APA election???

[Marmoset]

I see in the Poultry Press that there are two candidates running for APA President... though I haven't seen anything yet of anyone running for VP. Has anyone heard who is running for VP, or for Director positions??

[Neil E. Grassbaugh]

I see in the Poultry Press that there are two candidates running for APA President... though I haven't seen anything yet of anyone running for VP. Has anyone heard who is running for VP, or for Director positions??

Who cares?

[Marmoset]

Oh... so nobody should care who the next Pres, Vice Pres, or Directors of the APA will be??

[Neil E. Grassbaugh]

Oh... so nobody should care who the next Pres, Vice Pres, or Directors of the APA will be??


No. Not really. You think it wll make a difference?

[Marmoset]

Well, I would like to think that it would make a difference. The APA has gotten "back on track" with several things over the last few years, so would it not be good to see continued progress??

Does it not matter who the "runs" any of our National organizations, ie- APA, ABA, etc...??

Does anyone else have any thoughts on this???

[jungle]

If the leadership of the organization is irrelevant then is there any purpose for the organization, itself?

[MKG]

No. Not really. You think it wll make a difference?

I'm sorry, but this sounds like sour grapes. If nothing makes a difference, why have an election at all? I have found one of the current presidential candidates and my current district director to be very responsive whenever my breed club had a question or a problem. So, yes, it does make a difference to me who gets elected to make the hard decisions. All members need to realize it is impossible keep everybody happy at the same time. There will always be issues of contention that tend to divide the membership. The alternative is organizational anarchy and I doubt if any of us wants that.

[MattL]

Anyone can call out the problems in the hobby and our clubs. A true leader can implement the solutions. Both candidates for President are fine gentleman who have given their time and effort for the APA. I tend to look for candidates who have paid their dues and deserve to be placed in a higher office and I tend to shy away from those who want to the run the whole show without working their way up. Most important thing regardless of who you support is that you vote!
MattL

[Patrick]

There's been a lot of progress in the last few years. I wonder if it's time that we start to rethink term limits. I know, that can backfire, but look at one of the things that ABA has got going for it. Good secretaries who have stayed in the job longterm, giving a lot of stability to the club. Other good long term officers might do the same.

[TomNY]

There's been a lot of progress in the last few years. I wonder if it's time that we start to rethink term limits. I know, that can backfire, but look at one of the things that ABA has got going for it. Good secretaries who have stayed in the job longterm, giving a lot of stability to the club. Other good long term officers might do the same.

I don't have a problem with the present term limit. I think it's more important to get feedback on the candidates management style and elect someone who will work well with the secretary. Elected officers change without without much problem but a secretary change is hard on everybody. Tom

[Evy]

I don't have a problem with the present term limit. I think it's more important to get feedback on the candidates management style and elect someone who will work well with the secretary. Elected officers change without without much problem but a secretary change is hard on everybody. Tom

True...a secretary is the backbone of any organization. A good one keeps things running smoothly, a bad one or one with her/his own agenda is disastrous, as many clubs have learned. With a responsibility as large as the ABA / APA, I don't think people realize that it amounts to a nearly full-time job with travel & few benefits.

[dch]

Butch Gunderson has filed for vice president

[dch]

Butch Gunderson has filed for Vice President.

[TomNY]

Ballots have been mailed. There are two almost equally qualified candidates for president [ Sam Brush and John Monaco]. Is campaigning/ discussion allowed? Tom

[MattL]

No problem as long as it is civil and fact based. Sometimes these things degrade to a personal name calling thing and that will be deleted. Keep it positive and informative. Both guys bring alot to the table and I look forward to hearing about their plans for the club especially how they will work with the ABA:)
MattL

[TomNY]

No problem as long as it is civil and fact based. Sometimes these things degrade to a personal name calling thing and that will be deleted. Keep it positive and informative. Both guys bring alot to the table and I look forward to hearing about their plans for the club especially how they will work with the ABA:)
MattL

