— Lee Arnold, Carl C. Ashby, III, Alan Kalter, and Dr. Robert D. Smith Elected —

The Annual Meeting of the AKC Delegates took place on March 10, 2009. Four new Directors have been elected: Lee Arnold, Delegate from the Southern Colorado Kennel Club; Carl C. Ashby, III, Delegate from the United States Kerry Blue Terrier Club, Inc; Alan Kalter, Delegate from the American Bullmastiff Association; and Dr. Robert D. Smith, Delegate from the Memphis Kennel Club. Due to term limits taking effect for the first time this year, there were no incumbent candidates. In addition, Ronald H. Menaker was re-elected as Chairman of the Board and Dr. Thomas M. Davies was elected as the new Vice Chairman of the Board at a meeting of the AKC Board of Directors, convened after the Delegate Meeting.

• Ronald H. Menaker has been the Chairman of the AKC Board of Directors since 2002. Menaker represents the Rockford-Freeport Illinois Kennel Club and is Show Chairman for AKC/Eukanuba National Championship. An active participant in the sport of purebred dogs for nearly 40 years, he bred and exhibited Giant Schnauzers, and has also shown Bedlington Terriers and Norfolk Terriers. A licensed AKC judge since 1994, Menaker is approved to judge Best in Show, all Working breeds, all Sporting breeds and several Terrier breeds. Menaker is also a member of the Board of Overseers for the University of Pennsylvania Veterinary School.

  Menaker is a retired Managing Director and Head of Corporate Services of J.P. Morgan & Co. Incorporated of New York, and a past President and Director of J. P. Morgan Services, Inc. He is also the Vice Chairman and past Chairman of New York Downtown Hospital. Menaker resides in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey with his wife Kathy.

• Dr. Thomas M. Davies, AKC Delegate for the Springfield Kennel Club, was first elected to the Board in 2000 and has served on the Public Relations Committee, the Events and Clubs Committee, and the Breeders Committee.  Most recently, he chaired the Group Realignment Committee. 

  He was introduced to the world of purebred dogs through his interest in Old English Sheepdogs after his college graduation in 1967. Dr. Davies has been involved in several breeds, but has had significant influence on the Bearded Collie.  His involvement with the breed began before its official recognition by the AKC when he served as president of the Bearded Collie Club of America.  While at this post, Davies was responsible for getting the breed into the AKC Stud Book.  He is an honorary lifetime member of the club and is the author of the Bearded Collie standard.

  In the mid-80’s, Dr. Davies became deeply involved in Siberian Huskies and Belgian Sheepdogs.  He and his wife have bred and finished many champions in all three breeds. Today, they concentrate exclusively on Siberian Huskies. 

  Dr. Davies continues to be an active member of the fancy.  He is an approved judge for Bearded Collies, Old English Sheepdogs, Siberian Huskies and eleven herding breeds. He has served as show chairman for the Springfield Kennel Club and for the Connecticut River Working Group Association, the country’s first Working Group club.  He has also served in various capacities for many all-breed and specialty clubs.

  Professionally, Dr. Davies retired from the Bayer Corporation after more than thirty years in various areas of scientific research and product development.  He currently resides in Brimfield, Massachusetts with his wife Roberta. 

• Lee Arnold of Bedminster, NJ entered the dog world in 1984. He and his wife breed and exhibit Chinese Shar-Pei and have produced champions and Best in Show winners. He has served as treasurer and board member for the Ramapo Kennel Club, as the AKC Delegate for the Southern Colorado Kennel Club, as a board member of the Somerset Hills Kennel Club, and was a founding member and President of the Non-Sporting Group of the Garden State. He is also active in the Stewards Club of America.

  The chairman of the Chinese Shar-Pei Charitable Trust since 1995, Mr. Arnold has raised over $250,000 for research on diseases affecting the breed. He also joined the Board of the AKC Canine Health Foundation in 1997, and currently serves as the organization’s vice-chairman.

  A graduate of Emerson College and a recipient of a Masters Degree in Communication Arts from Boston University, Mr. Arnold has worked in broadcasting as an on-air personality, music director, program director and news anchor. For the past ten years, he has commentated on ESPN and Animal Planet dog shows.

• Carl C. Ashby III of Greensboro, NC became involved in the sport of dogs in 1971 through the obedience ring. He and his wife quickly developed an interest in the conformation ring and bought their first Kerry Blue Terrier in 1972. Since then, they have bred and exhibited Best in Show winners, specialty winners and 25 champions.

  Mr. Ashby joined the Forsyth Kennel Club in 1973 and has served as board member, show chairperson and treasurer. He has also been active in the Virginia Kennel Club and Carolina Kennel Club. He was a founding member of the Carolina Terrier Association and has been Delegate for the United States Kerry Blue Terrier Club, Inc. since the late 1980s. As a Delegate, he has served on the Delegate Advocacy and Advancement Committee, the All-Breed Club Committee and the Perspectives Committee. As past chairperson of the United States Kerry Blue Terrier Charitable Fund, Mr. Ashby helped to raise $50,000 dedicated to health and future of the breed.

  Mr. Ashby worked for AT&T for 27 years, ultimately becoming President of Custom Manufacturing Services, one of only 23 business units in the company. He grew the unit from sales of $15 million to sales of over $200 million with 900 employees, two factories and nationally known customers. He is currently employed as president and majority owner of Ann Crittenden, Inc., which owns and operates a chain of Hallmark Gold Crown Card stores.

• Alan Kalter of Ann Arbor, MI has been an active breeder and exhibitor of Bullmastiffs for over 20 years. Mr. Kalter has produced 140 champions, including Best in Show winners, Specialty winners and five generations of Group winners, under the HappyLegs prefix.

  As the Vice-President and Treasurer of the Detroit Kennel Club, Mr. Kalter developed the marketing campaign for the two benched shows that attract tens of thousands of purebred dog lovers each year. He has also served as Delegate for the American Bullmastiff Association. Additionally, Mr. Kalter is a founding board member of the AKC Political Action Committee and also a member of the three-person committee responsible for evaluating recipients of legislative donations.

  As the owner and CEO of Doner, a multinational, multibillion dollar advertising agency employing 1000 people throughout 11 offices in three countries, Mr. Kalter has contributed pro bono marketing to the AKC, originating the “We’re more than champion dogs. We’re the dog’s champion.” tagline. He has also developed communications campaigns for the Morris Animal Foundation, including the Canine Cancer Campaign. 

• Dr. Robert D. Smith of St. Stephens Church, VA has been involved in the sport for 47 years, primarily as a breeder/owner/handler of American Foxhounds. Elected to the AKC Board for the first time in 1997, he served for five years, proposing the creation of a Registered Handlers Program and the Breeders Education Program. Both initiatives were adopted and ran successfully.

  He served as Huntington Kennel Club’s Delegate from 1996 until 2002 and has held every office and most committee positions in kennel clubs in several states. Currently, he serves as the delegate from the Memphis Kennel Club.

  Approved by AKC to judge two breeds in 1969, Dr. Smith became an all-breed judge in 1996. Still active today, he has judged in forty-nine states and many foreign countries, and presided over Best in Show at the AKC/Eukanuba National Championship in December 2008.

  Professionally, Dr. Smith ran highly successful small business programs for the states of Mississippi and Virginia, retiring in 1996.