Minutes Hall of Fame Committee
April 25, 2012
The meeting took place by teleconference. It began at 9:00p.m. EDT and ended at 11:00 p.m. EDT. Present were Hob Brown, A.R. Ginn, Dave Williams, Dennis Joannides, Barbara Haupt, Sue Rose, and Ernie Hasse. Kate Romanski joined us as a special guest.
Our meeting ran longer than usual due to the amount of material we needed to cover and the fact that we have not had a formal meeting for several months.
I. History Committee
Dennis welcomed all members and Kate. Kate reviewed the documentation she prepared regarding the history of ECS in field trials. She focused her discussion on what she calls part II, history from the 1920s-1994. She mentioned that Harriman’s were the first chairs for the Cocker field trials and that initially there was no distinction between Cocker types. Early trials had Cockers and Springers. It wasn’t until 1955 that there was a distinction between ECS and the American Cocker Spaniel. Both type of cockers continued to compete against each other as they do today.
Ernie Hasse added that a pro trainer from Michigan, by the name of _______ Wingate (who might still be living) and John Blanack, who died in 1991 were instrumental in the game. It appears that the AKC Library that is in New York has limited hours of operation, by appointment only, and would be a good resource if one had time to go through the archives. The consensus of the group was that we would like more information about Cockers field trialing and since the information was sketchy we would try to fill it in anecdotally. AR indicated he had spoken with Paul McGagh who had a wealth of knowledge at his fingertips. Ernie seconded Paul’s knowledge. Paul suggested to AR that Janet Christiansen was another individual who had good knowledge. Additional people to consider are Noel Cacchio and Jerry Cacchio and maybe Paul Harris. Barbara Haupt said she will contact Noel. AR did indicate that Paul McGagh said the entire early bloodlines were gone and the breed had to start over as far as field bred dogs.
There is a need for us to have a way to capture the information out of these individuals. Ernie agreed he would talk further with Paul and Kate agreed that she would act as a repository for all of this information. We suggested that maybe Paul could dictate into a tape recorder or get on the phone with Kate and do a core dump of all of his knowledge. No timeline was set to do this, but AR agreed he would follow up with Paul.
We asked Kate if she could also distill all of the additional information and incorporate it into the work she has already begun. She agreed and we are very thankful for her willingness to participate as an Advisory member to our committee.
2. How should we utilize our current space AR & Dave Williams described the actual space. Attached to these minutes are additional photos Dennis received from David Smith, Executive Director of the BDM showing the actual space. We discussed temporarily having the NCC prints framed and hung in the space. Barbara Haupt expressed concern about us using too much wall space. Ultimately, the group acknowledged it needed help from a professional on space design and layout. Dave Williams indicated he met an individual who retired, but had professionally worked on museum displays. He indicated he would contact him to find out how he worked and how he might be of help. The group felt we need to get specific if we are going to ask for an RFP. We agreed to table discussion until Dave Williams could report back. Dennis indicated he would explore what other resources are available through the BDM since logistically it might be easier to work with someone locally.
Dennis indicated that the folks at the BDM did have local contacts for people who do museum quality work to build cabinets and do framing. Following the meeting, Dennis also got the name of a local graphic designer whom he will contact.
We discussed the display of NCC and other retired trophies in the museum. Sue and Kate expressed concern that the ECSCA might not be willing to give up ownership of these items. A question was also raised about the fact that our current first place trophy might be retired by someone qualifying to keep it. Not certain what the qualifications are to keep it. Dennis asked Hob if he, in fact, had not donated a new first place trophy that could not be retired. He said he did but a question was raised as to whether or not the trophy has been officially accepted by the ECSCA. Hob was adamant about the fact and was given assurance by last year’s President of the ECSCA, Terri Burrows, it would be done.
Dennis checked back with the BDM after the meeting about how the ownership would be handled. David Smith said that the museum has set a policy to not accept items on loan. However, he said on a case by case basis exceptions have been with regard to trophies that leave the museum for events such as the NCC and also understand a trophy might be retired. At the meeting there was no consensus to display trophies at this time.
3. Hall of Fame Nominations
Dennis reported that Sue Wilson accepted to act as chairperson for the Advisory Panel that serves as the nominating committee for the hall of fame. She is in receipt of the letter and nomination forms prepared by Hob Brown, AR Ginn and Dennis Joannides, and will distribute them to the appropriate parties this weekend. She also agreed to collect all nominations and conduct a meeting to discuss the names and pair the list to 6 people and 6 dogs before remitting to our committee.
Hob Brown prepared a time table of all activities and events that we needed to do up to and including the induction ceremony. In further discussion with the BDF following the meeting, it appears that they would like to receive our list of final recipients by November 15. The BDF, in turn, sends out a congratulatory letter to all of the recipients and requests the recipients provide a photo suitable for framing. The BDF prepares scrolls which are framed and given to the recipients.
The HOF requires a biographical sketch about the dog and the person( about 150 words). This is usually prepared by the secretary of our committee. (Once again we need to elect this person) The BDF also prepares a souvenir booklet that is given to all attendees with the name of inductees from all breeds. Once again they need a bio about 200 words. Some of the breeds have put up displays with photos and bios behind Plexiglas in their space, but not all breeds. The BDF cautioned us to think about the future, if we decide to display HOF inductee prints. In particular the size as we will run out of space in 10 years.
As to strategies to obtain the best nominees, both Ernie and AR felt that Paul could be instrumental in getting the best nominees. Hob suggested that this being the first year for inductees, the nomination committee will hopefully look to the past rather than more contemporary nominees. He felt it was going to take some digging, but, will set the tone for the future.
AR expressed concern about our funding annual expenses plus monies for cabinets, displays, professional help, etc. He suggested that we hold a fund raising event at every NCC. Ernie strongly supported this idea. Hob and Dennis cautioned that we might be competing with the NCC for fund raising. Kate or Sue suggested that maybe everyone is charged an extra $5 for their NCC entry. AR felt this would only raise $250 and we need more. We agreed this is an important subject and it has been tabled to the next meeting.
Dennis requested the group to continue discussion by e-mails
4. New Business and adjournment
There was no new business. The date for the next meeting was set for June 12, 2012 at
9:00 pm EDT.
The meeting was declared adjourned.