Open Communication for an Open Organization

My goal for DWAA is open communication from the board to all members and vice versa. I believe that increased and improved communication will benefit the organization as a whole. One of our current issues, it seems to me, is that members disagree with decisions made by the Board without any understanding of the factors that went into making the decisions. If the reasons were shared, more people might agree with decisions, and if not, at least have a better understanding of why those decisions were made.

I suggest that all the minutes and votes of any board meeting be made available publicly to members just after the meeting ends, both in Ruff Drafts and in the Forum. I would like to see all board members active on the DWAA Pro list; the members on that list are the heart and soul of DWAA, and our most active communications occur there. One positive aspect about using the list is that anyone who wants to has access, and there’s a filed record of posts, which you don’t have with telephone calls.

What I believe most strongly, not surprisingly, is that both sides of any issue facing our membership should be made clear in Ruff Drafts. We gain nothing by suppressing information, and gain everything by engaging in active communication. We are an organization of writers and journalists, and it behooves us look at both sides of an issue before making an individual decision on that issue. What we have now, along the lines of Cool Hand Luke, is a failure to communicate. Given that our profession is all about communicating, I hope that we can eliminate the failure to do so.

Join me in voting for Deb, Liz, and Susan in the election. I am voting for them because I believe they can bring about the open communication in what should be an engaging, interactive organization.

Members are the Organization and the Organization is the Membership

Many of us have been discussing some of the problems facing DWAA for more than a year; some for even longer. One thing that keeps popping up over and over again is that many members feel they have no place in DWAA. They feel that they don't matter; that DWAA doesn't need them; and even worse, that DWAA can't help them. Or won't help them.

That's really sad.

An organization such as DWAA survives with the success of its members. This is not an organization made up only of a few officers and board members; this is an organization with several hundred members. Each of whom should feel important and vital and necessary to the organization and each of whom should feel that DWAA has something to offer.

Making changes is hard. It will be difficult to incorporate changes into DWAA. Hopefully these coming elections will be the first step.

Establishing openness into the workings of DWAA will need to be the second step so that members can see what is being discussed, what the discussions consisted of, and how decisions are being made.

Involving additional members in the business of DWAA will probably be the third step. Many people have asked to involved and were told that their help was not needed. I know, myself, that many people are willing to help. This year was the first time that I had more people volunteer to serve as judges for our contest than I needed. Although many had served as judges previously, there were quite a few first time volunteers, too, and they did a wonderful job.

If DWAA is to continue to survive - and I hope it will - it must involve the membership and the membership must feel that DWAA cares about members.

As I said, the first step in the process is the upcoming election.

Liz

Liz Palika

Thoughts about Writers, Quilters, and Pumpkin Carvers

A friend of mine is an artist. He is very talented; so much so that when he carved a 100 pound pumpkin Saturday, it was a work of art.

That got me thinking (and yes, I know that's a dangerous place to go!) how each of us finds a way to express our thoughts, emotions, and experiences in different ways. Dan can find beauty in a piece of metal or even a pumpkin. My mother creates the most beautiful quilts and uses the various patterns for the quilt, as well as the patterns and colors of the fabric to make warm, comforting works of art.

Since I was in grammar school, I have been able to sort through my thoughts best by putting them down on paper or by seeing them on the computer screen. Something in the writing process helps me organize my thoughts, my emotions, or even my experiences. One day my husband and I were doing some house maintenance - I don't even remember what we were doing - but as I was holding the ladder for him, my mind started organizing that mundane experience into how it could be written. How could I make it interesting for the reader? What would the lede be? And the conclusion? Should I add more color to the story? I never wrote that particular story, but it was the first time that I realized that I truly was a writer; that writing is my creative endeavor and how I express the things I see around me.

Since that moment, I've talked to many other writers who do the same thing.

My first published work was a short memorial piece about the loss of my first dog, a GSD named Watachie. He was a rescue but an awesome dog; a SAR dog who also had a UD with OTCH points, a carting dog, and a Frisbee champion. I lost him at the age of seven - far too young - and I expressed my overwhelming grief by writing about Watachie. The article was published in the GSD national club magazine. After it was published, I got letters from people telling me how much my work touched them. My first fan mail. It was at that time that I realized my work - my words - could touch people.

