Secretary's Minutes by JoAnn Pottebaum

Ann Barkley, President, opened the meeting.  Ann welcomed those attending the Annual Lamas of Minnesota Winter Conference.  She stated that this would be her final year as president and members should consider who they will nominate as their next president of LOM.

Members at the meeting used the meeting time to discuss upcoming events.

Rendezvous, the ORGLE Winter conference wil be held February 15th-17th.  For more information contact Edie Benusa.

The Celebrity Celebration Show and Sale April 4th-6th in Oklahoma City, OK.

There was a discussion of an LOM sponsored youth show clinic in April.  Possible dates were April 12th, 13th or 19th.

Fran Soukup stated there will be a fleece clinic April 12th.  For more info contact Fran.

The Heartland Show will be held this year in Webster City, Iowa.  The judge wil be Bill Feick.  Superintendent Karen Miller.  At the LOM winter conference raffle tickets were available to purchase for a chance to win a spinning wheel.  Proceeds will go to support the Heartland show.

Dan Whittaker informed meeting participants that a driving clinic will be held at Edie Benusa's farm on April 26th.

Badgerland Sweepstakes & ALSA Show will be held May 3rd and 4th.  The halter judge will be John McDougall, performance and youth judge will be Phil Feiner.  Futurity judges will be John McDougall, Phil Feiner and Sarah Maller.

The 2008 Llama Magic event will be May 10th and 11th at the Washington County Fairgrounds in Lake Elmo, MN.  Information was available at the conference and also can be obtained by visiting the llama magic website.  www.llamamagic.com

Spring Tune Up at Dr. Kristy Brown's farm will be May 7th - 10th.

Lamapalooza:  JoAnn Pottebaum provided information for LOM's own Lamapalooza ALSA show.  Lamapalooza will be held at the Rice County Fairgrounds, in Faribault, MN, on May 17th and 18th.  The judges for the show are Patti Morgan (halter and performance) and Geri Rutledge (fleece).  This year's show will offer both shorn and walking fleece.  On Saturday evening the Spring LOM meeting will be held.  It was discussed about having Mini classes offered.  (secretary's note... mini classes will not be offered at the 2008 Lamapalooza show).

The Interstate Livestock Show will be held in St. Croix Falls, WI.  This is a youth fun show with prizes awarded.  Youth ages 8 and older may participate.

Lama Showcase will be held on June 7th and 8th in Valparaiso, Indiana.  (Secretary's note - was uable to confirm this information).

Lama Market will be held in Eau Claire, WI, on June 22nd.  This year's show will be a single show, with Lora Crawford judging.  Kay Berg, show superintendent, provided information on the show.  She stated that this year would not include alpaca classes due to the lack of participation at previous shows.  Kay will be using the new ILR show program.

Kay Sharpnack, the guest speaker at the LOM winter conference, spoke about the ILR show reporting program and how it will help create more efficiency with show reporting and show management.  The program will also save superintendent's time.

Minnesota State Fair:  The Minnesota State Fair will be adding a 4H youth show to the 2008 Fair.  LOM will support the show as well as the MN state fair ALSA show.  Eric Olson talked about how the State Fair youth 4H show will work along with the ALSA show.  Wednesday evening will be the 4H youth costume class.  The 4H performance classes will run Thursday evening with showmanship being held Friday morning prior to the ALSA classes.  By having the youth 4H show it will generate interest in the industry and perhaps bring marketing opportunities to members of LOM.

Open Barn Event:  Ann Barkley spoke on the Open Barn event and it's success in the fall of 2007.  Ann, a member of the open barn committee, asked if anyone is interested in being on the committee for 2008 to contact her.

The Treasurer's report was provided by Veryl Giese-Knigge.  A motion was offered to approve the report and seconded.  The report was accepted.

The previous Secretary's report was motioned for approval and seconded.  The report was accepted.

Kay Sharpnack spoke to members and participants present and praised LOM's organization for the support to the llama industry and the ALSA great lakes region.  She mentioned that the great lakes region is not represented on the ALSA board, and requested the members of LOM to consider who would be a good representative from this area.

A motion was offered to donate $500 to the Morris Animal Foundation.  In the past years, LOM has donated to the foundation.  The motion was approved and accepted.

Ann Barkley, adjourned the meeting.