I am and have been supporting John Monaco. I believe that having fewer irons in the fire John will be able to devote more time to the presidency of the APA and be able carry out the duties in a timely manner. Tom

[freestyle]

I believe that the leadership of a national organization is very important. We have seen what a difference a strong President and Secretary can make over the last 4 years. I feel that the APA needs a President that will stay on the course that has been established over the last few years and continue to build on that solid base. This office requires time, a strong dedication and the ability to work together with the Board of Directors and the Secretary to accomplish the goals of the organization and I feel ready to do just that.
John Monaco
Candidate for APA President

[katschicks]

Do not belong to the APA. In fact just joined the ABA yesterday. But I have talked with Bad Sam several times with a few questions I had and he sure helped me get some answers to them. And they made sence. Rog

[MKG]

As a life member of the APA and the ABA I have contacted Sam Brush in his various capacities of service for the APA for assistance from time to time. He has always responded in a positive manner. I believe he would make an excellent president, and he has my vote.

[Evy]

I agree with Mike. Sam has been closely involved for a long time & has the most knowledge of what needs to be done. He's spent the past several years trying to unravel the mess that the point system had been left in, a thankless task & not one in the VP job description.

[Omega Blue Farms]

Heritage Breed poultry conservation needs far better leadership than we have been getting. It's not just the responsibility of the APA, but also ALBC, RBC (here in Canada) and other like minded organizations. Each plays a part.

What the APA offers first and formost is the Standard of Perfection which, coupled with training judges to the Standard, I believe is the cornerstone of heritage breed conservation.

The APA is also a marketing engine that should better acknowledge and reward those with higher quality birds. What good is it to be reaching milestones such as Master Exhibitor if it takes several years for the membership to be informed?

Under the last term, it sounds like the APA's personal marketing engine has been improved, but now the organization needs to be improving it's ability to market the success of it's membership. When someone asks me for advice on where to buy top quality Barred Plymouth Rocks, I would like to be able to provide the fancier with current and relevant advice.

Historically, this was done via the yearbook. The last time I saw a truely useful yearbook was in 2004 where we could see who was winning what with what.

I would support the Presidential candidate that would promise to invest the resources needed to bring the point system and yearbook back to that level of usefullness.

[Bob308]

I have known Sam Brush since the early 80's and have always known him to be very resourceful and helpful in all areas regarding poultry. He works extremely hard for the fancy that he loves and would make a great president of the APA.

I know for a fact that once Sam became VP of the APA he gave up a number of personal endeavors including Judging so that he could totally focus on the work with the APA. He has only recently started judging again and one of the Judging assignments was for a new 4-H club that he judged for free.

Bob Choate
ABA District 11 Director.

[Patrick]

I feel John Barca should be the next APA President as he has several years of business experience which, to me, makes him the ideal person to follow what Dave Anderson has accomplished. He has served the APA for many years and has a record of being a "go-getter" and follows through on his endeavors. But neither of the candidates will be successful without the organization and it's members supporting them! We all need all of the support we can get, no matter what we set out to do!
Oggie

Who is John Barca?

[Marmoset]

I was wondering too... he might mean John Monaco??, though I guess maybe not??

[Patrick]

Could be. So then I'd say the poster knows him well, huh?

[Oggie]

My apologies to John Monaco! And to those who made light of my mistake, excuse me. I know who I voted for and that is all that matters to me. I will keep my opinions to myself from now on as they are my own and I don't need anyone to scrutinize me! You that are perfect, just keep on attacking those of us that are still human and make mistakes! I will make sure to avoid any chances for any unfriendly perfectionests to get their jollies by belittleing others' mistakes. Thanks to all of you, I don't care to be a part of this forum any longer. The part of the poultry fraternity that you represent is not what I want to be a part of. Feel free to attack this post as you will!

