THE NEXT MEETING OF

ASSOCIATED KOI CLUBS OF AMERICA

Will be held Friday, JANUARY 11, 200 1

AT 7 P.M.

At the

QUAKER CITY FEDERAL SAVINGS LOAN

1701 N. Euclid Street ‑ Fullerton, CA.

AGENDA

November AKCA Meeting Minutes

November/December Financial Statements

Committee Reports

AKCA Contact Reports

Proxy Call Questions

Old Business

New Business

February, 2002 Meeting Date (8th)

Refreshments for February Carole Elliott

OFFICERS

Chairperson Larry Leverett (909) 781‑3887

Vice Chairperson Doug Dahl (714) 731‑5610 e‑mail: judgedahl@hotmail.com

2002 Seminar Chairperson Mark Whalen (714) 775‑7011

2002 Host Club Chairperson Sheila Jackson (510) 724‑4428

Secretary Carole Elliott (714) 968‑5624 e‑mail koicarole@earthlink.net

Chief Financial Officer Carl Caddies (562) 943‑8197 e‑mail caddies@koiusa.com

AKCA Minutes of November 9,2001

Officers Present: Directors Present: Guests:

Chair: Larry Leverett Mark Whalen (OCZNA) Spike Cover (OCZNA)

Vice Chair: Doug Dahl Joyce Glenn (lkiru Hoseki, etc) Tom Graham

Secretary: Carole Elliott Debby Leverett (Ii‑dand)

CFO: Harlen Glenn (San Diego)

(Please note that clubs that AKCA Board members represent will NOT be listed individually except in the case of their primary club)

CLUBS THAT NEED TO PAY THEIR DUES!

Cherokee Strip Water Garden Society, Idaho Water Garden Society,

Missouri Water Gardening & Koi Assoc., Niagara Frontier Koi & Pond Club,

Prince George Koi & Garden Club,

St Johns Koi & Water Garden Club, Valley of the Sun Koi Society

More than 90 Days Past Due

Clubs that need to send in their Rosters!

Chesapeake & Potomac K& WGS, Greater Boston Koi Keeper Society,

Greater Louisville Koi & Goldfish, Klahanie Koi Club,

North Texas WGS, Northern Lights Koi Cluh,

Olympic Koi Club, Showa Koi Club, Sierra Koi Club,

ZNA Potomac, & ZNA So Cal

Please send in your rosters ASAP!

Board Highlights

Clarification on the 6 Club Speaker Grant and the Lottery Grant

The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Larry Leverett. There was not a quorum present, thus, no voting could take place. There are 104 member clubs.

MINUTES:

No changes to the minutes of October 12, 2001.

OCTOBER FINANCIAL STATEMENT: Joyce handed out the Financial report that had been prepared by Carl as well as the clubs who still haven't sent in their annual dues or their club rosters (see above). The AKCA Seminars had a year to date loss of $13,094.53. KOI USA, year to date, had a net income of $18,790.97.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

KOI USA: Joyce reported that KOI USA has asked Barry Pavelec to go ahead with the proposed initial work for KOI USA circulation management in the renewal series and for the billing series. We hope to hear from him within ten working days for initial concepts and ideas. A suggestion has been made to open a contest for newsletters to be held during the annual Seminar. We are attempting to see what parameters need to be drawn as well as design the assessment evaluation criteria. We have had one response to our request for someone who likes to work with numbers who will be able to analyze the statistics that come from our mail house. This should be most helpful in our marketing program.

We are looking at sending out a questionnaire that will go towards the future planning of AKCA. Once we get this finalized, we will send out with the monthly minutes.

SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE: Spike said that they are doing very well; things are going great with the exception of one setback. He received the Saint Erne manuscript and is having it copied. He also updated the KHA & AKCA reps e‑mail lists for Region 9 and sent the update to them. The water quality section is posted on the AKCA web site and the filtration section is out for review by CRC. The 1st class is signed up; there are 26 in the advisory group. We still need the Anatomy, Physiology, and Biology Section ready for review

MEMBERSHIP: Doug reported that no new clubs have sent in membership applications.

JUDGING: No Report (Bob is in the hospital again wishing him a speedy recovery).

