ILR Show Division Judges Committee Minutes - February 15, 2009
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ILR Show Division

JUDGES COMMITTEE Minutes
February 15, 2009
 

I.  Call to Order, Roll Call, Minutes

The meeting was called to order by John McDougall at 7:03 pm. Ken Austin was unable to be on the conference call due to his travel schedule. All other committee members: Terry Duespohl, Barb Harris, John McDougall, Judy Steffel, and ILR Board Member Mark Smith, were present. There were no additions or deletions to the agenda. Upon motion by Mark Smith and second by Barb Harris, the minutes of the January 25, 2009 meeting were approved.

II.  Old Business

1.      Barb Harris gave a brief report on the recent ILR conference and cruise which she attended. Among the topics of discussion during the conference were: including fiber as part of the judging criteria for llamas; the youth program and possible additions to the curriculum; the differences between judges’ placings at multiple-judged shows. Barb’s feeling was that it was a very worthwhile conference. She further reported that in all likelihood next year’s conference would be “on land.”

2.      The budget worksheet from the finance committee was discussed. The obvious continuing expense item for this committee is the conference call expense. This can be estimated by consulting with the ILR office. The committee will incur additional expenses as it begins to develop training materials for judges, but until the training format and curriculum is established, it is impossible to estimate expenses. John McDougall and Mark Smith will seek clarification of further requirements for the budgeting process.

3.      It was confirmed that the judging contract that had been sent to the committee for review and comment had, in fact, been approved by email. Terry Duespohl was instructed to send copies of the contract document to Justin Timm and Paige McGrath as superintendents of up-coming shows. A copy will also be forwarded to the Governing Board and to the ILR office for posting to the website.

4.      FAQ: John McDougall reported that progress is slow on this item. More input was requested from committee members. The list will be a “work in progress” starting in the next week.

5.      Terry Duespohl reported that the draft of the Judges Committee responsibilities, purpose and mission was not yet ready for circulation. A rough draft was read to the committee with a promise that a written draft would be circulated to the committee shortly.

6.      The Protest Procedure from the Rules Committee was reviewed. There was general acclaim for the transparency of the process as presented. Two questions/comments were raised: the protest fee seems low in light of the $250 fee in another show association; it seems that there needs to be a time frame established within which a protest needs to be filed. The committee was in agreement that two weeks or 15 days would be appropriate.

7.      Youth Judging Program. Terry Duespohl commented on a conversation he had with Beth Myers, Chair of the Youth Committee. It appears that the Youth Committee shares the concerns of the Judges Committee about the youth judging program. While viewed as a highly desirable program, both committees feel that a re-configuration is in order. The Judges Committee feels that a stronger educational approach is needed. Some suggestions were to consider holding “mini-clinics” at shows; offering youth members the opportunity to audit judges training clinics/workshops; offering 4-H Leader training.

III.  New Business

1.      Two additional requests have been made for approval as ILR-SD judges: Kim Yates, and Johnna Edmunds. Upon motion by Barb Harris and second by Mark Smith both were unanimously approved. John McDougall will notify them and Terry Duespohl will add their names to the Judges List.

2.      Mark reported that the ILR General meeting is currently scheduled for late June. I will be held in Kalispell, MT. The Board of Directors will have a face-to-face meeting followed by a general meeting open to all ILR members.

3.      After discussion and upon motion by Terry Duespohl and second by Judy Steffel it was unanimously passed that after March 31, 2009, judges would no longer be “grandfathered” into the ILR system. This will be presented to the ILR-SD Governing Board for review and ratification.

4.      Although it had be widely assumed that to be an ILR judge one would need to pay ILR-SD dues, it had never been formally stipulated. Therefore, upon motion by Mark Smith and second by Terry Duespohl it passed unanimously that all ILR-SD judges must pay Show Division dues to remain on the list of approved judges.

5.      Judges Training. There was considerable discussion about judges training. While the current judges are approved for the balance of 2009, it is essential that planning be started now for training to be conducted in 2010 and beyond. John McDougall recommended and by consensus it was decided that a sub-committee be formed to deal with the entire subject of training and judge approval/re-approval. This sub-committee would be made up of ILR-SD members who have special expertise in areas of halter, performance, showmanship, and fiber, as well as, a person experienced in show management. Terry Duespohl agreed to chair the sub-committee and Barb Harris volunteered to serve on the committee representing show management. Terry will make contact with potential members of this sub-committee and report back to the judges committee for review and approval of members. The tentative time frame for this undertaking is: general direction to the judges committee by May 1, 2009; a preliminary outline of the training system by mid-June with a final product by mid-July.

6.      The following are other issues that the committee needs to be working on in the near future:

a.       Standing rules for judges.

b.   Ethical guidelines for judges.

Mark Smith agreed to begin drafting these items.

IV.  Next Meeting and Adjournment

By consensus the next meeting date was established as March 8, 2009 at 7:00 pm EST. Upon motion by Mark Smith, and second by Judy Steffel a unanimous vote adjourned the meeting.

Respectfully submitted,

Terry Duespohl
Secretary, Judges Committee