Post by jamshundred on Jun 29, 2015 15:06:42 GMT
5-5-2004 President Kathleen Smith letter to ADCA members ( Sent US Postal Service)
kesmith@telenetxxx xxx xxxx ( phone number deleted)
351 Lighthall Road Fort Plain, NY 13339
May 5, 2004
Dear ADCA Member,
As a member of the Board of Directors of the American Dexter Cattle
Association (ADCA), I feel that it
is imperative to bring the following information to your attention immediately.
In my role as a Board Member,
(I also serve as President of the ADCA), it is my fiduciary duty to inform the
members of events that, in my
opinion, are not in the best interests of the ADCA and its members.
A contingent of directors of the ADCA has given notice of a special meeting of
the Board of Directors
for Saturday, June 5, 2004 at 4:00 p.m. at the Western Sizzlin Restaurant,
Lebanon, Missouri. The agenda of
items to be addressed includes the following:
1. "Review and ratify the previously conducted email votes, proposals, and
agreements made by the
Board."
2. "Discuss and act on the personnel issues regarding staff/officers who are
elected, or serve at the pleasure of the Board."
3. "Discuss and act on the inclusion, (and the addition to our Rules and
Regulations), of the use of telephonic and electronic (including emall)
communication and voting as a method of conducting ADCA business."
'hese items will have far-reaching effects on the way that you register and
transfer your cattle, which of
course, translates into how expediently and accurately papers can be
processed in the sales of animals.
The following is some background leading to the current events .
.In February 2003, Rosemary Fleharty, the current Secretary-Treasurer-
Registrar, faced some pressure to
resign and turn over the registry to others. It even appeared that she might
have to resign if the ADCA work
were in conflict with her full-time employment. She has not, however, ever
tendered her resignation to the
Board of Directors. Nonetheless, on February 23,2004, John Potter, Director
of Region 14, Michigan, sought
to remove the registry from Rosemary, and by emall proposed the following
six items for consideration by the
Board:
1. Recognition of Pat Mitchell as Immediate Past President, thus entitling him
to vote as a member of the Board of Directors;
2. Immediate termination of the employment of Dean Fleharty, who was
appointed in July 2003 to assist Rosemary with ADCA work;
3. Appointment of Sandi Thomas of Oregon as Acting Secretary; 4.
Appointment of James Smith of Missouri as Acting Treasurer;
Appointment of Anthony Bauer of Illinois as Acting Registrar; and
Immediate confiscation by John Foley of the ADCA property and records
maintained by Rosemary Fleharty, the Registrar since 1986, for distribution to
Anthony Bauer.
Within a day or two, the majority of the directors on the Board purported to
"vote" in favor of these
proposals. However, a meeting to consider these proposals had not been
properly noticed and the votes had not
been properly taken.
Accordingly, the purported votes and actions of the Board of Directors had no
legal effect.
Subsequently another round of voting took place regarding a proposed
telephone conference and the counting of email votes. Again. the majority of
the directors purported to "vote" in favor of the prior email votes, although
there was no proper meeting and the votes were not properly taken. It is my
belief that the votes mentioned for ratification at the special meeting noticed
for June 5 include these improper votes. In addition, the personnel items
referenced in the agenda seem to refer to the John Potter proposals. No
verifiable employment records or references have been submitted by, or
regarding, those people presented for positions in the ADCA.
In light of my fiduciary duties as a member of the Board, I believe it is in the
best interests of the ADCA and its members to inform you of the following
information that you might find relevant to the proposed actions.
1. Anthony Bauer, who would replace Rosemary Fleharty as Registrar, is John
Potter's partner on a Dexter herd known as Tama Takoda (ADCA 2004
Membership Directory, pgs. 9 & 53; .
2. John Potter, as chairman of the ADCA Genetics Committee works with labs
that process genetic and color testing. He has apparently signed a contract
with a lab on behalf of the ADCA, retains said Gontract, and refuses the
delivery of information to Rosemary Fleharty, thus preventing her from
processing and maintaining some records.
3. James Smith, who would become Treasurer, is a colleague of John Foley,
the Director of Region 1, and a supporter of the proposed actions.
4. Richard Gradwohl, who became a Director in Region 3 in January 2004, has
an established miniature cattle registry in
WashingtonState(http://minicattle.com), and he has not registered a Dexter
with the ADCA since February 1995.
(www.dextercattle.org/pedigreedb/index.html)
The growth of the ADCA certainly points towards the need for the registry to
be in a full-time, professional setting. A timeline for such a move was outlined
and adopted by the Board last summer. However, before the ADCA can be
ready for acceptance at a full-time business setting, or move forward in any
way, the
governing infrastructure must be strengthened. At this .time there is no need
to abruptly remove the registry from Rosemary Fleharty. Doing so in the way
proposed would likely be detrimental to the timely, dependable service we
have all come to expect. Proper training and a smooth transition to prevent
loss of services are vital.
