USA bylaw change - Page 9

 Kim:


USA in the past has extended it,s hand to GSDCA-WDA. several times only to get lip service and then walk away from. So when this last time happened I can understand that it is time to draw the line and take sides,that being said If I were the powers that be I would of handled it MUCH differently. Knowing  the history of the 2 organizations Lyle should of went to Danny and said okay lets work this out to our mutual benefit BUT before I want a letter of understanding signed by us both as to the goals we both expect from one another. Second I would of been very sure to make sure that every USA member got a email explaining what we were doing and why( with todays email that would of taken maybe 20 minutes to do) as long s they have valid email address. Then when the WDA got all warm and fuzzy again with GSDCA(shortly after the awarding of the wusv event) again I would have been able to make a stronger case for the move to date and I believe USA members would of been more understanding of the happening. 

If USA did comply with the bylaws and the vote was done properly then it was a legal and binding and there is little to do till the powers that be are no longer in power. That change will only be harder if clubs and membership leave but that is there right. We must remember USA is not a public funded program so yes they can make rules to require membership to limit association with what would be competing organizations. Many things we do today business wise and association wise have non competition clauses that have to be signed to work or associate with them. 

This effects more of the top competitors then the rank and file members as it limits there ability to get seats on world and international teams so many of them have pushed this give me liberty or give me death mentality but again it,s there right to leave.

Change can be good or bad and we will see in the end how this change will transpire. It really isn,t brain surgery here make a choice and live with it, work for change or give up it,s everyones choice and they will need to make it.

And far as lowering the standard that starts with the W.U.S.V. they have been lowering standards for years that is where the real trouble is. 

And i,m sure if USA were gone tomorrow the GSDCA would have a big p[arty at or demise as would we so there is competition between the 2 if you can,t see that... well that is a problem also.

   



            

Technically, per FCI recognition of AKC,  and GSDCA being the AKC breed club for GSDCA, yes, GSDCA is the only legitmate GSD organziation.  WDA really is just like USA - really a sport organizaiton formed to carry out the working dog sports that were not permitted by AKC.  But anyone can have a GSD organziation.  I can start one, you can start one. 

This all goes back to AKC not recognizing Schutzhund and everyone having to form organziations to do trials.  USA can do anything they want and they have with their own registry.  Its just not a registry anyone in the world will accept and is not portable to another FCI registry in the world.  Does it matter?  Not really unless you want your dog's papers to be recognized internationally.  And by USA not having a legitmate FCI registry, it certainly does not substanciate it is protecting the FCI standard by having an unrecognzed registry.  Again, people can breed what they want - as I always say, there is nothing precluding people from breeding better dogs, just a minimal standard is all FCI (SV) breed standard is - remember it is also the breed standard where you have almost completely two different types of dogs i.e showlines and working lines bred under the same standard. 

USA has done a lot to try to comport to WUSV membership requirements - and I think its good they try.  Again, if you read teh WUSV bylaws, you can see why USA and GSDCA vis a vis WDA do certain things.  They both have the rights to exist both with the WUSV and under the United States non-profit regulations they function under.

In so far as people caring if their dogs papers are recognized world wide, or their titles or Koerungs etc.  That is a personal choice.  USA offers their own Koerungs that are not recognized by the SV, also show ratings.  The jury is still out at the SV regarding if the working titles by USA judges are approved for the working title needed for an SV Koerung (not the USA one).   Probably will be after the first of the year before there is clarification from the SV.

Other countries have the same thing going on - you have to be very careful, if it matters to you, who has given your dog titles, show ratings, koerungs as they are not apples to apples and all accepted by the SV.  Many are only recognized in the country they were given.  USA follows that protocol also.  They will not accept other countries titles and Koerungs unless the SV does. 

Its an individuals choice what they want and what value the see in getting titles only good in their own country with a particular organization or if they want an internationally recognized title.  Same thought process as the registries.

Petapal, Please learn to READ--the proposed amendments you copied that were submitted by me related to AFFILIATE clubs becoming full-member clubs. They had NOTHING to do with the topic of this thread. In fact, there was no controversy about them at all, as they were eseentially common-sensical. Niahater: Go get some Viagra and counselling, so you can get over your obvious ego issues. Perhaps then you can get over both your cowardice, your feelings of inadequacy, and being threatened by women.

