for Tots program at the Dec. Christmas meeting. The show is already on the calendar for Sept. 18-10 in Vienna, Virginia. First Coast K,GF&WGC club is going to have their auction on March 31st for koi and goldfish. Members will be providing excess koi for the auction. This is an annual fundraising auction. They had the election of officers in December and the information was forwarded to AKCA. The Board meeting was held this month and the show in October was discussed and plans made for the event. Judges have been obtained for this year’s show. The Pioneer Valley WG&KC has been inactive since their Holiday banquet in November 2011. There has not yet been a date set for their first meeting of 2012 which should occur in March sometime. They are all waiting for spring to bring them out. Central Florida Koi Show Society’s show will be Mar 9-11, 2012 at the International Palms Resort, International Drive, Orlando, Fl. The show is sponsored by the five clubs in the central Florida area. IKONA held their club elections and the new officers are: Steve Childers-President, Jeremy Phillips-Vice President, LouAnn Norman-Secretary, Patti Gingerich-Treasurer. Discussions were held about the joint 2012 Koi Show. Steve stated that he has talked with Ray Alexander and the show is shaping up to be a great event. The Michigan Club will be hosting the show and has secured a location. It will be held over the Labor Day weekend in a suburb of Detroit. Next meeting will be Saturday, Feb. 18th at 1 pm central. The Piedmont KC held their January meeting at the Captains Galley Seafood Restaurant in Matthews; there were about 20 members present with several topics discussed. Among these was the sale of their tanks; they extended the deadline for member purchase until the Feb. meeting. Tanks that are left will go on the internet to be sold after the meeting. Their Feb. meeting is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 11th at Kabota’s Japanese restaurant. Mac McCain, of Inland KS, reports that their New Year started off on a high note. Their meeting was held at the Edward-Dean Museum & Gardens in Cherry Valley, Ca. on January 22nd. The Museum contains decorative art from the 16th through the 19th century and has a beautiful koi pond. In 1964 the museum was given to the county. They were welcomed by one of their staff, RaLana, who was a great hostess. They provided a light meal for their members that were really appreciated. They also installed new officers and board members. This included Mike being installed as the new Vice President, and Patricia Hurley and Ed Kushner as directors. Their guest speaker was one of their members Orville Hanson, who gave a very comprehensive and informative talk on the different type of pond filters, and the pros and cons of each one. One of their directors, Rey Quirong, gave an outstanding book report on the Manual of Koi Health. Another one of their directors, Bob Henry, gave a talk on the importance of donating blood. Yet another director, Nick Milfeld, spoke on their 2012 pond tour. They had over 50 people in attendance. During the meeting, they discussed the need for volunteers to assist with different tasks that were coming up, including their pond tour to be held on June 3rd. Over all the meeting went extremely well. “Thought of the Month: To be a champ you have to believe in yourself when nobody else will.” – Sugar Ray Robinson

Motion: To adjourn at 8:37 p.m. Motion by Don, 2nd by Louie. Appr oved. Respectfully submitted, Carole Elliott