Meeting Minutes from the

Indiana State Rex Rabbit Breeders Association

Annual Meeting

June 14, 2008

            The annual membership meeting of the Indiana State Rex Rabbit Breeders Association was held on June 14, 2008 at the home of David & Jody Olson in Zionsville, Indiana. Events included a meeting, pitch-in dinner, and Rex auction.

I.                   Welcome

a.       Association President Jody Olson called the meeting to order and explained that Vice President Sue Buchanan was joining us via a conference call. She explained that this meeting was the first of a push for a renewal of the activities of the association. In recent years, Randy Waggoner was President of the ISRRBA, Earl Wiles was the VP, and Dee Wiles was the Secretary-Treasurer. With the passing of Earl and Dee, this opened up Executive Officer positions. In early 2008, Randy Waggoner appointed Sue Buchanan as the new Sect.-Treas. and Jody Olson as the new VP. In February 2008, Randy resigned as President and Jody Olson took over. She, in turn, appointed Sandy Burkert as the new VP. Current Officers are as follows: Jody Olson, President; Sandy Burkert, Vice President; Sue Buchanan, Secretary-Treasurer; Don Weaver, Board of Directors; Stacy Walker, Board of Directors; and Brian Robbins, Board of Directors.

b.      A moment of silence was held in appreciation of the monumental effort Earl & Dee Wiles gave to the ISRRBA over the past years.

II.                Introductions and Roll Call of Officers – Those present were: Sandy Burkert -Vice President, Rick Cartheuser, Megan Bell, Jodi Littler, Rick Carter, Ridge Carter, Will Robbins, Glen Robbins, Brian Robbins – Board of Directors, Pam Robbins, Martin Shoemaker, Daniel Shoemaker, David Olson, Tyler Olson, Jody Olson - President, and Lori Amburn. Sue Buchanan, Secretary-Treasurer also joined the meeting via conference call.

III.             Reports

a.       Board of Directors – none given

b.      Secretary-Treasurer – Current balance in the account is $1304.29. The web site for our Association is up and running. The web site address is www.indianastaterex.com.

c.       Committees – none given

IV.             Reading of Communications – none

V.                Unfinished Business – none

VI.             New Business

a.       Proposal of Changes to Constitution & By-Laws – A copy of the current Constitution and By Laws which were last revised in 1989 were handed out along with some proposed changes. After some discussion, it was decided that the vote on the changes would be tabled until another time to give everyone a chance to study the proposed amendments. However, it was decided that due to the large number of youth members present it would be beneficial to go ahead and vote on the proposal of creating a Youth Board of Directors position. The motion was made by Sandy Burkert, seconded by Lori Amburn, and unanimously passed.

b.      Elections

                                                              i.      Executive Officers – A motion was made by Sandy Burkert to keep current Executive Officers, as they have just taken office. The motion was seconded by ? and the motion carried.

                                                            ii.      Board of Directors – A motion was made by ?, seconded by ?, to keep the current Board of Directors members. The motion passed.

                                                          iii.      After some discussion, President Jody Olson asked Daniel Shoemaker if he would accept the newly-created position of Youth Director and he accepted.

c.       Appoint Committee Chairpersons

                                                              i.      Publicity – David Olson was asked to be in charge of publicity and he accepted.

                                                            ii.      Youth Laison  - New Member Brian Brewer (not present) had emailed previously indicating his interest in both joining and assisting the club in any way possible. President Jody Olson asked him via phone if he would be in charge of the Youth programs and he accepted.

                                                          iii.      Any additional committees – Brian Robbins suggested a committee to look into hosting the National Rex Show. He reported that he and David Olson had been in contact with the Kentucky Rabbit Breeders Association president who was hoping to host several national breed shows in the spring of 2010. No one present at this meeting was sure if we could still enter a bid, so it was decided that the Executive Officers and Board of Directors would look into the possibilities.

VII.          Discussion

a.       Sweepstakes System – After much discussion, it was decided that a sweepstakes system would be difficult to create at this time, but that it might be a future possibility.

b.      Additional Discussion – Several ideas were discussed for a Rex Specialty Show to be held yet this year.  Of great importance was the date and location to be able to have the greatest attendance from breeders both in Indiana and in other states. Sue Buchanan proposed having a backyard specialty show at her farm in Plymouth, IN this fall as she is located in the northern part of the state and has plenty of land. The use of local judges would also help hold costs down. Again, the Executive Officers and Board of Directors would look into the possibilities.

VIII.       The meeting was adjourned at 5:52 pm.

After dinner, a Rex Auction was held with 15 rabbits being sold for a total of $220.00. Each seller was given the option to donate part of their earnings to premiums for the Indiana State Convention in September. A total of $95 was donated.