Important Information for Members
Please review the updated information below which has also been prepared for our members in advance of the meeting in Kansas City.

During the proposal comment period of September 9-21, 2009 the SPC received a number of thoughtful comments and suggestions regarding the proposal. We thank all of you for taking the time to read the proposal and offer your comments and suggestions. Thanks too for the many notes of encouragement and appreciation for the work the committee has undertaken.

The comments distilled to 3 or 4 main themes – addressed in edits on the following pages

If you are unable to download the information, please e-mail segebhart@hotmail.com to request an e-mailed copy.

Update on Kansas City 10.20.09
In the recent NOP election cycle we had 2 candidates run for the at large position and no candidates run for the Area 1 or Area 9 positions. Under the by-laws the NOP board may appoint directors to fill spots which are vacant or have no candidates. We met in a teleconference last night and appointed two ladies to fill the area 1 and 9 spots. Additionally, the election results for the at large position have been announced; Denise Billman from Ohio has been elected by the membership to that spot. Thus the 3 incoming directors who will join the NOP board in Kansas City are:
Area 1: Paula Acheson, Woodbine, KS
Area 9: Shellie Collins, Chattanooga, OK
At Large: Denise Billman, Newcomerstown, OH
We hope all of you who are in Kansas City will plan to join us for the Women’s Forum at 5:30 on Friday evening and for the NOP Membership Meeting on Saturday at noon. Both events are at the Hilton President Hotel and everyone is welcome – if you are not currently a member we hope you will attend as a visitor and check out what we’ve got going on. This meeting will be the occasion where the vote will take place on the proposed combination of AHW and NOP into the National Hereford Cattlewomen’s Association. The final proposal with member comments incorporated is on both the NOP and AHW web sites for your review. The results of the vote will be announced at the meeting. If the vote is “YES” you will be able to join NHCA that day!
RSVP’s for the Saturday lunch meeting are due no later than October 26th. Please call or e-mail me or Betsy Beck (abcbeck@tds.net) to RSVP. We will have a light lunch with deli style sandwiches, cookies, coffee and tea. $20 per person paid at the door.
Also please note: the AHW membership meeting will also be Saturday at 9am before the NOP meeting and in the same room. If you are a member of both organizations please plan to attend the AHW meeting as well. AHW will also vote at their meeting regarding the proposal to combine – dual members are entitled to vote at both meetings. Contact Cheryl Evans for more info at eehje@dixie-net.com

Update from the Strategic Planning Committee 9-9-09
Given the extremely positive response to the opinion poll at the Tulsa Forum, we plan to move forward in the process of forming one national women’s organization.
As you know the NOP and AHW Boards have been exploring the possibility of combining into one national organization for women associated with the breed.  This process has been the work of the Strategic Planning Committee since early spring of 2009. By meeting on a regular basis throughout 2009 the SPC has formulated a proposal for your consideration.
After a great deal of thought as to how we can facilitate feedback from the membership while moving the process forward in an organized manner, the SPC formulated the following schedule:

The NOP by-laws require a vote of 2/3 of members present to approve such a measure. However, given the importance of the decision, absentee ballots will also be available by request for those NOP members unable to attend the meeting. These members may request an absentee ballot to cast their vote on the decision to go forward with forming one national association. See form at link above.
You will notice in the schedule above that the draft proposal will be available to you 52 days before the meeting.  You will then have 12 days to review and send comments to the SPC. The SPC will then incorporate member comments and make the revised proposal available 33 days pre-meeting. Absentee ballots will be due to the CPA by October 16 which gives everyone a week to review the revised proposal before needing to mail their ballot with adequate time for it to be received by the deadline.

NOP Annual Membership Meeting
Saturday October 31, 2009 at 12:30 pm
Hilton President Hotel – Aztec Room

Please RSVP if you plan to attend to the meeting 
Susan at 918-342-0327 or segebhart@hotmail.com
Betsy at 765-522-3396 or abcbeck@tds.net
Lunch menu and cost TBA

The proposal includes the following important features:

• The structure of state groups will not be affected.  If combined, the new national organization would affiliate with and support all members of women’s state organizations regardless of status – polled, horned or combined memberships. 
• The new national organization will continue all of the programs currently in place with both organizations. We hope that a stronger combined organization would result in more programs to serve youth and women associated with the breed. 
• Both existing organizations would come into the new organization with about the same amount of money. All funds currently earmarked for a specific purpose would be expended for that purpose only until exhausted.
• All details of the proposal will be available to members on the NOP website or mailed by request to members before the vote takes place.
• Initial discussions have taken place for a History Preservation Committee to look into setting up an electronic archive of NOP history, documents, and photographs. Photos of the Gammon Barn and its’ contents would be included in this project.

