CKC non-members fee recinded

[Anna Scott]

Just got an e-mail from Sandy Briggs that the CKC Directors reconsidered the $3.00 nonmembers fee and have recinded the motion. Good for them.

[kawarthalabs]

Good news ! Anyone have connections within the Liberal Gov't. in Ontario----maybe get the HST recinded ?
Tony.

[LeeW]

That is good news .So now the only ones that have to be members of the CKC are the ones working and Judging to put on these events...

[Tim]

Just received this email from the CKC. I have never entered a CKC event so I consider myself an "outsider" looking in even though I am a member of the CKC.
If there was a Non-Member Fee would it compel more people to join the CKC which is the sanctioning body, or would people pay and play ?

Dear CKC Member,

At the March Board Meeting in Winnipeg, with reports from the Audit Committee and the CEO,
it became apparent that the Canadian Kennel Club is in the midst of a financial crisis. Dropping registration numbers, a slight decline in entries and falling membership, all products of a worldwide recession in many industries, have combined in the last quarter of 2009 to leave the CKC in a deficit position that is unable to be managed with our existing cash flow.

Traditionally the first quarter of any calendar year is one of low revenue streams - the show season
is only beginning, breeders register fewer litters at this time and expenses are static. Normally, we are able to weather this period within existing resources and saved earnings. This year is an exception. The deficit was so large ($451,475 for CKC and $150,024 for APEX) that our reserves
have not been able to support our financial position. During the 2009 year, understanding that revenues were soft, projects and programs were cut, expenses reduced and new contracts signed
to further reduce our obligations. These measures assisted in averting a 2009 financial crisis.

At the December Board meeting, the Audit Committee has financial information to the end of September. At that time our Chair of Audit advised that there was certainty in a deficit position
at year end. With advice from the CEO, she advised that the last quarter is generally one of our strongest and that this deficit should be within the capability of the organization to handle. We
now know that this year was not predictable, that revenues continued to drop and that our deficit
has created an issue of crisis proportions.

Appeals are now being made to you, our membership, and to CKC Clubs to assist the CKC with donations, as they are able. This one time cash infusion will be applied to the deficit and will shore up the organization over the next two months. During that period, the Board of Directors is working with members and staff to analyze expenditures, cut services as necessary and reduce obligations to effect positive change.

This is a difficult time for the CKC. We ask you, as a member, to work with the Board to move forward. We need your help and we need your support. There will come a time to analyze the history of this issue and to deal with the lessons we have and are continuing to learn. That will happen once the crisis is averted. Until that time we must work together as The Dog Fancy in Canada. We very much look forward to your support.

[Anna Scott]

If the fee had been implimented it would have been your choice. If you ran more than 10 CKC events then joining would have been a better option. If you only ran one or 2 then pay the $3.00 as you entered. Now you don't have to make the decision

[Tim]

Having read the Auditors Report it sure makes a case for additional fees.

[LeeW]

Having read the Auditors Report it sure makes a case for additional fees.
I agree Tim .
also is it a matter of accountability .Like most big business is there more huge salaries and less people doing the service that the company should be offering.

[flatlands]

If the publishing efforts (Apex) are in such a deficit, they should get rid of Dogs in Canada & quit making us pay for it (& just try to delete it from your annual membership fee, as thay now imply you can do!).

Also, I see no evidence on their website that the non-member fee is gone: will we have a problem if we use old entry forms for upcoming trials, or is this definitely a done deal?

Sorry, I'm no fan of the ckc anyway, but I can't believe that this isn't horrendous management.

Connie

(by the way, we're going into the hole every month due to my dog addiction-- we're appealing to fellow dog lovers to help us through this crisis...)

[labguy]

If the publishing efforts (Apex) are in such a deficit, they should get rid of Dogs in Canada & quit making us pay for it (& just try to delete it from your annual membership fee, as thay now imply you can do!).

Also, I see no evidence on their website that the non-member fee is gone: will we have a problem if we use old entry forms for upcoming trials, or is this definitely a done deal?

Sorry, I'm no fan of the ckc anyway, but I can't believe that this isn't horrendous management.

Connie

(by the way, we're going into the hole every month due to my dog addiction-- we're appealing to fellow dog lovers to help us through this crisis...)

I agree completely with the above. If the non member fee is truly gone, it would be the first thing that I've ever seen the CKC do that would make sense.

