MNRC Clubs Please Return Your Annual Meeting Ballot

Please remind your local MNRC Club to email their ballots! It’s important to participate, we want to hear from you!

Here is a copy of the Bylaws Change Proposal emailed to all MNRC member clubs from the Master National Board of Directors. The proposal will grant dogs, who pass the Master Amateur event 3 times and are awarded the Master Amateur Hunter title, exemption from yearly requalification for Master Nation Event. This reflects the current exemption given to MNH titled dogs. 

The vote for the Bylaws proposal change will be included on the Annual Meeting ballot. 

Dede Paterson Master National Retriever Club Secretary

BYLAW CHANGE PROCEDURE

SECTION 1.  Purpose:

A. The purpose of the Bylaw change form is to give all members the opportunity to request a change, to add, or delete any Bylaw, pursuant to Article XI.

SECTION 2.  Scope:

A.  Any Board member or Member Clubs may utilize this form in order to make a request to change, to add, or to delete a Bylaw.

SECTION 3.  Procedure:

A.  Copies of the Bylaw changeform (sample shown on following page) shall be made available to all members.

B. This form shall be filled out completely and signed by the member(s).  Anonymous requests shall not be accepted. Any questions of the Bylaw changeform shall be answered by a MNRC Club Secretary.

C.  After filling out the Bylaw changeform it shall be turned over to the MNRC Club Secretary, it shall then be recorded by the Secretary.

D.  The Secretary shall, at the next board meeting, bring to the attention of the entire board the fact that a request to change, add or delete a Bylawhas been made.  A copy of the request will be given to each Board Member.

E.   eMail ballots will require 2/3 support from member clubs to pass.

Please submit the request to:

Dede Paterson MNRC Secretary, 5674 US Hwy 59 S, Goliad, Texas 77963 or Dede1paterson@gmail.com

PROPOSED BYLAWS AMENDMENT

Name of Club:    Master National Retriever Club              Date _______June 19, 2024_____

Name of Delegate __Keith Kiesow____________________

Current Bylaws affected: Article ___IX____________ Section __3_____ Page __16____

Current Wording:

SECTION 3. Contestants, Eligibility, Fees

Number of Contestants, Eligibility and Entry Fees

        (a) Contestants shall be limited to the following:

                (1) Qualifying dogs of the previous year’s Master National

                     Hunting Retriever Test shall receive credit for two

                     qualifying scores.

                (2) All contestants shall be required to obtain qualifying

                    scores in a minimum of six (6) Master Hunting tests

                    conducted by member clubs. Contestants who enter

                    exclusively in Alaska must obtain qualifying scores in

                    a minimum of four Master tests by member clubs and

                    have an MH title.

                (3) Dogs, domiciled in Canada, running exclusively in

                    CKC Master Hunt Test events, that passed the most

                    recent CKC Canadian Master National Hunt Test prior

                    to the July 31st MNRC qualifying end date.

                (4) Dogs having passed three prior MNRC annual events

                    are exempt from the requirements of Paragraphs (2)

                    and (3) of this section and are qualified for all future

                    MNRC annual events.

                (5) Qualifying dogs of the current year’s Master Amateur

                    Retriever Club (MARC) Hunting Retriever Test shall

                    receive credit for two qualifying scores towards the

                    current year’s Master National Retriever Club (MNRC)

                    Hunting Retriever Test, provided that eligibility to

                    enter the current year’s MARC event came from MNRC

                    member Clubs during the MNRC qualifying period for

                    the MNRC current year.

        (b) In order to be counted towards the qualifying requirements,

             hunting tests at which qualifying scores are awarded must

             have a beginning date falling between August 1 of the year

             preceding the current National Master Hunting Retriever

             Test and July 31 of the year of the National Master Hunting

             Retriever Test.

        (c) Each entrant must pay an entry fee, to be determined by the

Board of Directors

Proposed Bylaws Amendment: (Please state wording exactly as you wish it to appear)

Adding the following language to present language:

                   (6) Dogs having passed three prior MARC annual events

                    are exempt from the requirements of Paragraphs (2)

                    and (3) of this section and are qualified for all future

                    MNRC annual events.

Rationale: (Please give a full and complete explanation)

It has been seven (7) years since the inception of the Master Amateur Retriever Club.  Over the course of those years, the Master Amateur Retriever Club has extended an exemption of  MARC’s annual eligibility requirements to all dogs who have qualified at the Master National Annual Event three times, provided that it was an amateur who handled the dog for the three qualifying passes at the Master National Annual Event.

The Master Amateur Invitational (MAI) is an AKC National Hunt Test for the amateur handler.  Each year to date the MAI has been a six (6) series event, increasing in challenges and complexity with each series.  Over the course of time dogs have become better trained to adjust to the evolving complexities of national hunt tests.  The dogs who compete in the MAI are no different than many of the dogs who compete in the Master National Annual Event.   Several of the dogs at the MAI are trained by professional dog trainers, they are just handled at other hunt tests and the MAI event by their amateur owner(s) or designated amateur handler.  In fact, like other National Amateur Events, some professional dog trainers attend the MAI events to support their clients and provide assistance/guidance when needed.  It is important to note that some of these same dogs who participate at the MAI also participate at the Master National Annual Event.  

The past seven years, the MAI event has had a qualification pass rates per year as follows:

2017-46%, 2018-58%, 2019-51%, 2021-51%, 2022-48%, 2023-45%, and 2024-31%.  This qualification rate is similar to the qualification pass rate of the Master National Annual Hunt Test event over the same time period.   Many of the judges who have judged the MAI have also judged the MNRC Annual Event or have served on the Master National Board of Directors.  According to MARC webpage of Master Amateur Hall of Fame (MAH) qualifiers, there are 39 dogs who have achieved that status.  Of the 39 MAH listed dogs, at least 11 of those dogs are also titled MNH dogs. 

This by-law amendment would reciprocate the recognition MARC has extended to MNRC MNH titled dogs, by permitting those dogs who have passed the Master Amateur Invitational three times (Master Amateur Hall of Fame dogs) exempt from having to qualify annually to be eligible to participate in the MNRC National Event.

Keith Kiesow MNRC President

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