Meeting Minutes 4-4-2008

American Guinea Hog Association
Board of Director’s Meeting April 04, 2008

An AGHA Board Meeting was held via conference call on April 04, 2008, starting at 7:00 PM Central Time.
The following Board Members were in attendance: Jim Barnett; President, Kevin Fall; Vice-President, Paul Krumm; Treasurer, Matt Elston; Secretary.

AGENDA

1. Minutes from the January 11, 2008 Board Meeting were read and approved.
2. Vice-President, Kevin, reported that three board members (Jim, Kevin and Don) met in Iowa in March to arrange shipment of 14 Guinea Hogs from the Midwest to the Northeast.
3. Kevin also reported that the collection of hair samples for genetic testing is going well; with many samples already submitted. Several additional samples would be beneficial. Kevin will follow up with individual hog owners and Jeanette Beranger at the ALBC.
4. Treasurer, Paul, reported that:
   1. Payment was made to the ALBC for advertisement.
   2. Payment was made to cover the cost of hosting the new AGHA website.
   3. The Association bank balance is $1915.36.
5. The Board agreed that the Treasurer should contact Ronda Jemtegaard, and approved reimbursement to her for amounts she paid to host the original AGHA Website.
6. The Board approved reimbursement to Paul Krumm for amounts he paid to obtain the original AGHA Registry software.
7. Paul agreed to research requirements for filing AGHA’s 2007 tax returns and get back with the board with his findings before April 15, 2008.
8. President, Jim, announced that the new AGHA Website is up and running at https://guineahogs.org . The new site is professional and easy to navigate. The Board would like to thank the new Webmaster, LaShall Bates, for doing a great job designing the site.
   1. Kevin suggested creating a page that contains an online census/pedigree of registered hogs.
   2. Secretary, Matt, suggested creating a page to help individuals looking for Guinea Hogs connect with breeders that have registered litters.
   3. Matt agreed to contact the Webmaster and Registrar, Shirley Sullivan, about the potential to add those two functions to the site.
9. Jim reported that the Association now has 40 members and 109 registered American Guinea Hogs.
10. As the Association membership is now over 30 members, there was discussion about adding an additional board position. There are currently five board members, including Don Oberdorfer. The Board decided to postpone a final decision until a later date with the possibility of creating several Regional Director positions at once.
11. There was discussion about advertising in addition to the ALBC newsletter and directory.
    1. Kevin suggested publishing articles in the body of farm magazines. Articles could provide quality information about Guinea Hogs without expense to the Association.
    2. Matt suggested that the Association should facilitate the collection of data such as; litter size, weights, carcass statistics, etc. to provide objective information about the breed.
    3. There was general discussion about taking out a small advertisement in farm magazines or other online sources. No final decision was made.
12. Jim reported that the ALBC Annual Conference is to be held September 2008 in Michigan.
    1. There was discussion about the possibility of holding the American Guinea Hog Association Annual Meeting in conjunction with this event.
    2. Jim agreed to get the exact dates of the conference by the next board meeting.
    3. Jim agreed to follow up with Don Shrider at the ALBC about the possibility of presenting information on Guinea Hogs at the conference.
    4. Paul suggested the possibility that the Association provide a small stipend to assist with travel expenses for board members to attend.
    5. Final decision will be made at the June Board Meeting so membership can be provided with at least 60 days notice.

NEW BUSINESS

1. Kevin reported that Ann Wells at ALBC volunteered to have the ALBC hold a backup copy of the American Guinea Hog Association Registry. A discussion followed. The board agreed not to store a copy of the registry
   at ALBC at this time.
2. Kevin also reported that an article on Guinea Hogs appeared in the February/March issue of “Mother Earth News”.
3. Matt raised the question of whether the Association would continue to produce an online quarterly newsletter. Jim agreed to ask for a volunteer to coordinate the newsletter on the member’s only forum.
4. Matt also reported that Kirk Fackrell has completed a draft Breed Description. Matt will forward the draft to the Board for input.
5. The next meeting was scheduled for Friday, June 6, 2008 at 7:00 PM Central Time.
6. The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 PM Central Time.

Respectfully submitted on 4/12/2008
Matt Elston
Secretary, AGHA