Office News

Office Closure - The NSTRA office will be closed Friday July 3 for the holiday. We will reopen on Monday July 6 at 8:30 am ET.

Voting Rights for Associate Members: A question has come up as to whether associate members can vote in regional elections. To clarify any confusion, the answer to said question is no. When the associate membership was established, it was done in order to allow families to be able to participate at a lesser rate. To that means, to have voting priveleges at the National or Regional level, one must be a full member.

Wanted: A Few Good Leaders

Effective with the constitution change approved February of 2002; NSTRA will elect the office of President, First Vice President and Treasurer this year. These officers will then begin serving their three-year term the Sunday after the annual Dog of the Year Trial.

Selecting the right candidates is very important and is the duty of a nominating committee appointed by the President. This election year, Gary Thompson will be the chairman of our nominating committee and will be assisted by Nance Ceccarelli, Tom Dafnis, John Holder and Nick Miller. Below you will find their phone numbers and e-mail addresses to contact them regarding running for a position.

1. Gary Thompson – Committee Chairman
Business 864-232-2320; Home 864-836-2802; Cell 864-915-0075; E-mail garythompson@splitcreekkennels.com
2. Nance Ceccarelli– Business 208-799-3186; Home 208-883-0752; Cell 208-301-3831; E-mail nancececcarelli@co.nezperce.id.us
3. Tom Dafnis– Home 920-992-5543; Cell 605-848-1906; E-mail sinfad@westriv.com
4. John Holder – Home 920-992-5543; E-mail jr-holder@hotmail.com
5. Nick Miller – Home 517-279-1473; Cell 419-583-7136; E-mail milrun@hotmail.com

If you are interested in becoming a candidate for these elected positions, contact one of these committee members.

The official duties of the officers are listed in the Bylaws, but their duties go far beyond what is listed. Our officers spend considerable time working to improve our organization and most often their effort is little noticed. The officers meet a minimum of twice each year including the April and October meetings in Plainfield. They usually plan their meetings around our championship trials so they can reduce the travel expenses and to spend time visiting with our members to learn how to make NSTRA the best it can be.

NSTRA is always looking for leaders who have the time to donate and have skills that will benefit our organization. If you would like to be considered, contact Gary Thompson or another nominating committee member. But be forewarned, the officers of NSTRA are required to do real work and lots of it. Being a NSTRA officer is a huge commitment of time and there is no compensation for any of our officers. The officers are reimbursed for phone, fax and travel expenses to their meetings. The reward comes from being able to see good ideas blossom into reality and to see our members really enjoying their sport and their membership in NSTRA.

Note: A dog is not required to be registered in the NSTRA registry to compete in a NSTRA sanctioned trial. The requirement remains that a dog must be registered or eligible to be registered in the NSTRA, AKC, FDSB, and CKC registries.

Scoresheets: The large scoresheets used at trials ARE NOT included in your trial packet. New trial chairman who have never put on a trial before are not aware of this. Then it is realized a day or two before the trial starts and expenses are incurred to get them to the chairman. Please be aware of this – they are available through the office for $1.50 each plus UPS charges.

Advertising Rates:

Full Page $250.00 (7 1/2 x 10)
Half Page $150.00 (7 1/8 x 5)
Qtr. Page $ 75.00 (3/1/2 x 4 3/4)
Classified $ 15.00 (20-25 words/no pictures)

NSTRA Magazine Deadlines:

Feb./Mar. issue Jan. 1st
April/May issue Mar. 1st
June/July issue May 1st
Aug./Sept. issue July 1st
Oct./Nov. issue Sept. 1st
Dec./Jan. issue Nov. 1st