Good morning, everybody. It certainly is the dawn of a new day when our meeting of the AKC Delegate Body takes place over the Internet via Zoom. Although it’s a depressing set of circumstances that has brought us together in this way, I’m grateful that we have been able to convene safely and efficiently. I’d like to give a huge thank you to our management and staff for organizing the technology that’s made this meeting possible. Most importantly, I’d like to thank each and every one of you for participating with us in this new way today. I’m also grateful to those Delegate Committees who have hosted their meetings virtually as well. Changes like these aren’t easy, but we all know that the key to success is often the ability to adapt. We’ve all been grieving the loss of so many events, which has affected each of us in many different ways.
It has deprived us of the joy of participating in our sports. It’s meant significant loss of income for clubs, handlers, vendors, judges, and others who have supported our mission through their work. These are indeed very trying times. We will get through this, united as we are, for the sake of our dogs and our sports. As Jack Welch put it, we will “face reality as it is, not as it was or as we wish it to be.”
Although events have suffered tremendously, it is true that “the show must go on.” And it has. Our Staff has done incredible work throughout this ordeal, most of it behind the scenes and unsung in order to keep the home fires burning. As people around the country have brought puppies and dogs into their lives at rates we have not seen in quite some time, our registration department has been there to serve and welcome them into our ranks. Breeders who have been fortunate to welcome litters during the pandemic have also benefited from uninterrupted AKC services. Our Communications and Marketing teams have risen to the occasion in educating the public about responsible dog ownership during challenging times. Public Education has been delivering top-quality webinars for our judges to continue honing their knowledge and skills while everybody is sidelined. Club Development and the Events department have been hard at work during this crisis helping our clubs to manage cancellations and postponements. They have worked with other departments collaboratively, forging a path to normalcy with new procedures for our 26 sports. We have offered Pet Pals, Rally, Trick Dog, Act 1 Agility online and even a virtual dog show, to bring back a taste of what we have been missing for so long. Our Staff has been agile and creative, because circumstances have necessitated flexibility. In the words of John F. Kennedy, “We would like to live as we once lived, but history will not permit it.”
You’ll hear more from Dennis about all of these recent achievements and more. I will add that your Board has been very active during this time as well. We have met three times, virtually, appointed three ad hoc committees and elected a new Chief Financial Officer, Ted Phillips. Our thoughts have been with you and your club members every step of the way. Before I turn the virtual podium over to Dennis, I would like to say, speaking for the Board of Directors, we do have reason to have hope for better days ahead. These are unprecedented times. There is a sea change going on in our country right now, and some would say we are at a turning point in history.
I will leave you with a thought from someone who lived under unimaginable circumstances and had much to teach the generations that followed, and that was Anne Frank: “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” Let’s keep working together constructively. We’ll get through this, and we’ll meet again, with our dogs by our sides. Thank you very much and thank you for your time. Be safe.
-Tom