Rosemary Fleharty has successfully managed the registry since 1986 when it
was boxes of index cards and the ADCA was doing about 200 registrations per
year. Last year approximately 1,200 registrations were processed with nearly
as many transfers as well. There has been a new member nearly every day for
the first three months of 2004. Based on the current flow of business, the
ADCA could likely hit 1,500 registrations in 2004. It is now a $100,000 business
recorded on a fully automated database with cascading updates for each
function, i.e. that of secretary, treasurer, and registrar. For example, when
money is received for a membership, the amount is updated into the financial
accounts. When a registration is transacted, money is recorded similarly. A
great deal of careful analysis and design went into developing the information
system used at the ADCA office. Rosemary regularly updates and saves the
registry information to secure locations.
I have heard rumors unfairly directed at Rosemary stating that she will harm
the registry. Rosemary has no desire to destroy what she worked so hard to
build over the last nearly twenty years, and while she supports the transition
of the registry to a different setting, she does so in a timely and efficient
manner that will protect the information she has worked so hard to develop. If
the actions proposed for the June 5 meeting are approved by the Board of
Directors, the timely and efficient transition of the registry will not occur.
Rather, I believe it will occur without regard for the best interests of the ADCA
and its members. It is my opinion that your ability to register and transfer
cattle could be adversely affected which may devalue all Dexters. The
protection of the registry is of paramount importance to all of us who want to
register cattle.
I urge you to communicate your concerns about the proposed actions to your
regional director (and other directors) prior to the June 5 meeting. If you've
ever thought about expressing your opinion, now is the time to do it. Full
contact information for the members of the Board of Directors is on page 4 of
the Membership Directory. (Please be advised also that Terry Parsons was the
successful candidate for Region 15. His contact information is available in the
Arkansas listings of the Membership Directory.) Additionally, you are welcome
to contact me, and/or Rosemary and Dean Fleharty at the ADCA office in
Prairie Home, Missouri 660-841- 9502 to discuss this issue in further detail. My
full contact information is on the heading of this letter and in the ADCA
Membership Directory.
It is often said that "Change is inevitable, but progress is not." We need to
proceed on the side of progress. ADCA members care for their cattle
everyday. Please help protect their interests on these important Issues ..
I thank you for your time and consideration. This is all about Dexters!
Respectfully,
Kathleen E. Smith, Member
ADCA Board
kesmith@telenetxxx xxx xxxx ( phone number deleted)
351 Lighthall Road Fort Plain, NY 13339
May 5, 2004
Dear ADCA Member,
As a member of the Board of Directors of the American Dexter Cattle
Association (ADCA), I feel that it
is imperative to bring the following information to your attention immediately.
In my role as a Board Member,
(I also serve as President of the ADCA), it is my fiduciary duty to inform the
members of events that, in my
opinion, are not in the best interests of the ADCA and its members.
A contingent of directors of the ADCA has given notice of a special meeting of
the Board of Directors
for Saturday, June 5, 2004 at 4:00 p.m. at the Western Sizzlin Restaurant,
Lebanon, Missouri. The agenda of
items to be addressed includes the following:
1. "Review and ratify the previously conducted email votes, proposals, and
agreements made by the
Board."
2. "Discuss and act on the personnel issues regarding staff/officers who are
elected, or serve at the pleasure of the Board."
3. "Discuss and act on the inclusion, (and the addition to our Rules and
Regulations), of the use of telephonic and electronic (including emall)
communication and voting as a method of conducting ADCA business."
'hese items will have far-reaching effects on the way that you register and
transfer your cattle, which of
course, translates into how expediently and accurately papers can be
processed in the sales of animals.
The following is some background leading to the current events .
.In February 2003, Rosemary Fleharty, the current Secretary-Treasurer-
Registrar, faced some pressure to
resign and turn over the registry to others. It even appeared that she might
have to resign if the ADCA work
were in conflict with her full-time employment. She has not, however, ever
tendered her resignation to the
Board of Directors. Nonetheless, on February 23,2004, John Potter, Director
of Region 14, Michigan, sought
to remove the registry from Rosemary, and by emall proposed the following
six items for consideration by the
Board:
1. Recognition of Pat Mitchell as Immediate Past President, thus entitling him
to vote as a member of the Board of Directors;
2. Immediate termination of the employment of Dean Fleharty, who was
appointed in July 2003 to assist Rosemary with ADCA work;
3. Appointment of Sandi Thomas of Oregon as Acting Secretary; 4.
Appointment of James Smith of Missouri as Acting Treasurer;
Appointment of Anthony Bauer of Illinois as Acting Registrar; and
Immediate confiscation by John Foley of the ADCA property and records
maintained by Rosemary Fleharty, the Registrar since 1986, for distribution to
Anthony Bauer.
