New Regional Club Start Up Information
To request a NEW CLUB PACKET, please contact the BSS office at boykinss@boykinspaniels.org or Download the New Regional Club Packet
"The mission of the Regional Club Development Committee is to provide prospective and newly-formalized Boykin Spaniel clubs with human, financial, and informational resources so that they can regionally support the constitutional objectives of the Boykin Spaniel Society and its member Code of Ethics."
What's meant by "newly-formalized"? to my way of thinking, it's probably a club which transitioned from a "rag tag, loosely bonded social group" to a bona fide club with bylaws, officers and members within the past three to five years. Clubs which have been up and running for more than three or five years are still likely to benefit from many of the resources we'd offer the new clubs, but I don't know that I would consider such clubs as being in the "development" stage - and we aren't specifically meant to be the "Regional Club Support Committee".
- "Human resources" - that's face-to-face, telephone, or email interpersonal communication and support.
- "Financial resources" - this would be where the notion of grants and/or loans would fit.
- "Informational resources" - obviously, this covers most of what we've already been discussing.
What's meant by the BSS "Constitutional objectives"?
From the Constitution and Bylaws, it seems that the best support would be in the areas of:
1. to advance the use of the breed standard by all members and breeders in the selection and breeding of the Boykin Spaniel.
2. to encourage and promote the breeding of healthy purebred Boykin Spaniels and to do all possible to perpetuate their natural hunting ability.
3. to do all in its power to protect and advance the interest of the breed by encouraging responsible breeding practices and sportsmanlike competition.
4. to serve Society members and the general public by offering resources for information concerning the attributes of the Boykin Spaniel.
What's meant by "and its member Code of Ethics"?
It seems to me that healthy regional clubs should do more than just offer the BSS hunt tests, and among the things they should be doing are found in the following selections from the "Member Responsibilities" section of the Code of Ethics:
- Educate the general public about the breed, keeping in mind that they and their dogs represent the breed, the BSS and the sport of purebred hunting dogs in general
- Willingly offer assistance and encouragement to new owners and novice competitors by recognizing the need for mentoring and support within the Boykin Spaniel community;
- Support and participate in the efforts of the BSS to assess continually the health, longevity and hunting ability of the Boykin Spaniel through testing, research, health surveys and other such efforts;
- Maintain good sportsmanship at all events and competitions, abiding by all applicable rules and regulations set forth by the governing bodies for such events and competitions.