Page 245 - ShowSight - January 2020
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                  Candid Candidates - Part Two
9. What is your strategic vision for the future of the AKC? Where should we strive to be in the next ten years?
My vision for AKC is, when people think of dogs, they turn to the American Kennel Club...no other organization. When this happens many of our other challenges will be met.
To accomplish this vision the American Kennel Club must focus on its Mission as never before. The Mission must guide our every action and our strategic initiatives must complement its principles. Some of the actions to accomplish this vision include:
• become the voice of all dogs in America with focus on build- ing interest and demand for purebred dogs making them the preferred choice as family companions.
• we must cast a broad net in order to reach potential purebred dog owners and assure the preservation of purebred dogs and dog sports.
• we must build a strong brand presence, continue to raise our visibility to a broad cross section of current and potential dog owners, finding ways, such as the AKC Detector Dog initiative, to position AKC as the “go to” organization for all things dogs.
• we must use all our public facing outlets such as AKC TV and social media to tell our message in an intentional way—so there is no doubt we are the dogs voice, no one else.
• We must nourish our network of 5,000+ clubs, the volunteer network that contributes so much to our Mission. This network is essential to our future and needs AKC’s help now.
JEFFREY BALL
1. The AKC has long advocated for the value of the purpose-bred dog. However, the competitive nature of the AKC’s tra- ditional sports encourages own- ers to specialize to succeed. What can be done to encour- age breeders and owners to embrace all of the char- acteristics of the purpose-bred dog?
In one word: education. When I got involved in the sport, the most important lesson I learned from my mentor was that form follows function. In other words, it is important to understand the purposes for which dogs were bred. Many have drifted from this perspective. I personally see it in my breed, Great Danes. While many Danes are beautiful looking, they would have difficulty running an obstacle course, no less bringing
down a wild boar.
In order to encourage breeders and owners to embrace all char-
acteristics of purpose-bred dogs, we must educate the public on breeds’ histories and original purposes. We can also look to a high- er-level Championship that would involve a combination of con- formation and performance. This shift would encourage breeders and owners to better understand and attend to their breeds’ history.
2. Do you feel that AKC’s traditional sports are consistent with the interests of the younger generation of dog owners? If not, what can be done to attract the younger generation to engage with AKC?
BY LINDA AYERS TURNER KNORR continued
 While younger generations are known for seeking instant grati- fication, they also desire knowledge. When they lose in the ring and do not understand why, it is easy to walk away from the sport entirely. In order to engage younger generations—and people of all ages—to engage in AKC, we need to further public outreach and education. Additionally, we must address and reverse public perception of negativity in the sport in order to welcome a diverse younger generation.
3. The AKC performs/supports many activities that benefit dogs and their owners. This support is limited by the financial resources that AKC has available. How can AKC Increase its revenue in order to further benefit the world of dogs?
There is no simple answer on how to increase revenue for AKC, but we should consider multiple options. However, we cannot take steps that may hurt the clubs or fancy in any way. Over the years, AKC has been involved with multiple LLCs and I believe it should continue these partnerships as long as they align with our mission statement.
We must also continue to be creative and proactive. From a busi- ness perspective, our audience and customers should continue to grow based on the number of homes with dogs and the money spent on them; however, we have not kept up with these numbers. In order to increase revenue, we need to become more connected with the public’s needs and find better ways to serve them. For example, we may consider hosting Meet the Breeds in more major cities or becoming more involved in educational programs for police, rescue, and animal control. These activities would not only meet needs, but also improve public relations, which would likely increase revenue.
4. The AKC is a not-for profit organization while all of the other competing canine sport organizations or registries in the U.S. are for profit. Yet, it is a common belief that the AKC “is all about the money”. What are your thoughts about the apparent inconsistency?
Public perception of the AKC is a factor here. Social media has changed dramatically over the years and the purebred fancy has not kept up. By falling behind, other organizations such as Ani- mal Rights and HSUS have stepped in to educate the public on purebred dogs and controlled the narrative about AKC. Unsurpris- ingly, these groups have depicted us negatively. It’s time AKC car- ried the message to the fancy and the public to demonstrate who we really are.
5. Do you feel that ventures like the LINK collar and the Doggie Day Care are consistent with AKC’s mission?
While one can argue that these ventures fall into our mission statement of making lives better for our dogs and their families, I have concerns. We must consider how much money these ventures accrue versus their costs. If AKC is just breaking even on these ven- tures, I would question if it is worth it to alienate groups that would have supported us in the past. We need to incorporate more out- side groups, not have them believe AKC is taking over their part of the industry.
6. There are 75 breeds in the AKC Foundation Stock Ser- vice program, 64 of them are in three groups. What are your thoughts on bringing new breeds into full recognition and their impact on our current Group structure? What is your opinion of how this recognition may be simplified or improved?
I am not against improving or simplifying the FSS program of full recognition, but we must first consider its full impact. There are already major issues and impacts in the sport due to low entry breeds. If we are potentially increasing the number of low entry breeds—which any new breed may be—what happens? How do we give all breeds the proper opportunity to be judged and compete? If we are adding breeds, what happens to the groups? Many members currently complain that group numbers are already unmanageable; do we need to add groups? Delegates have previously discussed and
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