Liz

Liz Palika www.lizpalika.com

Ducks are unhappy

I know, I know - this is a dog writers blog. But the ducks felt that they went out on a wing endorsing us & still no comments! So I promised to post a photo (see I keep campaign promises!) & here it is. Mako is the handsome fellow to the far left as you look at the photo with the dark eye patch. Snow White is the pure white duck. Then we have Splash, Smoke & the Gentleman. I am not sure whose feathered rear is at the edge.
The really upright stance is typical of Indian Runner ducks - Snow White is the best example.
Photo by Tom Eldredge
Deb E

Update on this year's contest

As most of you probably know, I am this year's DWAA contest chair. At this point in the process, more than 800 entries were recieved, sorted, packaged and sent out to more than 150 judges. (3 judges per category; i judge per special award)

But now the exciting part happens! The score sheets are coming back from the judges. I tabulate all the socres when I have all three score sheets from each category and the nominees and winners magically appear!

I now know the nominees and winners of more than half of the special awards and about a third of the regular categories, and more score sheets are arriving daily! Woo hoo!

When I have all of the nominees and winners determined, I will send out a letter to each nominee letting them know which work was nominated. The list will then appear in the December DWAA newsletter. I will also post it here and on the forums.

So knock on wood and cross your fingers!

Smiling Liz who is having way too much fun!

Liz Palika

Compromising positions

I second Deb's call for ideas from you guys as to what you'd like to see happen to make DWAA an even better, more effective, member-friendly organization.

Here's something I'd like to help make happen: amend the DWAA Bylaws to eliminate conflicts of interest, particularly with respect to elections.

Currently, the Bylaws place incumbents in contested elections in an untenable position: they are required to officiate in elections in which they are candidates. For example, Article V, Section 5e, requires that "All ballots received by the Secretary before December 31 will be delivered unopened to the Annual Meeting where three (3) tellers appointed by the President will count them."

Look at it this way: would we want Barack Obama's Virginia campaign chairman to be responsible for delivering absentee ballots to the state Board of Elections? Of course not. John McCain's supporters would understandably cry foul, and Obama's supporters would cringe (or at least should) at the thought of the election being possibly compromised in such a fashion.

And yet, the DWAA Bylaws require both the incumbent President and the incumbent Secretary to officiate in a contested election just such a fashion. The Secretary is in charge of handling the ballots. The President appoints the tellers. They don't even have the option of recusing themselves so as to ensure that the election proceedings are above reproach. This is unfair to them, to the other candidates and to the members.

I know that Carmen Battaglia, current DWAA president, has appointed a committee to study the Bylaws, but as far as I know (Deb, can you update us?) that committee has not held a meeting. I know, too, that Carmen and the current DWAA secretary, Pat Santi, have promised that the ballots will be kept in a lock box until it's time to open them at the Annual Meeting. That's a great start, and I appreciate their efforts to reassure the members that this election will be a fair and honest one. But those efforts, unfortunately, are just a start. And while it's possible that the Board of Governors could agree on minor changes in procedure for this election -- for example, to have the ballots delivered to a post office box and to have two people bring the ballots from the post office box to the meeting -- what we really need is, at some point, to change the Bylaws so that this situation does not occur again.

Please understand: I am not, repeat not, questioning anyone's integrity here. What I am questioning is whether we can amend the Bylaws so that, in the future, people of integrity won't be forced to assume, ahem, compromising positions.

What do you all think?

What do YOU want from DWAA?

I am hoping that any DWAA members reading this blog will feel free to post to us what YOU would like from DWAA. You can even post as anonymous :))

Are there more committees you would like to see instituted? And if so, what ones?

How do you feel about Associate members getting the vote after, say, 5 years of continuous membership?

What about a DWAA Announce list? One of my national breed clubs has that - the only emails come from the parent club & it is to announce important business, etc. No responses on the list. That might be a way to get Board business out every month so members know what is going on.

