AKC Board Candidate Pat Cruz Shares Her Complete Delegate Speech

We are sharing AKC Board Delegate Pat Cruz’s entire speech to the Delegate Body in Orlando. Read Pat’s thoughts on AKC moving forward below:

Good morning Delegates – for those of you who don’t know me, allow me to introduce myself.  I am Pat Cruz, Delegate for 20 years for Heart of the Plains KC in Lubbock, Texas.  As a seated Delegate for nearly 10 years before running for the Board, I know that a Board seat is not an entry-level position.  And, after more than 50 years in the sport we all love, let me assure you that this is not my first rodeo.

A brief resume of my dog experience, – I’ve been a breeder/owner/handler, ring steward. Currently, a member of Owner Handler Association of America since 1969; a member of Dog Writers Association of America since 1971, serve on their Board of Governors and member of their Hall of Fame having written about dogs in the sports pages of four NYC newspapers.  An approved AKC judge since 1972, I’ve judged on six continents, currently hold membership in DJA and ADSJ, being one of their original 31 members still active in our sport.  A member of the Afghan Hound Club of America since 1978; the Knickerbocker Bull Terrier Club and Heart of the Plains KC.  I was recently elected to serve on AKC’s All Breed Club Committee, where I served for eight years as AKC Board Liaison.  Proud to be able to help the Federacion Canofila Mexicana arrange for their show in Mexico City, November, 2026.

I served two terms as AKC Board of Directors and was first female Vice Chair of the Board.  And, for a period of time, was the only female on the Board.  By the way, when I termed out, after two elected terms, AKC was in the black.

I’m proud of the motions and votes made on behalf of your Clubs and judges during my Board tenure.  For example, our Delegate E-List is more secure after working with AKC’s very talented IT Staff several years ago, taking it from Yahoo to Google; your exhibitors, judges and volunteers are safer since I was able to secure the votes making AED’s a mandatory part of every event; NOHS is now an opt-in for your clubs; and, concurrent and FSS specialties can now be part of an all-breed event.

The two-shows-in-a-day format was passed in 2013 and first held at my local show proving to be helpful in building treasuries.  Several years ago, after more than one Board vote, I was successful in unmasking the names of judges on breed/additional breed applications while repeatedly voting against the Board’s Judging Approval System proposal that eventually failed.

Clubs can now offer Bred by Exhibitor Puppy classes so that breeders can continue their quest of the coveted Bred by Exhibitor medallion.  A motion I made in 2017 and now practiced by many all-breed and specialty clubs and helpful for breeds that mature more slowly than others.

So, what about now?  Many questions about eliminating Limited Registrations; too many shows and not enough dogs; judges advancing without seeing enough dogs to find indigenous breed type; disqualifying and unacceptable colors in breeds becoming more prevalent and getting AKC registration while ignoring breed standards; Companion and Performance events being the fun event for spectators while Conformation entry totals fall every year.  Plus, we must recognize the need to offer new opportunities in Obedience, the very basics of all our sports and where the beginnings of good puppy behavior are learned.

 Add to this, high Delegate turnover (75 new Delegates in 2025) as Clubs fail to see the need for their voice to be heard at regular quarterly meetings, or more importantly at our annual meeting each March.

The loudest cry has been the increase in event fees landing on the backs of all our Clubs.   Yet, our CFO reported a standalone total asset balance, as of June 30, 2025 of $262 million, the largest asset on our balance sheet being investments.  Investments that performed for the past year at 7.8%, exceeding broker-defined benchmarks by 1%.  Interest on this investment – $20 million, plus, tax-exempt!!

The liability section of the balance sheet is primarily comprised of retirement plan and lease obligations, together a total of $75 million.  These were restricted by the Board to protect retirement plan requirements, support of our affiliates and to sustain future business obligations.  Do the math! $187 million net assets, end of year.   I ask you, are our Clubs not AKC affiliates?  The new increase in recording fees should not be expected to fill the gap that the clubs didn’t incur.  (Delegate Meeting, September 9, 2025 minutes page 7-8)

Revenues lost by lack of entries at events, lower registrations and the on-going expenses’ associated with these operations are the cost of doing business – “loss leaders” as they are called in retail operations.  Cutting off the “supply” by losing entries and registrations caused by these increased fees will also increase the “demand” for higher fees until AKC has priced itself out of the market.  Not exactly the “supply” and “demand” experiences I was taught in my economics classes, but you get my drift.

Do we reward our breeders enough to encourage the registrations of all dogs in a litter? Do we help ease their financial burden with many puppies born in a litter that they only register what they consider “pick of the litter”.  Do the remaining puppies go to other registries, become Limited Registration, or be shown just to make majors?

I want to explore a pricing scale for registrations – the more you register from any one litter, the less it will cost; more litters in same year providing an even bigger saving.   Same with the event fee, the more a club holds all events, in their home locale, the less the event fee for each dog shown there.  Higher fee when you move out of your area.

And, how about increasing the distance between shows to maybe 400 miles??

Cuts can and should be made, but cries to move the operation out of NY are not the answer.  We’ve already consolidated and returned unused space to the landlord, in the building in Raleigh, at no cost to AKC.  This can and should continue, perhaps on a smaller scale since many of our Staff at both locations are adept at working remotely.  Moving out of NY, while committed to lease obligations there, makes no financial sense.

As a “seasoned Career Delegate” I brought new ideas and perspectives to the Board; got elected twice and saw those many changes enacted for your Clubs and judges.  Ideas that were embraced by Staff and colleagues in the sport.  I ask “what are the new ideas coming from our career Board members” some with more than 24 years in their seats, other than increasing your fees?

In the past, I’ve been your voice in the Board room.  You told me what you needed and I delivered.  I thank you for your past confidence and support.  Wishing the best holidays and a great New Year to you and yours from me and mine.

Respectfully, Pat Cruz, Proud Delegate, Heart Of The Plains Kennel Club

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Posted by Liz on Dec 23 2025. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.