Oggie

[MKG]

Oggie, I didn't see the comments as an attack at all, just some good natured ribbing. We are painfully aware that humans are all subject to making the occasional gaffe from time to time - from personal experience. Stick around - we need you here. Jesus told Peter we are to forgive our fellow man how many times??? (Matthew 18:21-22)

[Patrick]

Oh, for crying out loud. I too hate to see anyone leave, we have so little participation here, but realistically, if that's enough to send you off crying, it wouldn't be very long before someone else disagreed even more strongly with something you wrote, and sent you off even more upset. Grow a pair, learn to stick up for yourself, take it when you've made a mistake, and just jump in and participate. What does it really matter what I or anyone else think?

[Marmoset]

I agree with Patrick. All joking aside though... I agree with Oggie's opinion on John "Barca's" suitability for APA Pres.

[Bluze]

I would support the Presidential candidate that would promise to invest the resources needed to bring the point system and yearbook back to that level of usefulness.

I agree completely with the above statement. Folks, take a look at your APA membership card. It is hand written. The software has been around for 20+ years to do a simple mail merge so that the APA's secretary can send out membership cards and all other correspondence in a minimal amount of time. Simple, easy to learn software allows anyone with basic computer skills (i.e. everyone reading this message) to keep accurate records leaving more time for one-on-one support to individual members and any problems that can crop up. The point system should have been computerized years ago. This is an overall leadership problem.

I believe that the person who has been our V. P. for the last 2 years, and who is computer and "show point" literate really needs to move into a position where he can bring the OLDEST North American livestock association out of the dark ages. With the ongoing and extraordinary recent INCREASE in the interest in poultry keeping, there is no reason that our membership should be shrinking . . . and it has been.

I voted for Sam Brush for APA President and I am glad to hear that most of you are doing the same! :)

Ann Charles
APA Arkansas State Representative

[Evy]

Excellent post, Ann. I would like to add one thing...a lot of problems with the point system lies with show secretaries who don't fill out the reports properly. Many times since he started to untangle the mess, Sam has phoned to ask if I attended the XYZ show & did I remember who had BB in some class, knowing I was apt to mark my exhibitor list. He shouldn't have to be doing that but has spent countless hours since he took on the mess.

I also feel that points shouldn't be the most important reason to belong, but to some, they obviously are.

[TomNY]

I agree completely with the above statement. Folks, take a look at your APA membership card. It is hand written. The software has been around for 20+ years to do a simple mail merge so that the APA's secretary can send out membership cards and all other correspondence in a minimal amount of time. Simple, easy to learn software allows anyone with basic computer skills (i.e. everyone reading this message) to keep accurate records leaving more time for one-on-one support to individual members and any problems that can crop up. The point system should have been computerized years ago. This is an overall leadership problem.

I believe that the person who has been our V. P. for the last 8 years, and who is computer and "show point" literate really needs to move into a position where he can bring the OLDEST North American livestock association out of the dark ages. With the ongoing and extraordinary recent INCREASE in the interest in poultry keeping, there is no reason that our membership should be shrinking . . . and it has been.

I voted for Sam Brush for APA President and I am glad to hear that most of you are doing the same! :)

Ann Charles
APA Arkansas State Representative

Sam has been VP for 8 years already? Time sure flies. Has anyone told Troy? Tom

[Bluze]

Sam has been VP for 8 years already? Time sure flies. Has anyone told Troy? Tom

TomNY,

Thank you for pointing out that error!: I will edit my original post. It just goes to shows that multi-taskers should never try to 'proof' there own work. :roll:

[Bluze]

Excellent post, Ann. I would like to add one thing...a lot of problems with the point system lies with show secretaries who don't fill out the reports properly. Many times since he started to untangle the mess, Sam has phoned to ask if I attended the XYZ show & did I remember who had BB in some class, knowing I was apt to mark my exhibitor list. He shouldn't have to be doing that but has spent countless hours since he took on the mess.

I also feel that points shouldn't be the most important reason to belong, but to some, they obviously are.

