December 24, 2008

re: ILR Board of Directors Approves ILR Show Division

Dear Lama Owners,

The response to the informal poll conducted last week on whether or not ILR members would be in favor of the ILR starting a Show Division was overwhelmingly positive. Of the 219 individuals who responded, 83% were in favor, 3% were undecided, and 14% were against the ILR forming a Show Division.

After reviewing the comments from the members, and after considering other recent developments in the llama world, the ILR Directors were persuaded that they should form an ILR Show Division beginning in 2009.

This decision includes the condition that the Show Division must pay its own way, including its share of the overhead and fixed costs of the Registry. The board wants to make it perfectly clear that no Registration Division money will be used to pay for Show Division expenses. To the contrary, the sharing of some costs by the Show Division should reduce costs of the Registration Division.

Some of the highlights of the new ILR Show Division are given below. More details will be sent as decisions are made. The comments from the members were clear in that they want a show association that is responsive to members, is relatively inexpensive, is accurate, and is non-political. We will be seeking additional member input as we develop more details.

We are contemplating the ability to display current awards, champion designations and points already accumulated for any ILR registered llama, on the animal’s online documentation. We will let you know more on this later.

To participate in the new Show Division, exhibitors will need to be a member of the ILR Show Division. That membership fee will be $50. For current ILR members, a Show Division membership will be reduced to $35. Youth under 18 can join the Show Division for $10.

For lamas that are already in the ILR database, there will be no additional fees to participate in the ILR Show Division. Non-registered lamas competing in youth and/or performance classes can be “listed” in the ILR database for $10 and would then be able to participate in the ILR Show Division.

Show fees will be $1 per llama per show -- which is simply the cost for the use of the ILR ShowManager. For shows that do not use ShowManager -- which will require data entry of results by the ILR office staff, the fees will be $2 per llama per show. Once the Show Division is fully operational, show results submitted through the ILR ShowManager will be automatically posted to the ILR web site within 24 hours of being received in the ILR office.

Judges from other show organizations can send in a request to be grandfathered in for the 2009 season. No judge’s fees will be required for 2009.

The exact form of governance of this Show Division is still under discussion but it is anticipated that there will be member elections for committee positions beginning in 2010.

Committees will be formed as soon as possible. A number of you already volunteered -- we will be contacting you soon with more information. If any others of you are interested in participating, send your name and particular area of interest to [email protected] before January 6, 2009. You will need to be a member of the ILR Show Division before being seated on a committee.

As always, the ILR Board values and encourages your input. If you have suggestions on the ILR Show Division, please send them to [email protected].

Sincerely,