JMHO and also not a fan of the CKC.............bureaucratic, dysfunctional, convoluted and confusing are some of their best qualities. :mad2: And to abort that Dogs in Canada mag would be a huge plus..............

They need to re-organize and streamline their member services to make things easier for members and clubs instead of spending all their time finding ways to make things more difficult.

[Tim]

I don't know if I can believe this current situation can be attributed entirely to bad management. With the economic conditions the last 10-12 months I can see how any business found themselves in trouble.

Looking at the 2008 report showed that the CKC made a profit, and in 2009 had a significant loss. The revenues for 2009 were well below 2008 which translated into the loss.

If the sanctioning body keeps all the records for pedigree, titles, etc... , shouldn't the people that support the sanctioning body have a benefit over those that don't ?

Just saying for discussion's sake....

And I have to agree about Dogs in Canada... it is a worthless magazine IMO

[labguy]

I don't know if I can believe this current situation can be attributed entirely to bad management. With the economic conditions the last 10-12 months I can see how any business found themselves in trouble.

Looking at the 2008 report showed that the CKC made a profit, and in 2009 had a significant loss. The revenues for 2009 were well below 2008 which translated into the loss.

If the sanctioning body keeps all the records for pedigree, titles, etc... , shouldn't the people that support the sanctioning body have a benefit over those that don't ?

Just saying for discussion's sake....

And I have to agree about Dogs in Canada... it is a worthless magazine IMO

Any business, even a cumbersome bureaucracy like the CKC, can make money if there is enough income.

My point, from experience as a member and as secretary of a Retriever Club, is that so much time (translation = money) is wasted by poorly designed accounting/billing system (sending invoices 2 months after payment was received and saying the invoice is just for our records instead of issuing a receipt of payment or better yet...........doing nothing) , a staff whose entire purpose in life seems to be to find error or perceived errors in everything that crosses their desks, people who can't even copy a typewritten AKC registration for transfer to a CKC registration, an acute lack of common sense (sending material back by snail mail when a simple phone call or email could have clarified things), poorly designed and cumbersome forms for almost all transactions.................the list is almost endless.

An entire revamping of the operating structure in which the CKC does business is the only thing (short of hitting it's membership up for more money) that will put the organization on sound financial footing.

As for the non member fees...........it's not about the lousy $3.00. It's about the huge extra load placed upon (volunteers) club secretaries with bookeeping, transfer of money, chasing entrants who didn't understand about the extra fee, the new forms etc. etc. etc.................it's a nightmare.

I'd sooner pay extra money on my yearly memebership dues, than have to deal with the frustration of applying a 3 dollar non member fee for every non CKC member for every event. I'ts just too damn cumbersome.

Solution: Retriever sports (FT's and HT's) drop the CKC for events and put the entire process ( events, titles, passes, record keeping etc) under the auspices of the NRCC. We could still use CKC for dog registration and transfer of ownership and everything else dog related. The show people can do whatever they want.

Just think, no more dealing with CKC reps and staff who only know what a "best in show" type poofy dog should look like but don't know a thing about retriever field sports or what's entailed to hold an event. Having our sport run by people who actually care about what we do...................

A perfect word..........hardly, but a damn site better than what we have now.........just for the sake of discussion.

[Tim]

Any business, even a cumbersome bureaucracy like the CKC, can make money if there is enough income.

My point, from experience as a member and as secretary of a Retriever Club, is that so much time (translation = money) is wasted by poorly designed accounting/billing system (sending invoices 2 months after payment was received and saying the invoice is just for our records instead of issuing a receipt of payment or better yet...........doing nothing) , a staff whose entire purpose in life seems to be to find error or perceived errors in everything that crosses their desks, people who can't even copy a typewritten AKC registration for transfer to a CKC registration, an acute lack of common sense (sending material back by snail mail when a simple phone call or email could have clarified things), poorly designed and cumbersome forms for almost all transactions.................the list is almost endless.

An entire revamping of the operating structure in which the CKC does business is the only thing (short of hitting it's membership up for more money) that will put the organization on sound financial footing.

As for the non member fees...........it's not about the lousy $3.00. It's about the huge extra load placed upon (volunteers) club secretaries with bookeeping, transfer of money, chasing entrants who didn't understand about the extra fee, the new forms etc. etc. etc.................it's a nightmare.

I'd sooner pay extra money on my yearly memebership dues, than have to deal with the frustration of applying a 3 dollar non member fee for every non CKC member for every event. I'ts just too damn cumbersome.