Excellent point, Evy. And I am sure that based on your winning credentials you must have had quite a few turns volunteering as a show secretary. So, let's not forget that the show secretary is really kind of in the middle when it comes to reporting show results. Sure, he/she, is responsible for sending in the actual reports to APA/ABA but the show secretary depends on a chain that starts with the judge, and moves on to the clerk, and both are guaranteed to make their own share of mistakes, too. That is just human nature. Personally, I save every coop tag when I show - expecting errors sometime down the road. But if procedures changed so that show secretaries could keep all coop tags for reference I think it would make reporting accurate show results much more likely, and easier on everyone.

Ann

[Evy]

Excellent point, Evy. And I am sure that based on your winning credentials you must have had quite a few turns volunteering as a show secretary. So, let's not forget that the show secretary is really kind of in the middle when it comes to reporting show results. Sure, he/she, is responsible for sending in the actual reports to APA/ABA but the show secretary depends on a chain that starts with the judge, and moves on to the clerk, and both are guaranteed to make their own share of mistakes, too. That is just human nature. Personally, I save every coop tag when I show - expecting errors sometime down the road. But if procedures changed so that show secretaries could keep all coop tags for reference I think it would make reporting accurate show results much more likely, and easier on everyone.

Ann

The easiest thing would be standardized judging sheets. Seems like every club has something different. It's also more often the clerks than a judge, if there's an error. How often have you seen some bored kid holding a clipboard & staring at the ceiling, as Patrick points out, or chatting with his friends? Then there's the secretary who sends in the report 6 months late with just numbers & no exhibitor list. There's a NY show has used to just not bother to send a report at all. Don't know if that changed because I no longer bother to attend it.

[MG17]

First off Tom thanks for defending my 4 years of service as VP to the APA... I am not easily offended and have the emails and recorded phone calls from my term to prove it...lol. My term as VP saw more challenges than anyone one executive should have to endure in any amount of time. Although many like to point blame and have/had all the solutions.... most did not know the magnitude of the situations we had to deal with... ...what existed prior to our term( not suggesting any individual wrong doing here either) and what transpired during that term.Dealing with END, 3 secretaries in 4 years,AI , computer crash resulting in a regathering of points.... all were challenges that no one could fore see. There were Heros in this situation( our term) that did not get the proper " Thanks" that made a bad situation better and not the disaster that it could have been. For that I thank Peter Merlin... with out him.. the association would not have survived. During this term ... John and Sam both served the board well. Both were go to people. Both in my view are and were important people to the APA. With that... who ever wins this election I hope has the business sense to see the value of the other canidate and finds a place for them in the new board. This simply due to the fact that if not elected the odd man out would not have position on the board. Result the APA membership and board not to mention the Hobby.. looses. I feel that both these individuals should have a place on the board to continue the direction of the APA that our current President Dave Anderson has accomplished and set forth.Points are points... I enjoy the thought of them... but they are an untamed monster. The points situation , well the big crash was a learning curve.Something that had been set up with several prior APA presidents prior to my even being on the board( VP or director) The magnitude of tracking these cherished points has been now steamlined and is to my knowledge not kept in one place or on one computer...... this is progress. Like I say a learning curve. The points are not the only thing that the APA has to worry about. Health and restrictions of State / Provincial and Federal governments.... not to mention the everyday running of selling the APA wears( what pays for most of the APA's expenses) along with the over all well being of the hobby. In my opinion the APA and ABA need to work hand in hand to ensure that the hobby continues . Each and every day we deal with differences of opinion... in business , work, school, social events... ect....some times we need to be the bigger person and put what is best for the Hobby in the forefront.Enuf said... My 2 cents from the normally quiet Canadian.

Troy

[Gary]

As a new comer {just joined the APA and the ABA} haven't heard the remark "who cares" on the APA side. Different mind set I guess.

[TomNY]

As a new comer {just joined the APA and the ABA} haven't heard the remark "who cares" on the APA side. Different mind set I guess.

Wecome aboard. I'm sure the " who cares" comment was meant to be taken as friendly rivalry. You're right, most APA members care. The more information they have the more they care. Tom