Petapal, Please learn to READ--the proposed amendments you copied that were submitted by me related to AFFILIATE clubs becoming full-member clubs. They had NOTHING to do with the topic of this thread. In fact, there was no controversy about them at all, as they were eseentially common-sensical. Niahater: Go get some Viagra and counselling, so you can get over your obvious ego issues. Perhaps then you can get over both your very obvious cowardice, your obvious feelings of inadequacy, and being threatened by women.

Then TECHNICALLY, WDA is not a German shepherd dog org competing against UScA, which is also not a German shepherd dog org. They just both happen to primarily have German shepherd dogs IN THEM. So UScA ought to have voted on an anti WDA amendment instead. If I decide to start my own little German shepherd dog org in my neighborhood (which incidentally I have, for rescue purposes), I will not be allowed to join UScA, according to the by-law. Or, on the other hand, as I'm a DVG member, which as an all-breed group is NOT a competing German shepherd dog org, I WILL be allowed to join UScA.

They should have just said that if you want to belong to UScA, you can't belong to WDA. In my opinion, they have left lots of loopholes by pussy-footing around.

Nia, thanks for clarifying that Petapal post! I couldn't work out what that had to do with anything.

Non-compete has no place in non-profits.  USA is misapplying noncompete clauses in for profit enitites or entities with employees.  Members are not employees.  Again members pay the club, the club does not pay membership.  The clubs only provide through the funding of the members dues, fees etc. an organziation to have trials and shows, a vehichle to facilitate titles and competitions.  Again, clubs and members are paying USA, USA is not paying them.

The clubs are not for profit corporations that are selling widgets and have corporate proprietary knowledge or expertise in their field which would make their knowledge of benefit to another organziation.  The membership level certainly has no propriertary knowledge or expertise. 

The conflict of interst is non plus at the membership level.  The rationale for the amendment as being conflict of interest is mute because a club can make any rules it wants including just for the hell of it.  It is misuse of a term.  There is really no one on the board that is in business, most are employees of some company so they really have no experience in business.  We really do not have CEO's, COO's, CFO's running USA.  Not saying its necessary, but there is a learning curve there and sometimes people who have not had the responsibility of running a business just don't have the background in the correct terminolgy as it applies to the corporate world. 

Regarding USA and WDA merging - WHY?  for what reason?  Forget espionage, or give peace a chance- whatever anyone wants to couch it in, why on earth should they merge?  It would be of no benefit to USA because GSDCA would just function with a WDA like committee within GSDCA and still have a team and WUSV membership. 

The purported merger "wrong-doing" is bizarre anyway if you take it as what Lyle is saying as 100% true.  Lyle clearly does not understand the legalities involved.  Obvilously Lyle feels he can control the vote within USA, as just proven in the amendment vote, but he clearly does not understand the structure of WDA.  Any WDA merger or dissolution would have had to been voted on and approved by the MEMBERS - WDA is a 1 vote per individual member, NOT a vote per club.  Also the dissoloution is as follows  link is http://gsdca-wda.org/forms/GSDCA-WDA%20BYLAWS%20-%20Rev%20May%201%2009.pdf :

ARTICLE IX
DISSOLUTION
Section 1. The Club may be dissolved at any time by the written consent of not less than sixty-six percent (66%) of the then members in good standing. In the event that the Club shall ever be dissolved, then upon the dissolution of the Club any assets remaining thereafter shall be conveyed to such organization or organizations as shall be elected by a majority vote of the Board; provided, however, that such recipient shall be exempt under the requirements of Section 501 (c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code and further provided that such recipient shall be one which generally promotes the purposes which are enumerated in the Certificate of Incorporation and these By-Laws.

So 66% of 1700 +/- members = 1122 would have had to vote to dissolve WDA - even then the proceeds could not have gone to USA because USA is not a 501 c3 as designated above.

So lets go with the merger theory - USA and WDA have two different membership voting types - these simply cannot be merged even if the members of WDA voted on it - they would have had to change apples to apples.  Now Lyle feels he can control the vote of USA as he can control the individual clubs votes - however, WDA would have to vote on

So lets go with the merger theory - USA and WDA have two different membership voting types - these simply cannot be merged even if the members of WDA voted on it - they would have had to change apples to apples. Now Lyle feels he can control the vote of USA as he can control the individual clubs votes - however, WDA would have to vote on a bylaw change. Now here is how that could happen, again INDIVIDUALS Vote and not just who can afford to travel like the clubs in USA - they do it by mailed ballots.