Please feel free to let us know. We are hoping to make DWAA an even better organization for all of us.

Second endorsement!

I, Windy Run's Allie McChappell, have decided -- albeit with a little reluctance -- to endorse the candidacies of Debra Eldredge, Susan McCullough and Liz Palika for DWAA officerships in the coming election.

My reluctance to endorse this slate has nothing to do with Deb or Liz. Being a Golden Retriever, I'm prepared to think the best of everyone, and I'm sure that Deb and Liz are almost as fabulous as I am. No, my reluctance has to do with Susan, my person. I have put a lot of time and effort into training her to be a better owner. Now I think I should reap some reward from my effort. Let me explain.

I am not just any Golden Retriever. I am the most fabulous Golden diva to grace the planet. It's not for nothing that one of the greatest of all Golden Retrievers, the magnificent Amberac Asterling Aruba, appears on both sides of my pedigree. But for all my great looks, I don't just lie around gracing the family hearth. I am a force of nature. I am someone to be reckoned with. I am a teacher: Susan's teacher.

When Susan takes me for my daily romp and fetch session on a nearby sunlit field, I don't always just tear after the ball and bring it back to her. Sometimes, I decide to play keep-away with her: I'll run off with the ball, let her get just close enough to grab my leash, and then saunter off before she can do so. Sometimes, I'll sneak up behind her, press the ball into her hand, and then dance away before she can react. When we're out for a stroll, sometimes I decide to take a break from loose-leash, polite walking monotony and play a little tug-of-war with Susan and the leash. And during the day, I'm good at finding all kinds of mischief, whether it's shredding toilet paper, routing through the trash, or summoning her to my side by scratching the side of the sofa.

But I don't just do this for my own amusement. I do it to teach Susan how to be a better owner. I've instilled in her important qualities: creativity, a sense of humor, persistence and patience, to name a few. I'm proud to say that after nearly six years of continuous, dedicated effort on my part, Susan is displaying these qualities with reasonable consistency. Naturally, after all my hard work, I'd like to have Susan all to myself. It's only fair, don't you think?

Well -- maybe not.

I have reluctantly concluded that it would be selfish of me to refuse to share the qualities that I have instilled in Susan. I am a big girl. I am mature. I can deal with having her play Ms. Flying Fingers at the computer keyboard not only when she writes articles but also when serving DWAA.

So, please consider this my endorsement for Susan, Debra and Liz. And if they are elected, please don't hesitate to send me a note of thanks. Any treats that accompany those notes -- particularly if they are venison jerky -- will be most welcome.

Best wishes,

Allie

An endorsement!

Unprecedented Endorsement!!!!
The Duck Egg Laying Union #309 in upstate NY has come out 100% behind the slate of Deb Eldredge, DVM, Liz Palika and Susan McCullough for the upcoming DWAA elections. Union Chief Mako had this to say, "Well, we know where our food comes from. Plus who fills our kiddie wading pools outside in nice weather - twice a day, sometimes even three times a day! Add in clean shavings, fresh hay and a dry stall in a nice barn at night and in cold weather - just can't beat the perks!" His secretary, the lovely Snow White chimed in, "Let's face it, I would have been in a pot years ago if it wasn't for Deb! And while that hairy guy Hokey isn't much to look at and is a bit bossy, he has never hurt one of my girls."
This represents the first time ever that this union has taken political sides. History in the making!
There you have it - unedited and from a live interview with this reporter

(For those wondering about Hokey - he is a wonderful Belgian Tervuren who has multiple sheep and duck herding titles. He is the primary Eldredge farm dog. )

Cold & wet & roster ?s

Boy, a cold, wet day here - hard rain with snow predicted for tonight. Actually a bit early for our area but not unusual. The dogs love it, the donkeys hate it. I would love it if it was a quiet day where I could curl up on the love seat in the corner with the dogs all around me, a good book & a mug of tea :))