Thank you for your time in reviewing this information.

Please call any of the NOP Strategic Planning Committee Members if you have any questions or comments.

Susan Gebhart                        Betsy Beck                              Mary Ann Berg
918-342-0327                          765-522-3396                          330-857-7967

Strategic Planning Committee

What Time Is It?
American Hereford Women & National Organization of Poll-ettes Announce Strategic Planning Committee

Committee Members
Cheryl Evans, AHW – Chair                             Susan Gebhart, NOP - Chair   
Deb Carlson, AHW                                            Mary Ann Berg, NOP
Della Ehlke, AHW                                               Betsy Beck, NOP

Is it time to revisit the idea of a combined national women's organization to serve the needs of women in the Hereford cattle business? Recent discussion between the boards of AHW and NOP have revealed that there are many of who think it is time to revisit this idea, to seriously look at the possibilities for making the most of what we all have in common. The goal in this endeavor is to ensure that we are doing the best job possible in supporting our industry, our breed of cattle, and the junior members in our association. Doing the best possible job may be doing it as one organization; maybe not that’s the committee’s job – to have a look and offer an opinion and a potential course of action.

Both boards are mindful of something every organization needs to monitor - relevance. At a time when so many of us own both horned and polled cattle, are we relevant organizations in the eyes of our fellow breeders? Are we relevant organizations in the eyes of younger women in the Hereford business? 

It's no secret that organizations which fail to monitor relevance or fail to continuously renew and update their mission statements and services to members are typically doomed to becoming smaller and quieter versions of their former selves. Eventually they fade into the history books rather than remaining vibrant, growing & active in the daily events of the community to which they are affiliated. Before I go on, everyone who wants to fade into the sunset, please hold up your hand!

As representatives at the national level, the boards of AHW and NOP have agreed to form the Strategic Planning Committee (SPC) to delve into these issues. We know your expectation is that we will represent you. We also know our duty is to pay attention to signs of change and to act in the best interest of the organization in a proactive manner. It is our universal opinion that waiting until change is upon us or until we have become irrelevant to the community which we serve, would be irresponsible. By failing to address the potential need for change we would likely cast our organizations in the role of reacting to cattle that got out rather than fixing the fence we can see needs some work.

Our current plan is to
(1) Discuss the possibilities
(2) Collect input from our respective memberships
(3) Evaluate the potential of a single national level organization
(4) Assess the acceptability of such an organization to our current memberships
(5) Report back to the membership with analysis and a plan

It's a tall order to be sure, but not one that's out of reach. Women of common interests with hearts in the "right place" can engage in a process that seeks to honor our respective legacies, and support our breed, our youth, and our members. We'll ask the question, "How can we best support activities and programs of interest to a new generation of women who will take up where we leave off in continuing the traditions and history of our red, white faced cattle?" 

We hope you will monitor this process and call or e-mail when you have thoughts or ideas. We absolutely want to hear from our members to ensure we leave no stone unturned in the process of considering possibilities. We'll announce news of the process through both the AHW and NOP web sites.

We'll also have a blog on the web dedicated to this topic to keep you updated. Please visit http://barnaisle.blogspot.com/  This blog is designed as a place to learn the news and offer feedback. The blog is named the "Barn Aisle" because we all know more news changes hands in the barn aisle than nearly anywhere else on the planet!  So we've established a virtual barn aisle where the real "poop" on what's new with AHW and NOP can be read, digested and discussed. Best of all, your shoes will stay clean and nobody is likely to ask you to stop your conversation to pick the bed, pull the feed pans, or blow out the cattle.

So join us ladies - we have nothing to loose - open your minds and hearts to the possibility and let’s see where we end up. Together – separate – whatever; we just need to know we are doing the right thing for the breed, our members and most importantly our collective future.

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