Minutes of the HFC Meeting
dated August 22, 2012
The meeting took place by teleconference. It began at 9:00p.m. EDT and ended at 10:38 p.m. EDT. Present were AR Ginn, Hob Brown, Dave Williams, Dennis Joannides, and Barbara Haupt. and Sue Rose. Absent was Ernie Hasse.
Hob Brown updated us on the work Lisa Brown and Kate Romanski have been doing on the time line. He reported they are working on both a condensed version as well as a long version that will include photographs. While the hope was for a draft to be ready for this meeting, the project was much more involved than originally contemplated. Lisa has also been purchasing old magazines, on line, to aid her research. AR, on behalf of the committee, extended our appreciation to Lisa and Kate for the work they have been doing.
Dave Williams mentioned he had a chance to talk with Martin Dealey, a British writer and dog trainer, who now reside in Florida. Martin worked closely with Shelia Courts on importing English Cocker Spaniel field dogs during the early resurgence. Martin felt there were a number of factors that were attributed to the decline and resurgence of the ECS as a field dog and referred David to another gentlemen from England who may shed some more light on what transpired.
AR received an email from Sue Wilson, chair person of the Advisory Panel, indicating she had not yet received any formal nominations to the ECSFTHOF. She was cognizant of the approaching cut-off date. After considerable conversation about the lack of nominations, it was felt that we may not have clearly communicated the process and, further, that few are knowledgeable about the history. We discussed extending the date for submission and publishing the nomination form on line. A decision was made not to extend the dates but to publish at least the brief timeline, once reviewed by the HFC, together with the nomination form, on Field Cockers as soon as possible.
The committee expressed concern about the health of Ernie Hasse and his inability to actively participate on the HFC. They requested that Dennis discuss with Ernie his ability and willingness to continue on the HFC in light of his having missed almost all of the meetings. We also discussed the importance of having every member participate in discussion and voting on prospective HFC nominations. HFC voting procedure for induction into the HOF is based on actual numbers, not as a percentage of those in attendance at a meeting. Therefore, someone who is absent is comparable to a vote of NO! Dennis will contact Ernie and if he decides to resign from the HFC, Dennis will immediately notify the HFC so that other names can be considered for possible replacement on the HFC.
We also discussed the importance of maintaining confidentiality about HFC discussion, in particular, discussion about dogs and people nominated to the HOF. We agreed to have open discussion, but the actual ballot was to be secretive. The process will be for us to vote by e-mail to Sue Rose while we remained in conference. She will tally the results and immediately report to the HFC in conference. Additional discussion will follow and additional voting as necessary will take place. Confidentiality will be a “no tolerance policy” meaning that if a member breaks confidentiality they will be asked to resign.
Hall of Fame Space: Dennis reported that as a result of an additional $10,000 donation by Hob Brown, $2,500 by Kate Romanski and $1,000 by Dick Dixon we have over funded the ECS endowment at the BDM. A request was made to David Smith, Executive Director of the BDF, that the ECS group be permitted to use its over funding to make improvements to its allocated space including such things as design, signage, production of displays, lighting, etc. This request is being considered by the BDF Executive Committee. The concern of the BDF is that it does not have the staffing to process numerous requests. The HFC felt we could funnel our requests through 1 or 2 providers, thus lessening the administrative burden.
Dave reported he had been in contact with Tony White and that Tony felt he could meet our needs and apologized for being hard to reach. There was a medical emergency with one of his key employees that put substantial pressure on his time. Dave felt we should stay with Tony. Dave also indicated he has been in touch with Hudson Nicolls and Carole Janousek about photos of ECS in the field. Dave also asked the HFC to talk with their constituents about sending digital photos they may have in their possession. These will be given to Tony White for incorporation into the mural, as well as time line.
We finished discussion from our last meeting about the American Cocker Spaniels. Sue noted that the breed refers to itself as Cockers, not American Cockers. A motion was made by AR and seconded by Dave Williams that all Cockers up until 1936 shall be eligible for the ECSHOF and only English Cocker Spaniels born after 1936 shall be eligible for the ECSHOF. The motion passed 5 to 1 with Hob Brown casting the dissenting vote.
The next meeting is scheduled for September 19, 2012 at 9:00 pm eastern at the same call-in numbers.
The meeting was adjourned.