Dear supporter of the sable merle collie,

Here are the facts-

Over 100 CCA members signed the Petition Requiring Vote on issue of Inclusion of the color of Sable Merle in the Collie Club of America Standard * the petition was signed by more than 100 active members and was accurately submitted to the Secretary of the CCA. In fact, the petition and the requested vote is to be administered by the Secretary of the CCA within 90 days of the date of its submission. The petition was submitted to Janie Clymer by Adria Weiner on April 10, 2009. Marcy Fine and Gwen Means witnessed the submission of the petition.

Over 700 CCA members voted in favor of the inclusion of the sable merle in the standard

Bob Myers ran for office and promised to address the sable merle issue and appoint a standard revision committee. **

Bob Myers announced in the July,2011 communique his 3 people on the standard revision committee. Mary Wells, Chair, Mike Van Tassell and Doris Elaine Werdermann   ***   Bob Myers put this up for discussion and his wording is confusing. The CCA membership ALREADY voted to revise the standard. And to do that we need a standard revision committee first then the CCA members will have a chance to vote on the new wording of the standard to include the sable merle.

Per Robert's Rules the people on this committee "A committee foraction should be small, and consist only of those heartily in favor of the proposed action. If one not in sympathy with it is appointed he should ask to be excused."  ****

Now is the time to speak out again. Contact you DD  and Copy Jane Clymer CCA Secretary with a note to please be included in the next Communique.  Let them know how you feel. Jane Clymer's email is    ccasec@tctelco.net  Let your DD know if they have your permission to publish what you write.

Thank you
~jules
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*Petition Requiring Vote on issue of Inclusion of the color of Sable Merle in the Collie Club of America Standard
 

We, the active members of the Collie Club of America, hereby submit this petition requiring a vote of all members of the Collie Club of America on the issue of inclusion of the color of sable merle in the Collie Club of America Standard and clarification on eye color. We assert this right pursuant to the Collie Club of America Constitution, Bylaws, Article II, Section 3, Special Membership Meetings which states:

 Special meetings of the club membership for the purpose of presenting any business or obtaining a vote of the membership, shall be called by the Secretary upon written request, setting forth the purpose for such special meeting, received from… (d) by a petition signed by at least 100 members, or 10% of the club membership (whichever is less). Meetings convened as the result of a petition shall be held no less than two (2) months, nor more than three (3) months from the date of receipt of the petition.
 

We invoke this constitutional right and demand that a vote by the entire membership be conducted by mail to change the Collie Club of America Standard to include the color, sable merle and additionally change the wording on eye color to allow for blue in the eyes of sable merles. As exhibitors, breeders and fanciers, we believe the Collie Club of America Standard should reflect the current knowledge and desire of its membership. To that end, we believe the issue should be put to vote.

Should the membership vote to change the Collie Club of America Standard, the following are proposed changes:

Under Eyes it currently reads “In blue merles, dark brown eyes are preferable, but either or both eyes may be merle or china in color without specific penalty” The proposed change to read “In blue merles and sable merles, dark brown eyes are preferable, but either or both eyes may be merle or china in color without specific penalty.”

Under Color  it currently reads “The Sable and White” is predominately sable (a fawn sable color of varying shades from light gold to dark mahogany)”  The proposed change to read “”The Sable and White” is predominately sable (a fawn sable color of varying shades from light gold to dark mahogany, including sable merles which may have a merling pattern)”

By signing this petition, the following members, are in agreement with the above petition:

**statement from Robert Myers
An open letter to the members of the Collie Club of America:
This is in response to several questions on this list and others in the last few days. I do not normally enter into discussions here, however I have read every post here in the last few months. The discussions have been very heated over a lot of topics and I think that is a good thing. We each are entitled to our own ideas and thoughts, without being ridiculed or told not very politely that our ideas are wrong.
The CCA was founded by people, not unlike ourselves ,with a common goal of perfecting their breeding skills, along with being able to help mentor new people wanting to become good stewards of the breed. It was laid out with a constitution and guidelines for all to follow. Over the years changes have come and gone, some good some not so good. For our club to grow and become one of the best parent clubs in AKC changes often come along that not every one agrees with but we have always come to an agreement that has been better for the collie and after all that is the reason we are here. This is a great and proud club and I hope to a part of its growth and greatness in the future with all of you.
My personal opinions about the SM issue are mine and mine privately. With that being said ,we are bound by the constitution and as a democratic organization the members do have the right to speak up and be heard , whether by voice or as in this case by petition and vote. I do not see how the vote can be stopped or halted as I read the constitution. I do believe that there have been mistakes made on both sides of the issue, but now we have to work through those and reach an agreeable ending.
When working as an official of an organization you have to remember that you are always working for the entire group and not just a few individuals. From the time of being elected you are always speaking for the group. It is a 24 hour, 7 day a week job.
If elected I will work with the BOD and not against them. I will follow the constitution in full and not just the parts that meet the current needs. I will make myself available to all and will be more than happy to talk and listen to each and every one of you. Most of you know me as being a straight shooter, and getting things done. I have no alliance to anyone except the club as a whole and will not be intimidated or pushed in a direction that is not good for the entire club. My goal is to bring the club back together as a cohesive group that can work together for the greater good of the collie.
We have a lot of issues that need to be worked on in the near future. Our logo needs to be owned by the CCA. We need to be more active as a group against AR legislation. There are going to be more issues concerning rescue operations as the economy slowly begins to improve. With people having less money our attendance at the nationals may be diminishing which is going to require some changes on how we support it as a club.
I hope I have answered some of your questions and thoughts. We have come a long way together across many bridges ,some of them shaky, but thr
ough it all we have succeeded to make this a great and proud club.
We can and will be a greater and prouder club than ever with all of your help. I would like to be your next president for one reason only and that is to make this a good working club and guide us back to being something that new people want to be a part of and to learn more about our great collies of the past, present and future. It is my time to give back to the collie what I have learned and cherished over the years.
Let’s do this together. Please feel free to contact me at the following addresses or by phone anytime.
To lead you must first listen
Robert A. Myers
2064CR2500N
Thomasboro, Il. 61878
Romyers@aol. com
Yourcca@yahoo. com 217-694-4517
Permission to cross post the above message in its entirety is granted.

***2.   The President presents for discussion a Standard Revision Committee.   The description for the Revision committee are as follows (This committee has been given the task of clarifying the standard in regard to the Sable Merle color what is acceptable and what is not, also to clarify the eye color as to what is preferred as well as what is acceptable. This could be done with as few as 4-6 words added or deleted from the current standard.) This will not add another class.  The following members for the Breed Standard Revision Committee: Mary Wells, Chairman, Mike Van Tassell and Doris Werderman, members. 

****Here is that section from Roberts Rules (from under #52):

While in small assemblies, especially in those where but little business is done, there is not much need of committees. In large assemblies, or in those doing a great deal of business, committees are of the utmost importance. When a committee is properly selected, in nine cases out of ten its action decides that of the assembly. A committee foraction should be small, and consist only of those heartily in favor of the proposed action. If one not in sympathy with it is appointed he should ask to be excused. A committee for deliberation or investigation, on the contrary, should be large, and represent all parties in the assembly, so that its opinion will carry with it as great weight as possible. The usefulness of the committee will be greatly impaired if any important faction of the assembly is unrepresented on the committee. The appointment of a committee is fully explained in 32.