Solution: Retriever sports (FT's and HT's) drop the CKC for events and put the entire process ( events, titles, passes, record keeping etc) under the auspices of the NRCC. We could still use CKC for dog registration and transfer of ownership and everything else dog related. The show people can do whatever they want.

Just think, no more dealing with CKC reps and staff who only know what a "best in show" type poofy dog should look like but don't know a thing about retriever field sports or what's entailed to hold an event. Having our sport run by people who actually care about what we do...................

A perfect word..........hardly, but a damn site better than what we have now.........just for the sake of discussion.

I would have to agree with most of what you said. The exception is with how cumbersome the non-member fee would be.

The HRC has an additional fee for non HRC handlers and the UKC has a fee for dogs not UKC registered. It seems to work ok, I don't know but maybe there were problems with it when it was first implemented.

The CKC does seem to put alot of emphasis on the show dogs, and an increasing amount on agility too from what I see on their website.

As for the retriever sports... what you suggest sounds alot like the arrangement between UKC & HRC. The UKC is the sanctioning body but the HRC governs itself.

If the CKC management is incompetent and the organization is financially broke then change will happen whether anyone wants it or not, but will it be for better or worse.

[labguy]

I would have to agree with most of what you said. The exception is with how cumbersome the non-member fee would be.

Not sure if you've ever been a hunt test or field trial secretary but my guess would be that you have not. I think if you had been, you would understand what a huge extra logistical workload this will place on people who do this job. I apologize in advance if I'm incorrect in my assumption.

The HRC has an additional fee for non HRC handlers and the UKC has a fee for dogs not UKC registered. It seems to work ok, I don't know but maybe there were problems with it when it was first implemented.

I'ts getting the masses to understand what's required (whenever something new is implemented) for event entries if they are non members. Much like trying to herd cats. It'll take years before the bugs are worked out of the system

The CKC does seem to put alot of emphasis on the show dogs, and an increasing amount on agility too from what I see on their website.

Amen to that one. We're (retriever people) about as important to the CKC as an ingrown hair.

If the CKC management is incompetent and the organization is financially broke then change will happen whether anyone wants it or not, but will it be for better or worse.

One can only hope..........I'd sooner see the Retriever sports be proactive in moving away from the current structure than having to deal with this when CKC eventually implodes or tries to restructure into an even more dysfunctional top heavy bureaucracy.

I've spoken to numerous people in this game and with dog people in general about the way the CKC operates and I've only found one or two out of hundreds that think the CKC does an adequate job. Most actively dislike the organization but view it as a necessary evil.

Anyway, I'll be writing a check to the CKC as a donation to help offset their propensity for piss poor managment, poor client services, dysfunctional structure and bad judgement..................better that than the non member entry fee.:rant:

[BurlyGirl]

What I find fascinating is their location. Could they choose a location more expensive than Toronto to house their office? Toronto prices may be a bargain in comparison to, say, Vancouver, but when you're housed in Ontario, perhaps a change of location isn't a bad option. Guelph is a city that centers itself around agriculture, the environment, and most things good and outdoorsy. Since dogs seem to be somewhat related to these areas, I don't think it'd be a bad idea for them to relocate. For what they pay in rent for their spacious offices in their highrise building, they could get something similar for a fraction of the price in the Stone Road area. Here's hoping they don't think they're too good to move to the "slums" of Ontario aka. anywhere but Toronto (please sense my sarcasm). Of course, I'm just another retriever person, so what does my opinion matter to them?

[Algoma Retriever Assoc]

Not that we don't trust the posters, but there was nothing on the CKC website that I could find saying that the fee had been removed. I e-mailed them to ask, below is the reply I received from them.



Thank you for contacting the Canadian Kennel Club.

The $3 charge has been removed, as per the AGM in Mach.



Regards,



Please ensure to include all previous email communications in your response regarding this matter.



Sylvie Bortolotti

Supervisor Client Services Department /Customer Relations Division

The Canadian Kennel Club

Tel 416 675 5511

[Anna Scott]

Well the other shoe has drop. Today received a letter from the CKC asking that each club in Canada donate $1000.00. I don't know about you but our little non-event holding kennel club has only 16 members and 3 of us do all the work. Thanks to Eden and Chris we can probably afford to donate the $1000.00 but it sure is galling to think that we will have to do it. Maybe the CKC needs to look at getting out of the Toronto or GTA and find a headquarters in a more reasonably priced market as Burly Girl pointed out. In this age of computers they could do business anywhere.