Within a day or two, the majority of the directors on the Board purported to
"vote" in favor of these
proposals. However, a meeting to consider these proposals had not been
properly noticed and the votes had not
been properly taken.
Accordingly, the purported votes and actions of the Board of Directors had no
legal effect.
Subsequently another round of voting took place regarding a proposed
telephone conference and the counting of email votes. Again. the majority of
the directors purported to "vote" in favor of the prior email votes, although
there was no proper meeting and the votes were not properly taken. It is my
belief that the votes mentioned for ratification at the special meeting noticed
for June 5 include these improper votes. In addition, the personnel items
referenced in the agenda seem to refer to the John Potter proposals. No
verifiable employment records or references have been submitted by, or
regarding, those people presented for positions in the ADCA.
In light of my fiduciary duties as a member of the Board, I believe it is in the
best interests of the ADCA and its members to inform you of the following
information that you might find relevant to the proposed actions.
1. Anthony Bauer, who would replace Rosemary Fleharty as Registrar, is John
Potter's partner on a Dexter herd known as Tama Takoda (ADCA 2004
Membership Directory, pgs. 9 & 53; .
2. John Potter, as chairman of the ADCA Genetics Committee works with labs
that process genetic and color testing. He has apparently signed a contract
with a lab on behalf of the ADCA, retains said Gontract, and refuses the
delivery of information to Rosemary Fleharty, thus preventing her from
processing and maintaining some records.
3. James Smith, who would become Treasurer, is a colleague of John Foley,
the Director of Region 1, and a supporter of the proposed actions.
4. Richard Gradwohl, who became a Director in Region 3 in January 2004, has
an established miniature cattle registry in
WashingtonState(http://minicattle.com), and he has not registered a Dexter
with the ADCA since February 1995.
(www.dextercattle.org/pedigreedb/index.html)
The growth of the ADCA certainly points towards the need for the registry to
be in a full-time, professional setting. A timeline for such a move was outlined
and adopted by the Board last summer. However, before the ADCA can be
ready for acceptance at a full-time business setting, or move forward in any
way, the
governing infrastructure must be strengthened. At this .time there is no need
to abruptly remove the registry from Rosemary Fleharty. Doing so in the way
proposed would likely be detrimental to the timely, dependable service we
have all come to expect. Proper training and a smooth transition to prevent
loss of services are vital.
Rosemary Fleharty has successfully managed the registry since 1986 when it
was boxes of index cards and the ADCA was doing about 200 registrations per
year. Last year approximately 1,200 registrations were processed with nearly
as many transfers as well. There has been a new member nearly every day for
the first three months of 2004. Based on the current flow of business, the
ADCA could likely hit 1,500 registrations in 2004. It is now a $100,000 business
recorded on a fully automated database with cascading updates for each
function, i.e. that of secretary, treasurer, and registrar. For example, when
money is received for a membership, the amount is updated into the financial
accounts. When a registration is transacted, money is recorded similarly. A
great deal of careful analysis and design went into developing the information
system used at the ADCA office. Rosemary regularly updates and saves the
registry information to secure locations.
I have heard rumors unfairly directed at Rosemary stating that she will harm
the registry. Rosemary has no desire to destroy what she worked so hard to
build over the last nearly twenty years, and while she supports the transition
of the registry to a different setting, she does so in a timely and efficient
manner that will protect the information she has worked so hard to develop. If
the actions proposed for the June 5 meeting are approved by the Board of
Directors, the timely and efficient transition of the registry will not occur.
Rather, I believe it will occur without regard for the best interests of the ADCA
and its members. It is my opinion that your ability to register and transfer
cattle could be adversely affected which may devalue all Dexters. The
protection of the registry is of paramount importance to all of us who want to
register cattle.
I urge you to communicate your concerns about the proposed actions to your
regional director (and other directors) prior to the June 5 meeting. If you've
ever thought about expressing your opinion, now is the time to do it. Full
contact information for the members of the Board of Directors is on page 4 of
the Membership Directory. (Please be advised also that Terry Parsons was the
successful candidate for Region 15. His contact information is available in the
Arkansas listings of the Membership Directory.) Additionally, you are welcome
to contact me, and/or Rosemary and Dean Fleharty at the ADCA office in
Prairie Home, Missouri 660-841- 9502 to discuss this issue in further detail. My
full contact information is on the heading of this letter and in the ADCA
Membership Directory.
It is often said that "Change is inevitable, but progress is not." We need to
proceed on the side of progress. ADCA members care for their cattle
everyday. Please help protect their interests on these important Issues ..
I thank you for your time and consideration. This is all about Dexters!
Respectfully,
Kathleen E. Smith, Member
ADCA Board
. It had been brewing for a while, but there were new women on the board who were new to the breed, we're not aware of years of competition among some and were "groomed" into partisan opinions and positions. Then, someone orchestrated Gradwhol into the mix. Lots of behind the scene manuevering in the NW over the years. 
