Participation & Clubs That Eat Their Own
130 – April, 2010
Some years ago I served on a committee working to update our constitution and by-laws. The committee chair was a successful trial attorney who I simultaneously loved, respected and found tiresomely verbose. It was one of those jobs one worries will never end…especially bothersome considering the inordinate amount of time being devoted to it. But I walked away grateful for a single great line. “This club,” our chairman tersely remarked, “eats its own.” I have recently come to know exactly what he meant.
As editor of my breed club’s quarterly publication, an active breeder, exhibitor, writer and one who’s more than just a little passionate about her breed, I admit that I have a penchant for speaking my mind; I do not back away from controversial issues. I truly understand that this trait presupposes a pair of broad shoulders…if I am going to speak out I must also be willing to bare the slings and arrows of reverse opinion or the complaints from those who might take something I have said personally.
In a recent issue of this publication I wrote the following article and I am offering here, because I think it will hit a nerve for many fanciers who are also concerned about the future of their respective breeds, their parent clubs, their all breed clubs, perhaps even concerned about the direction in which the entire fancy is headed. I have changed a few words to make it more inclusive, and removing references to my own breed, since the topic is pretty much universal. The ensuing reaction of some readers served as a prime example of the way in which an organization eats its own.
PARTICIPATION
I am beginning to see our future as rather bleak. As new members join our club we are finding few who understand the inner workings of kennel clubs in general; few who are willing to support their local all-breed clubs by joining and becoming active. Wheaten folk are a rather myopic bunch. And don’t take this personally if you are among the few who have jumped in and have a good grasp of what breed clubs are about, how and why they function, and have become experienced enough to take on important roles within these clubs. I am reminded of the ad used during World War II…the one where Uncle Sam points a finger out to the world saying, “I Want You!”
Back to our myopic tendencies…it came to my attention that, following a very successful, well-attended dog show circuit, complaints from some of the locals rose to the surface…there were questions about just how smart it was to agree to a supported entry or to play up the importance of attending or otherwise plug the shows. It seems some folks were annoyed that people were coming from outside the area because this would drive up the point schedule. Never mind supporting your local clubs…helping to support successful dog shows taking a back seat to extremely self-absorbed concerns. What’s interesting is that some of those doing the fussing just happen to travel out of their area on a regular basis to show their dogs, looking for majors.
This is the sort of stuff that happens when fanciers do not bother looking beyond their respective noses…don’t appreciate that supporting the success of show-giving cubs is a duty that is a necessary precursor to maintaining the privilege of even having dog shows. But more than that, active membership in an all-breed club is a training ground like no other for future service to a parent club. Every year, our nominating committee finds it is desperately searching for board members with kennel club experience.
Not only are we short on members with dog club experience, our exhibiting members seldom stay at a dog show beyond breed judging. They know little about other breeds, are never seen watching other breeds being judged, and are gone from the show grounds long before the group judging begins. For many, interest in the fancy stops short…beyond their own breed there is nothing! They do little more than attend shows and complain about ring times or access doors or parking.
Considering these deficiencies, is it any wonder that some of us are concerned about our future? Let’s face it, the “old-guard” is getting older and older…or put in kinder terms, we are not getting any younger. Please consider getting involved with clubs and events; learn what it takes to put on shows and sustain those clubs that put on shows; gain knowledge of what goes into putting on these shows, the costs, the risks, the small amount of money made by the shows and the overall amount of work that goes into each and every event. We need you!
The furor that arose from those who determined that I was defaming their group was deafening and non-stop. It permeated web-lists and, like a dog with a bone, the enraged would not let go. Rather than look at the big picture or acknowledge the validity of what I was saying, they took a more provincial view. It was all about them. Nothing more. Someone suggested they had been, “Thrown under the bus in order to make a point.”
When I felt it had become more than just a little tiresome, I tendered my resignation to the Board, not because I couldn’t take the heat but rather that, as a volunteer spending years of untold hours putting the publication together, suddenly the joy had gone out of the job. And when one is not receiving financial remuneration for this sort of thing, what else is there to motivate? Why would I want to continue? Word of my resignation leaked out and the postings increased. Some of it was flattering, some of it in total agreement with my concerns about what is gong on across the country in our sport, but much of it was still quite critical, not only about what I had written but now suddenly people were speaking for me and making assumptions about the basis for my resignation and whether or not it was justified.
The words of my friend, the former committee chairman, immediately came to mind, not just mine but to another member that had also served on his committee. He feels that special interest clubs and organizations have, “a predisposed disposition to eat their own, because they seem to forget a very basic concept: Most clubs and organizations, especially dog/breed/group clubs, are made up of volunteers…I repeat volunteers.” He continues by suggesting that, “they have other lives, other interests, they have opinions and ideas of their own, they can do what they want, and say what they want and they don’t get paid and they can quit if they want. When a volunteer’s job is not fun or is not recognized appropriately, why continue?”
He concludes by hitting the proverbial nail on the head, “I suspect that she resigned because she has better things to do in her life…other interests and concerns…than to become bogged down in ‘hurt feelings’ of breeders who themselves are dedicated volunteers (or not) and will one day also have very strong opinions that are less parochial in nature.”
Fortunate is the club member who cannot identify with the crisis organizations face through lack of participation. But, tell me, who of you cannot identify with the manner in which clubs destroy themselves by “eating their own?”
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