Letter from the President

Dear AMLA Members,

First, I would like to thank Laura Harrawood for the countless hours she poured into AMLA during her time as President. I truly enjoyed serving on the board under her direction. The board and I, wish her the best.

Since many of you may not be familiar with me I would like to tell you a little about myself. I am 29 years old and along with my husband, Derek, own Blooming Valley Minis in Michigan. I first fell in love with alpacas after watching an episode of “That’s My Baby” on the Animal Planet in 2002. It was love at first sight for me and I began researching all about alpacas. One day I came across miniature llamas on the internet during one of my searches. Once I discovered the mini llama, there was no looking back for me. I began going to llama shows, visiting llama farms, reading llama books, watching llama videos and e-mailing other mini llama breeders about their llamas. In 2005, I was finally able to start my herd of mini llamas.

Since then I have written articles about miniature llamas for Llama Banner, LamaLink, The Mini-Llama News and American Livestock. I have also gotten mini halter classes added to several shows in Michigan and have been the Chairman for the Mini Show Committee. My board member term first started in 2007 and I have proudly served on the AMLA Board of Directors since then.

I am excited to get to work as your new AMLA President. The last 10 years of AMLA have seen huge successes reached for the mini llama and I know the next 10 years can be even better. I and the AMLA Board will be working our hardest to reach new achievements for AMLA in 2010.

Patrick Behrens has been appointed by the board to fulfill the remainder of the Vice President term. We are looking forward to having Pat on the board and I want to thank him for being willing to volunteer his time.

Even though I wish I was a full time llama farmer, I still have to work at my real job during the week. If you need to reach me during the day, you can call and leave a message on my phone or send me an e-mail. I am available from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. E.T. during the week if you need to reach me. I am also available on the weekends.

Sincerely, Julie Sines ranger94@core.com 231-742-0931

Hello AMLA Members from the 2009
nominating committee!

It's that time of year again! Merle Mann and Phyllis Wilkerson have agreed to be the Nominating Committee for 2009 and are asking for interested members to run for a position on the Board of Directors that is due to expire soon.

There are 3 positions up for election:

1) Vice President - This position will run for 2 years, to begin immediately after all ballots have been counted. The responsibilities of the Vice President are as follows:

Bylaws state:

Section 6.2: Vice President. The Vice President shall possess all the powers and perform all the duties of the President in the event of the absence of the President or of the President’s disability, refusal, or failure to act. The Vice President shall perform such other duties as are properly assigned by the Board of Directors or the President.

In addition to above the VP will be a non-voting member of all AMLA committees acting as the liaison between the board and the committees. The VP will be responsible to forward committee meeting minutes to the Secretary for recording into the office record.

2) Treasurer - This position will run for 2 years, to begin immediately after all ballots have been counted. The responsibilities of the Treasurer are as follows:

Bylaws state:

Section 6.4: Treasurer. The Treasurer shall have charge of and shall exercise supervision of the financial affairs of the Association. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the accurate accounting and reporting of all monies received and expended by the Association and shall be responsible for all financial records including tax records, tax returns and corporation reports. All monies received shall be deposited in the bank or depository designated by the Board of Directors and shall be paid out as prescribed by the Board of Directors or its designee. The Treasurer shall be authorized to sign checks for the payment of bills incurred by the Association. The Treasurer in conjunction with the Finance and Audit Committee shall develop the budget for approval by the Board of Directors. The Treasurer shall provide names of current members to the Board of Directors.

The bylaws also state:

Article XI – Finance and Audit Committee

Section 11.1: Composition. The Finance and Audit Committee shall consist of at least 2 members, one of whom shall be the current or outgoing Treasurer. All other members shall be appointed by the President.

Section 11.2: Duties. The Committee shall advise the Board of Directors on matters pertaining to the Association’s financial needs, growth, and stability based on periodic review of income, expenditure, and investments. The committee shall present an annual budget to the Board of Directors. The Committee shall advise the Board of Directors of any irregularities or material findings that arise from the independent audit or other sources.