On the DWAA scene, I have a few concerns about the roster. Doing the roster has to be a real pain & keeping it current very difficult; especially nowadays when people change internet servers at the drop of a hat. However, with the election approaching, ballots will only go out to Professional members. That is how our bylaws read.
With that in mind, I see that a Board nominee & our new newsletter editor are both listed in the roster as Associates. Both of these people are actually Professional members ( no question about that!) Their error in the roster listing was caught because they are somewhat high profile. So how many other members out there are incorrectly listed? Normally this wouldn't matter that much, but with an election that is actually contested, this is a serious problem. Any thoughts on how to deal with this? And in the short time we have before ballots are printed & mailed?
Deb E

I Guess I'm an Old Timer ...snicker

I became a member of DWAA in 1985 as a professional member. I guss that makes me an old timer although I certainly don't feel like one! snicker.... By the way, You'll find out those snickers are one of my trade marks; I have a tendency to laugh and snicker at lots of things - sometimes appropriately and sometimes not! More than one person has tried to cure me of this sometimes bad habit but I'd rather snicker and laugh than cry - so I snicker.

I have always wanted to write and even in school as a kid, I liked to write stories. However in college a creative writing teacher told me I couldn't write and to stop trying. Now looking back and reading some of my work I have to admit I wasn't very good. However, he could have tried to teach me rather than condemning my efforts.

I stopped writing for ten years but then couldn't restrain myself; I just have to write. So I began corresponding with other dog owners, dog trainers, and people who participated in some of the same dog sports that I was working in at the time. My first work was published in FRONT & FINISH, then a now defunct magazine called BREED & SHOW, then now DWAA member Kim Thornton took a risk on me and I wrote a column for DOG FANCY called "Living With Dogs". That column ran for fifteen years - a long time for a monthly column - and it garnered many awards, including quite a few from DWAA.

Now, 20 some years later, I stopped counting published magazine work after 1000 had been published - magazine essays, columns, and features - I've been published in all of the major pet publications as well as SATURDAY EVENING POST, NEWSWEEK, and more. I am working on my 61st book, to be published in April 2009.

I still love to write and do so just about every day. I also enjoy dogs. I share my life with three Australian Shepherds: Riker, 9 years young; Bashir, 4 years old; and Archer, our 11 month old puppy. I enjoy this breed because they keep my active physically and mentally, and they challenge me every day. They are funny, way too smart, and gorgeous.

I hope these blogs will be a place where people can share information about themselves, about DWAA, and their goals for both DWAA and their writing about dogs. As someone we all know says, "It's all good!"

Liz Palika

Liz Palika LLC
www.lizpalika.com
www.kindredspiritsk9.com
Tags: dog writing, dwaa, liz palika

What DWAA means to me, Part 2

Susan here. I've been a DWAA member for 10 years.

I'm not sure if Janine Adams is still a DWAA member, but she's the person who urged me to join. I was *so* intimidated at the prospect, and even more so when I joined. Heck, the first time I saw Mordecai Siegel, I didn't even have the nerve to go up and introduce myself. Since then, I've lost some of my shyness and not only introduced myself to Morty but have also confided in him about my earlier timidity. When I did that, he was very kind and did not laugh at me any more than I laughed at myself.

All kidding aside, though, being a DWAA member has meant the world to me. Writing is a pretty solitary profession, so having fellow dog writers to hob-nob with -- even if that hobnobbing occurs mostly online -- creates a nice break in that solitude. I've met so many wonderful people through DWAA: people like Deb, Liz, Phyllis, and Elaine. Then there's my 'big brother' Steve Dale (hey Bro!); Kim Thornton (best person in the world to watch a Harry Potter movie with); Eve (you still haven't told me where you get your boots); Chris (I look up to you in more ways than one); Su (a great person to sweat out getting an airport shuttle with) and a whole bunch of other people to whom I apologize now for not having mentioned them by name.

People in this organization are so generous. When I've needed to incorporate their expertise into books and articles I write, they've been there. When I've needed market advice, they've given it. When I needed help negotiating my first book contract, they stepped up. For that matter, I wouldn't have even gotten my first book contract if I hadn't been a DWAA member. I've tried to follow their example, and share any knowledge and/or wisdom that I've accummulated with those who've asked for my help.

