 | HOW THINGS WORK IN DCA APPLYING FOR MEMBERSHIP Because DCA members exercise very important and powerful responsibilities with respect to the Club and to the promotion of quality in the Dachshund Breed, the DCA Board reviews applications to evaluate whether the applicants are “serious fanciers who have demonstrated a significant ongoing interest in the Dachshund, who are in good standing with the American Kennel Club, subscribe to the purposes of the DCA, and agree to abide by the Bylaws of the DCA, its Code of Ethics, and the rules of the AKC.” DCA encourages pet fanciers and others who are not active in the Breed to consider a DCA Newsletter membership by contacting: The process for applying for membership is also derived from the Bylaws (Article II, MEMBERSHIP, Section 3), where the DCA Board is charged with the responsibility for providing the form used to apply for membership. The application requires an applicant to document his/her involvement in AKC Dachshund events and/or purebred dogs; provide various information about the applicant’s Dachshunds and breedings, dog club memberships; agree to abide by DCA’s code of ethics; and provide written endorsements of 2 DCA members who sponsor the applicant. The sponsors must be members who are in good standing with DCA; not members of the same household or family; and it is recommended that they be from the applicant’s geographic area. One or both sponsors should have visited the applicant’s home – if that is not possible, the applicant should arrange for another DCA member to visit the applicant’s home and facilities (a report on that visit should be included with the completed membership application). Applicants are encouraged to choose sponsors who know them well and can provide in-depth information to the Board. Sponsors, likewise, are charged with providing detailed information about the applicant and their dog related activities which will enable the Board to make an informed decision regarding the applicant. A member applicant sends his/her completed membership application and 2 completed sponsor endorsements to the DCA Membership Secretary (now Neal Hamilton), who will carefully review it for completeness. Incomplete applications or those without 2 completed sponsor endorsements are returned to the applicant, so it’s very important for the applicant to answer all of the questions on the application, submit 2 sponsor endorsements and a check for the appropriate dues. If the application appears to be complete, the Membership Secretary submits the names of applicants for publication in the next DCA Newsletter and waits 30 days from the Newsletter’s publication to see if any DCA member will submit any written relevant information about the applicant. After the 30 day waiting period, the DCA Membership Secretary sends all of the applications and any supporting documents to each DCA Board member. When the Board votes by mail on applications, any Board member may hold an application for a discussion and vote at the next DCA Board meeting (but no application may be held for more than two consecutive Board meetings). If an applicant receives 2/3rds of the Board members’ votes by mail and there is no “hold” on the application, the application is approved immediately. The DCA Board thoroughly discusses any application placed “on hold” at its next meeting. The membership application must be approved by 2/3rds of the DCA Board present at a Board meeting or 2/3rds of the entire DCA Board if voted upon by mail. Once an applicant is approved, the Membership Secretary notifies the applicant of his/her election to membership. If the applicant is not approved, the Membership Secretary notifies the applicant of the Board’s decision and that the applicant’s sponsor(s) may present the application at the next Annual Meeting of DCA, where the application may be approved by 75% of the members present at the Annual Meeting (there must be a quorum at the Annual Meeting). When the DCA Board discusses member applications at its Board meetings, the discussions are held in executive session. Due to the potentially sensitive nature of these discussions, executive sessions are not open to those who are not on the DCA Board, and minutes are not published to the DCA membership -- this protects the applicant from publicizing questions and concerns about the applicant to the entire DCA membership (some of which may be grounded in fact and some of which may not). The DCA Board members may contact the applicant’s sponsor or the applicant to resolve any questions and/or concerns the Board or a Board member may have about the applicant. The application forms, sponsor endorsement forms, and instructions may be found here. | |||
 | ||||
 | ||||
 | ||||
 | ||||
 | ||||
 | ||||
 | ||||
 | ||||
 | ||||
 | ||||
 | ||||
 | ||||
 | ||||
 | ||||
 | ||||
 | ||||
 | ||||
 | ||||
 | ||||
 | ||||
 | ||||
 | ||||
 | ||||
 | ||||
 | ||||
 | | | | |