October 7, 2007 Secretary's Report by JoAnn Pottebaum

Ann Barkley, President, started the meeting with a thank you to Bill and Margo Schultz for hosting the fall gathering.

ELECTIONS for TREASURER and SECRETARY: There were no interested candidates for these positions so the existing officers agreed to remain in their current roles. Veryl Giese-Knigge will remain as Treasurer and JoAnn Pottebaum as Secretary.

MINNESOTA STATE FAIR: There was a lengthy discussion of the Minnesota State Fair. Ann Barkley informed members that the decrease in show attendance puts this show in jeopardy. It is in the club's best interest to put together ideas to encourage greater attendance for future years to keep the show going. It was stated that many shows had a decrease in participation.
The members present discussed the possibility of adding a youth fun show or perhaps a MN youth 4H show. The pros and cons for this were discussed. Youth from Wisconsin or FFA wouldn't be eligible to participate in a Minnesota State 4H show. If youth are not coming to the State Fair is it due to the ALSA fee or for other reasons?
Ann Barkley asked for volunteers to be on a committee to investigate or coordinate a fun show at the Minnesota State Fair. Pat Olson, Sheila Fugina, and Ann Barkley committed to participate on this and put together a workable idea to present by the Winter Conference.
Bill Schultz stated that the show results had been turned into the ALSA office. Of the six shows he judged in 2007, all six had a decrease in attendance. A question was asked if adding alpacas to the show would help increase the number of participants. Kay Berg provided information of the history having alpacas at past Llama Market shows. Shelia Fugina spoke that people who come to the fair aren't provided direction on how to find llamas and they don't know where the llamas are. There is no advertising and signs around the fair would be beneficial. Ann Barkley suggested that the committee for the Minnesota State Fair also focus on increasing exposure to those who are at the fair. She also informed members present that the LOM booth at the fair was successful and all materials brought were handed out to the fairgoers.

OPEN BARN: Members who participated in the LOM Members Open Barn event discussed how the first year's open barn was received by visitors to their farms. It was a first time event with opportunities to build on in future years. While there was much discussion on what worked and some of the pit falls for lack of communication or late publicity. One member offered this comment: we should not get wrapped up in what went wrong in the past. It was suggested by another member present at the meeting we can learn from the event and credit should be given to what worked well for building a foundation for future events. The committee of volunteers for next year's open barn event is Ann Barkley, John Porter, Sheila Fugina and Veryl Giese-Knigge.

FALL HIKE: The hike was organized and hosted by Dawn Toraason. It was a beautiful setting. Approximately 16 participants attended. Ann Barkley suggested if anyone was interested in organizing next year's hike, possibly to be hosted in Minnesota, to contact her.

REGIONALS: Ann Barkley provided information regarding the upcoming Great Lakes ALSA Regional show. The show is in need of volunteers. The 2007 Great Lakes regional will again offer a dinner from the proceeds of the stud promotion, along with youth entries at 1/2 price.

GRAND NATIONALS: Norris Berg provided information for the 2007 ALSA Grand Nationals. It is the 10th year for Nationals and the 20th anniversary for ALSA. This year a youth skill-a-thon has been added. This is free to youth and cash prizes will be awarded to winners. The 10th Anniversary logo for this year's show was designed by Margo Schultz and John Zornes.

WINTER CONFERRENCE: Ann Barkley provided information to members for the Winter Conference. The conference will be held at the River Front Inn in Winona, MN January 12th-14th. The guest speaker will be Kay Sharpnack. Kay has a very long history with llamas in the United States. Dr. Kristy Brown will provide an "ask a vet" session on Friday evening. This year's event will have an auction as in years past; as well as a youth auction like last year.
Ann asked if there was interest in a fiber workshop for Sunday morning. If interested in this or if able to teach a fiber craft, please contact Ann.

LLAMA AMIGOS requesting Veterinary Supplies: John Porter spoke about a return trip to Peru in March 2008. The Llama Amigos in the past have brought donated school supplies to the children in Peru. Dr. Kristy Brown suggested to John that the group going in 2008 bring veterinary supplies for the La Raya research station. The research work they do there does have an impact on our herds in the United States. There will be a collection for these items at the winter conference in January. While any medical supplies would be welcome some of the items recommended were syringes, leads, halters, etc.

Meeting was adjourned.