But in the 10 years I've been a member, there's never been a real election -- at least not that I can remember. That's fine when things are just humming along. But this year, as we all know, things have not been merely humming along. There's been controversy. There's been anger. There's been disappointment. At times, things have gotten pretty ugly.

I want to help change that. I want to help DWAA become an open, transparent organization that appreciates, accommodates and utilizes that talents of all its members. That includes not only the writers who focus on conformation (and I am proud to write for the AKC Gazette, among other outlets) but also those who concentrate on performance, on training and behavior, on health and on the joys of simply living with dogs. I want DWAA to mean as much to others as it has meant to me. If you all want me to, I'm ready to do my part to make that happen -- starting with offering you a choice in this election.

Susan

What DWAA means to me

I was excited to join DWAA – joining the ranks of well known and respected dog writers like Carol Lea Benjamin – one of my dog training/writing heroines. I saw membership as a chance to bask in the reflected glory of outstanding writers, hopefully improve my own writing and get to meet and network with some of these writers.

Through DWAA I have gained resources on virtually every area of dogdom, made wonderful friends, gained co-authors and even gotten interviewed on various radio programs. I have been exposed to beautiful artwork, know some outstanding photographers and have heard many funny stories. DWAA can open doors and help you succeed in your writing goals.

I still consider it an honor to belong to DWAA but I think the organization needs to move forward into the new century. DWAA can no longer be an organization run by a few and kept somewhat insular. It needs some new ideas, some new enthusiasm and better use of the member talents. At the same time, DWAA needs to offer members very clear benefits.

As an organization of writers, as well as dog lovers, we need to offer open leadership, open debate on issues and access to Board members and Board actions. Members need and deserve to know about the decisions that the Board makes every month on their behalf.

At this time in my life I am quite comfortable with who I am and where I am. I don’t “need” to be president of DWAA. However, I think that right now, DWAA needs me and others like me who wish to open the organization up to the potential it has and truly make it a professional organization for ALL dog writers.

On a lighter note, I laugh when people talk about the quiet of the countryside. At 7 am today the cacophony from the thousands of Canadian geese in our neighbor's cornfield was almost deafening. Then came a low, thrumming, long note - the male donkey down the street calling to our girls. Wonderful, full of life noises - but definitely not quiet!

Deb E

Blogging & welcome

OK, this is Deb Eldredge, DVM. I feel like Robert Redfern in Doonesbury as I make my attempt at blogging. This could be fun!

Today (as of noon) I have driven 150 miles, cleaned 3 stalls, fed 40 animals and managed to hit our local tracking test, soccer practice & marching band practice. Never a dull moment! If this works, I will be back later to blog about DWAA, what it means to mean & thoughts of the future. It is a stunning fall day here in upstate NY - about 50 degrees, incredibly bright blue sky with gorgeous fall colors & I am off to the senior recognition ceremony at the football game!

Deb E

Hello and welcome

Dear DWAA members:

Welcome to "The Write Voices", the new blog of Debra Eldredge, Susan McCullough and Liz Palika, and supporters of Deb's, Susan's and Liz's campaigns to run for DWAA officer slots by petition. As you all know, Deb is running for president, Susan for VP, Liz for secretary, and Eve for Board member, Class of 2012.

On this blog, we'll share with you our visions for DWAA -- what we'd like the organization to become and new directions we'd like to take it. This blog is, frankly, the first such direction. We realize that DWAA members have a right to an organization with transparency. This blog will give you a chance to see what we're about and what we stand for, and for you to share your concerns with us. And if we're elected, we'll continue the blog, so that you can continue to know what we're doing and to keep us informed about what matters to you and how you'd like us to represent you.

And please do participate in this blog. We want to hear your voices, too! But please understand that we expect all comments to be courteous and respectful. We reserve the right to delete comments that don't meet that standard.

Thanks for taking the time to visit us. We'll be posting more very soon.

Cheers, Deb, Susan and Liz