Section 2. Voting. At the annual general membership meeting or at a special general membership meeting of the Club, voting shall be limited to those members in good standing who are present at such meeting except that in the event of the election of Officers, Directors or amendments to By-Laws or trail rule changes, election shall and/or voting shall be conducted by written ballot cast by mail. Voting by proxy shall not be permitted and the Board of Directors may decide to submit other specific questions for decision of the members by written ballot cast by mail.

Really big differences between the way USA bylaws are and WDA's are - USA controls its votes on bylaw chages at its annual meeting and those votes are in person by the club representative attending and voting - so you have approximately 200 clubs that can vote, in reality only 60 can afford to attend? There is no mail in option.

In WDA any bylaw change has to be done by writtin ballout cast by mail. A person would have to control 1700 members - again it would be the 66% of the indivudual members. Now do you think that would have passed? What planet is Lyle on?

All the above goes against any credibility to Lyle's reasoning he got "burned" - it shows he really did not undertand legally what he was dealing with which also shows a lack of leadership abilities. Again a disagreement between two grown men over something that could not have happened either practically or legally is not a reason to disrupt memership. It is also inane and not a valid arugument to use the conflict of interest sound byte because it does not apply to members, they are not employees nor do they have a one member one vote.

And, Danny Spreitler had no board approval to discuss a merger with anyone. So if Lyle really has proof that there any offer to merge with Danny, Lyle should give that information to WDA board.

None of this really matters, except that it is being used as a non vaid reason to cause exclusionary membership amendments. When you look at the impossibility of a merger, you can see it is either fabrication by Lyle or a totall lack of understanding by him. Let's say all the above bylaws did not exist and it was possible - it is still a very poor reason to make members have to choose.

GSDCA has 5000+ members and I doubt if 200 of them know USA exists. No one cares if USA exists or not where they are concerned. Maybe there is a good reason for people to belong to all clubs so that they get all information, minutes, emails, correspondence etc.  direct from all clubs they belonged  rather than through one club's interpretation and dissemination. It sure would stop a lot of the misinformation out there.

Okay this was brought up before and no one answered it. If being told who or what orginization you can or can,t belong to is such a inconveince and against every thing we hold Dear. Should USA and every SV member in USA leave the WUSV there rule is Idnetical to ours and just as restrictive the RSV2000 doesent care what orginization you belong to and they also are recognized by the FCI so how soon do you think that is going to happen?

  

Not sure the foreign members of the SV are affected by this.  I know the SV is regretting their knee jerk reaction to RSV2000 they lost a ton of individual members - however, they did not loose the kennels as husbands and wives divided up he membership so their kennels could still have registered litters.  Currently, RSV2000 has to establish and exhibit to the VDH that it can establish and maintain a legitimate registry. 

Again being told what you cannot do only affects you if it is something you wanted to do. :)  While I admire Raiser for his training abilities and successes, I have yet to find any litters he bred and if so became this super race he is trying to create, surely he would have had these by now.  I am a little chagrined at that he establishes the RSV2000 AFTER he accomplished a fabulous carreer in trialing, winning and success through the very breed organziation whose dogs he succeeded with were bred under and through their trials.  He sure got some super dogs from what he now calls a lousy breeding organization.  And it all happens after he went through highly publizied lawsuits and was dismissed from the national breed warden position.  He is quite a character with good ideas and the ability to do his own thing.  But again, no organization states that you are precluded from breeding better dogs.

I actually like his ideas, but, in looking how dogs are bred here, including those in USA, his rules and regulations would certainly stop a lot of breeding here.  If people think the "Johannes Amendment" was egregious, just wait until if an RSV2000 rules and regs would be implemented and not just on breeding, it would be on trials and shows too.  It might not be a bad idea :)

PS to "RSV 2000 being FCI recognized" -  it is not seperately recognized by FCI - it has "recogniztion"  through VDH which is recognized by FCI.  VDH is the AKC of Germany.  This is like if AKC would make USA a GSD breed club.  VDH has merely recognized two GSD clubs.  RSV2000 as I stated above is not a seperate entity from VDH and is not directly recognized nor has individual membership in FCI.  FCI only recognizes one registration club in each country, for Germany it is the VDH - how many GSD clubs VDH recognizes is up to them. At this point in time, RSV2000 is not a full breed club, it still has to prove it can establish and maintain a registry according to the VDH rules and regs.