June 2002

Dear SSDCA, Inc. Members,

This has certainly been a busy year, and we have, once again, attained much ground!  Our club is growing stronger then ever before!  Thanks to the exceptional efforts of Corinne Filipski, our membership has almost doubled this year!  Full details, of course, will be presented at our upcoming Homecoming!  So if your membership is due to expire as of July, please be sure to send in your renewal NOW!  As per our constitution, you must be a member in order to vote in the upcoming election!

 While on this subject, I would like to ask each of you to go back to pages 8-13 and take your time reading each nominee’s “campaign speech” ;-)  Then think about that person, and what they have done for our club over the past few years!  Keep in mind that this is not a “popularity” contest!  You need to consider each person’s commitment to serving your interests over the next 3 years!  The advisory board’s job is to present your needs to the Executive Board, not their own!  You are electing your representative! Make sure that the people you select will be committed to you!

 As many of you know, I spend an average of nearly 100 hours per month reading the shilohs e-groups list (among others) just to keep a good focus on what is happening “out there” in the “real” world.  Although some of you are very active, many of you are not even members of that list ;( Your only voice to the board will reach, or not reach, me through your elected Advisory Board representative!  Let’s make this another productive year!!  If we want this breed to still exist 20 years from today … we need to work very hard to protect our strong foundations NOW! If you have ever thought about breeding your dog in the future, now is the time to ask about the ISSR Licensed Breeders program!  I have been asked by several new members about this, and have informed each of them that; Yes, they can still join the OSS!!  Just visit our ISSR web pages for full details.  If you’re not a VIB, you’re missing out on getting a great education!!!

I feel that my greatest accomplishment this past year has been to unify all VIB’s into my new OSS Academy!  It has taken a lot of hard work, but I can already see the fruits!  This group of future breeders has been doing some major research during each semester that will soon be shared in our Learning Center!  I have been watching them progress from being just members, to becoming group leaders! Many of my (57 and growing) VIB’s have already started their own “puppy lists” where they can help their new puppy owners.  Some have been working hard to form new SSDCA Affiliate Chapters that have been designed to provide a strong local support system for new Shiloh owners while others have been working very hard to help me make the STM program available from coast to coast; so that our dogs will have the greatest advantage of reaching their full potential, and attaining International recognition via the new titles they will be earning!!  After spending over a decade dealing with some people’s ego trips & “take over” attempts, we have finally managed to overcome such foolishness!!  My goal is to maintain this wonderful teamwork that we have been experiencing this past year!  No more “splinters”please!

I am thrilled with the extra effort so many have contributed! People such as Pam Dymond-Weed who helped us start and complete our Health Survey 2000, and has continued to lead the Genetic Task Force in accumulating data that will help us to improve the health of our dogs for all future generations, Pat Urso for calling scores of people urging them to fill out their health survey form, and Karen Ursel for compiling the data for Dr. Padgett as well as Mynde Bunker and Lyn Segee. The GTF even had to expand to include Corinne Filipski and Debbie Knatz, who recently set up the GTF web site for us. Please take the time to contact them with your dog’s data!  Every piece of information be it positive or negative, is desperately needed in order for the ISSR to attain the most accurate picture of our dogs’ health issues!!  At this time I am working with Gretchen on the possibility of incorporating a 5 star program for all ISSR (present & future) breeders!  This could be another important milestone for the entire breed!! Of course I plan on announcing more details at Homecoming, so please plan on attending!

I would also like to thank our retiring Advisory Board Members, Billy Pellicane, Pat Urso and Pam McCloskey for their years of service to the club. There are so many members in our group that have put forth a barrage of extra effort this year, because of their dedication to this breed!  It would be impossible for me to list each one of them!  However, all you need to do is to visit our new Learning Center at www.ShilohShepherds.info to read the articles, reports, etc. that have become available for all to share, because of their contributions!!  Please take some time, visit a friend if you don’t have a computer at home, and surf all of our sites!! Print out the Tri-Fold that was co-written by one of our founding members, Stu Tarlowe, and share it with everyone that asks you about your dog ;-) As we expand our sites new pictures are also being added on a continual basis, so please take a moment to e-mail pictures of your dogs directly to our webmaster, Karen Trillhill@aol.com or click on the webmaster button at the bottom of each page!

As many of you already know, in order to lighten my load, I have assigned Lisa Barber the full responsibilities involved with her title of Registrar.  She immediately started to “delegate” and brought Lyn Segee in as her Assistant Registrar and then commissioned Jill Gerew to help her with many of the extra projects!  If you’re a VIB, and have not received the newest ISSR (approximately 52-page) Licensed Breeders Handbook, be sure to contact Lisa about it ASAP.  I have been very impressed with the great job these gals are doing ;-)

While on the subject of the ISSR, I would like to once again thank Steve & Barb Betcher for all of their hard work.  Running the ISSR is not easy, and the thousands of hours that the TCCP has put into accumulating & maintaining data on the over 45,000 dogs in our database is no small task, it is a labor of love (for these magnificent dogs) that keeps them so committed!  I feel that all Shiloh owners & SSDCA members should take a moment out of their busy schedule to (at the least) send them a nice Thank You card!!  I would honestly hate to think of where we might be today, if not for them!!  They certainly are MY heroes!

As we move forth this year, the ISSR is planning on sanctioning a lot more shows, so be sure to visit our Shiloh Showplace, provided for us by our Show Director, Jill Cameron, so that you won’t miss out on anything!  Just go to our web site and click on Club for the direct link! Or try going to http://groups.msn.com/ShilohsShowplace/.

Hopefully I will be able to attend even more shows in the upcoming year!  In the past year I recall attending only half a Dozen shows (from Canada to TX.) because I held so many STM seminars from Seattle to Virginia ;-)  Between all of those trips & the many trips to Canada working on the Intro tape, it already feels like I was gone a lot more than I was home!  So now I am planning on preparing some very sound training tapes for all of you to enjoy, because I know that I can’t possibly hold as many Training Seminars as people are already screaming for!!  My STM format is gaining ground by leaps & bounds; once people attend a seminar, they get extremely excited about working toward achieving one of the ISSR titles!  So if you think you might be interested in training your dog the STM way, be sure to contact your local Chapter leader today!  Or just go to our web site for details, http://www.shilohshepherd.com/stmWhatIsIt.htm Karen has listed articles, links to the available tapes, and pictures from each STM seminar, so be sure to follow all of the links on this page!! And while you're surfing, don’t forget to visit www.BirthofaBreed.com to order your copy of our new Intro Video right now, before you forget ;-)  We have over 100 dogs on this tape, as well as short “interviews” with Beth Barkley (owner & trainer of the famous SAR Czar that an entire book was written for) as well as Joanne Chanyi (world renowned for her dedication to the White Shepherds) not to mention celebrities like Dr. Padgett & Fred Lanting that I am sure every one here knows very well, if not in person, then from their books!

Last but not least, please carefully consider the people that have been nominated to represent your interests for the next three years.  Keep in mind that the ISSR, VIB’s, OSS, & STM are separate entities from the SSDCA, each has its own function! If you have been around for any length of time, you must recall the nightmares I have had to deal with in the past.  You need to select the people that are only interested in bringing your SSDCA (club) concerns to the board! I will be looking forward to seeing all of you at Homecoming, if not then, certainly at one of our future shows or seminars.

 Let’s all work together to show the world what wonderful dogs we have!

Tina M. Barber

President's Report  |  Candidates Position Statements | Election | A Lesson from the Past? (1996 Election)


Originally published on www.shilohshepherd.com  June 2002