1 2013 CFA ANNUAL MEETING Friday, June 28, 2013
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2013 CFA ANNUAL MEETING Friday, June 28, 2013 (33) CALL MEETING TO ORDER. President Jerold Hamza called the meeting to order at 9:00 a.m. Hamza: Good morning everybody. <good morning. Hamza: Good morning, fellow shareholders. I would like to take a minute to remind you to check your electronic devices and make sure that they’re silent before we get going, so that we can have the proper communication with the outside world, because they’re always dying to know what we do here, but that they don’t interrupt what we do here. I would just like to remind people of a couple things before we get started. We all are passionate about our hobby, but I always like to remind people that everybody here has the same rights to their opinions and their emotions, and that your rights end where the next person’s rights begin, and you have to be kind and polite to the next person. Some of the things we’re going to discuss today may bring in some emotionality. Just remember, kindness is the order of the day. 1 (34) WELCOME FROM HOST REGION. Hamza: I would like to turn over the microphone to our gracious host of this year’s Annual, and that is Region 2’s Regional Director, Ginger Meeker. Meeker: Thank you, Jerry. Good morning. <good morning> I would like to welcome you to the 107th celebration for the CFA Annual. I am Ginger Meeker, the Regional Director of Region 2, and I would really like to welcome you to the Pacific Northwest part of our region. We have had lovely weather for you – after the first day I got here, and I hope you’re enjoying some of the sights and sounds, and particularly the microbreweries that are dotted around the area for your convenience. It seems like only yesterday that we hosted the Annual banquet and national awards in Reno. How many of you were at that meeting. Monte Phillips: I made two grand. Meeker: He made two grand. Congratulations, Monte. Hamza: Did you spend it all yet, Monte? Meeker: From what I see by the hands, we have a very strong repeat core of supporters for CFA. We have a core group very dedicated to our mission and our function. At this time, we need to focus on continuing to grow our organization, and find new and exciting ways to increase member clubs, show production, new breeders and exhibitors and spectators to our events. While we are a diverse group, our strength is based on our ongoing and undying love for our cats. I know we’ll succeed in solving any problems presented to us, and overcoming any obstacles encountered in this process. I got word this week that Betty Denny, age 94, has officially left CFA. I wanted the group to be able to recognize her. She is a retired CFA allbreed judge. A couple months ago, she made a very difficult decision to go back to Fort Wayne, Indiana, to be with her family. They have purchased her a condo near her family so she can live out her years surrounded by children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. In looking at Betty, I don’t know that all of us can achieve what she did, but I think we need to recognize her nearly 65 years in the cat fancy. [applause] I promised I would let her know if there were any boo’s. This event was shaped and planned in joint collaboration between the Regional Annual Committee, chaired by Pam Moser. Pam, where are you? [applause] Pam has done an awesome job. The others involved were Central Office Project Manager Jodell Raymond. [applause] And Pat Zollman, our Helms Briscoe representative. Pat is also back at the back table. [applause] I would like to thank each and every one of you who have worked in any capacity to make this event possible. I hope you all enjoy your stay in Region 2. I know some of you have come early to explore our region, and others will be staying after the meeting and banquet to sightsee. The people of Region 2 welcome you and thank you again for coming to our amazing part of the United States. Pam? Pam would like to say a few words of welcome, also. I also want to take a moment to mention the crew that did the delegate check-in. Was that awesome or what? [applause] Twelve of you who are unknown to me came and thanked me for the seamless and easy delegate check-in. After standing in long lines, that’s one reason to run for the board. Your Annual Chair, Pam Moser. Moser: We have a special welcome planned for the delegates this morning that is both relevant and appropriate for the Northwest Region hosting the annual this year. Native Americans are a large cultural influence in the Pacific Northwest. And, although geographically set apart from the mainland, Hawaiians consider themselves part of the Native American community. And, Native Americans on the mainland consider Hawaiians as their “brothers and sisters across the sea.” Here to welcome you with Aloha to the Pacific Northwest and the 2013 Annual is Honey Justman, from Hawaii performing the traditional dance – the hula. 2 (35) PRESIDENT’S WELCOME AND MESSAGE. President Jerold Hamza gave the following State of the Organization address. Good Morning, That was pretty good, hu? [applause] I don’t know how I’m supposed to follow that, but I’ll go on. I would like to welcome all of you to the 2013 Annual in Vancouver, Washington. Just like every year, our annual share holders’ meetings and award weekends encompass a tremendous amount of work. I would like to thank Region 2 for their hospitality and I would especially like to thank Regional Director, Ginger Meeker, Annual Chair, Pam Moser and the entire Annual Committee for their hard work. [applause] 3 During this last year, CFA continued to thrive and grow. Our organization is facilitated by hard work from both the Central Office staff, the CFA Board and its committees, and we have made great strides. In this year, I am proud to announce that CFA had and approved a budget in place before the fiscal year started. [applause] This is the first time that having a budget in place before the fiscal year started in the recorded history of our organization. This is a very significant step in assuring that CFA remains a fiscally responsible entity. You may have noticed that over the years I have always addressed this body as shareholders. In setting up the process in the constitution of CFA, the founders of this organization created ownership which was to be shared equally by our clubs. Each club is to have one share in the ownership and coming to these annual meetings representing the club’s one share. As representatives of those shares, the clubs and by extension their delegates, have a real and important obligation to CFA. As shareholders, it is incumbent upon you to be prepared, educated and knowledgeable about the business issues that face our organization. To understand that the very existence of this organization relies upon your willingness to learn and understand the issues we face at our meetings so that you can make informed decisions that will guide CFA’s future in an intelligent and wise direction. We must be sure that we are prepared for success and we cannot base our decisions on emotion or we are inclined to make bad decisions. 4 Part of being prepared is indeed getting the right information. That should be a paramount duty of this board and this organization. As President, I have tried to ensure that we follow this practice. We have made available quarterly reports to the clubs. You will also notice something new this year. You have an Annual Report. This report should be standard fare at every annual. This Annual Report – the one you have this year – is not quite what an annual report should be. You have to start somewhere and you need a baseline which is what this Annual Report provides. This Corporate Annual Report gives an overview of CFA's performance over the last year and includes financial information over the past decade. A proper Annual Report should be far more detailed about the past year. However, without a baseline, I felt that just starting with an in- depth annual report would be a disservice. It is my hope that all of you take this report back and read it so that when we meet this time next year and you get the in-depth Annual Report, it will have the appropriate meaning. These is a practice that should be carried forward every year – a statistically accurate budget in place before the fiscal year begins and an annual report at every shareholder’s meeting. These two things should be supported perfectly by the quarterly treasury reports and clubs so that members can interpret all the information and use it as a guide to make informed decisions about the future of the organization. 5 I am also happy to report that this year marks a slow and continued growth in CFA registrations. After years of hard decline, slow growth is welcome. In most business models slow, sustainable growth is the key to a sustainable future. We must be mindful of where our growth is derived from. Although, we can never be sure of every reason; certainly we do know that there are some re-occurring factors. We know that the club sponsorship program has exposed the CFA product over a greater market base.