3) Registrar - This position will run for 2 years, to begin immediately, after all ballots have been counted. The responsibilities of the Registrar as follows:

Bylaws state:

Section 6.5: Registrar. ILR will keep a registry of llamas meeting AMLA standards and provide a copy to the registrar on a regular basis. The Registrar will make recommendations for registration procedures to the Board as needed.

In addition to above the Registrar and his/her committee shall be the liaison between AMLA and ILR, ALSA, FALA, SSLA and any other llama organization sponsoring llama shows. The Registrar is responsible to maintain a positive, healthy relationship between AMLA and all other llama organizations and insure all show superintendents understand the guide lines for measuring mini llamas and see they (the superintendents) have the necessary tools to accomplish that task.

We are asking all members that will be running for a position to submit a statement on behalf of their candidacy, which will be attached to the ballot. Your statement will need to be emailed to Merle Mann or Phyllis Wilkerson by Tuesday, December 8, 2009.

Ballots will go out on Friday, December 11, 2009 and need to be back to the Nominating Committee by 6:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time on December 18, 2009. Results will be announced on December 21, 2009, at 12:00 noon, Eastern Standard Time.

Voting will be done electronically (email). If anyone would prefer a paper ballot, their written request must be received by the Nominating Committee by December 8, 2009, include a self-addressed, stamped envelope and a ballot will be returned to them for their vote. Paper ballot must be received by the Nominating Committee on or before December 18, 2009. Time is of the essence so please mail your request to Merle Mann or Phyllis Wilkerson.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Merle or Phyllis.

Thank You,

Don't Forget It's Dues Time!!

Our $25 annual membership dues run the calendar year so to make sure your not dropped from the register be sure to make your check payable to AMLA and mail your renewal dues to ILR before Dec 31st! ILR will remove your name from the AMLA membership list if dues not paid by Jan. 1, 2010

Web Site Banner Contest by Pam Fink

Time for some fun: I created a PhotoShop picture as a temporary AMLA web site banner until January 2010 when it will be replaced with the winning picture from our contest. As a reminder this is how it will work--All members in good standing may submit as many horizontal pictures as they would like until December 31, 2009. Early January I will submit all pictures that can be cropped to the correct banner size and allows room for the words "Miniature Llamas- Unique Beyond Measure" somewhere inside the picture to the board for voting. Only I will know who submitted which picture and I will not be eligible to vote. The winning picture will become the official banner for AMLA's web site including farm byline credit for the picture plus a full year free advertisement on the breeds page of the web site.

So, get your cameras out, dust them off and start clicking away. For those of you who are real camera buffs the exact banner size is 890 pixels by 295 pixels by 72 resolution. For those of you who aren't don't worry, just keep sending me horizontal pictures and I will size & crop.

Board Members
Julie Sines, President
Pat Behrens, Vice President
Darlene Awarski, Secretary
Pam Fink, Treasurer
Mindy Jorpeland, registrar

Membership
AMLA membership dues must be sent to ILR. ILR is responsible for maintaining our membership list. Dues are $25 per farm and the membership runs the calendar year.

Registration
Individual llama registrations must be sent to ILR. You will receive a combined ILR-AMLA registration paper for each mini llama you register or upgraded.

Fees for AMLA registration are:
Initial Registration: $10
Upgrade from Immature to Mature Status: $6

Checks should be made payable to AMLA and sent to PO Box 8, Kalispell, Mt 59903. amla@lamaregistry.com

Annual Web site Ads
All breeder ads should be emailed to Pam Fink and the appropriate fee should be mailed to: ALMA, 65 Windy Valley Lane, Blue Ridge, Ga 30513

The cost is: $50 a year.

Annual Newsletter Ad Rates
Business Card $40
Double Business Card $80

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Pete & Joyce Barber
506 Jones Rd.
Mill Springs, NC 28756
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AMLA's Newsletter editor and Web Master is Pam Fink.
Comments on how to improve both are encouraged. Please feel free to send comments, suggestions corrections etc. to Pam anytime.

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