SPEAKERS GRANT: Doug stated that the Midwest club that applied for the 6 club speaker grant didn't understand about the difference between this grant and the lottery grant awarded once a year to 4 clubs, one from each region. We will need to clarify this in the club kit.

Lottery Speaker Grant

The lottery speaker grant was established to promote the koi hobby in general. A club must be an AKCA member club 3 years before they are eligible to participate in the lottery grant. All eligible clubs are divided into 4 geographic regions and one club grant request from those eligible within each region is selected via lottery each September for a grant of up to $400 to be used within the year by each of the 4 clubs selected. Those winning clubs are then eliminated from the speaker grant lottery for the next 5 years to allow the other clubs in that geographical region to have a better chance to win a grant.

6 Club Speaker Grant

This was established to encourage larger groups of clubs to organize joint events and encourage cooperation among clubs. (So far, the Florida clubs (AFKAPS) and the PNKCA (Pacific Northwest Clubs) have participated in the 6 club speaker grant. The problem with requests for the 6 club speakers grant with less than 6 clubs is based on money). If AKCA would reduce the grant to 2 or even 3 clubs, it would mean that as many as 35 to 50 grants per year would be paid out by AKCA which AKCA could not a

Side Note:

Remember for the $100 dues from each, AKCA supplies insurance as Well as all guides, the KHA Training Program, koi disease research grants to Universities, 2 complimentary KOI USA subscriptions each month, AKCA Koi Awards for shows, AKCA Club Person of the Year Awards, Club kits and books for each club library and AKCA underwrites any losses for the Seminar each year. So, AKCA already loses money on every member club and makes up for this loss through KOI USA and AKCA bookstore profits.

GUIDES No report.

SEMINAR REPORTS:

2002 SEMINAR: Mark stated that he and Carl visited the hotel and the two hosting clubs, San Francisco and Camellia, on the weekend of Oct. 27 & 28th. Mark attended the S.F. board meeting and visited a winery with 35,000 gallons of koi ponds which should be on the wine tour during the Seminar. The wine was great and the ponds were extremely attractive. They met at the Concord Sheraton on Saturday evening; major decisions were made including: Ken Gray will assume the speakers committee. A $5 fee will be charged to those attending the trade show per family. On line registration is being established allowing people to pay for their Seminar with credit card on the net. The hotel food area will be expanded to include several buffet lines during the breakfast time. The vendor area is small, in the sense of the size of the booths, but the lobby area is attractive with ponds and lovely landscape. Fee structures were finalized for the three tours. The one adjustment was to lower the dealer tour to $25.

2003 SEMINARS: Doug spoke with Frank Comtoise and gave him a hard copy of the timeline. He is concerned about the hotel (haven't gotten one as yet) and asked for monthly reports. Doug is impressed with the club; a lot of hard working members. They just put on a great koi show

2004/2005 SEMINARS: Open. Is your club interested????

REPRESENTATIVE CONTACTS:

Written report submitted by Burt : Jackie Welch, of Oklahoma KC, said that elections are this month; haven't decided about their Xmas party; trying to prepare ponds for winter. Debby Young, of Southern Arizona KC , that that everyone is preparing for the koi show on Nov. 9th. Sheila Jackson, of San Francisco Bay KC, met with Carl Caddies and Mark Whalen; went to a winery and saw four koi ponds; they were shown around. The winery has a 4,500 gal. to 15,000 koi ponds. Things are moving along for the 2002 Seminar; she felt good about the meeting. Peter Enfield, of Pacific Wonderland, is going to Japan Nov. 17th for the All Japan show; sent a slate for Tom Gates as retiring AKCA Chair. They had a meeting last Saturday; Tony Prew just got back from Japan and talked about the immunity of koi in your pond; had a turkey dinner at the meeting. Linda Montgomery, of Cascade K&GFS, will do a yard, garden and patio show in February at the Portland Convention Center; next meeting is on medications. Susanna Trittschuh, of Florida East Coast, said that they have a new phone area code (386). Their October meeting was at Loma Loy's; preparing ponds and fish for winter; had a raffle for fish and plant exchange. Going to Blackwater Fish Farm for Nov. as their meeting. Joe & Shari White went to Japan; bought some koi; no problems with their koi. Chris Schroettinger, of Central Florida, had a meeting at Joe White's house; he talked on water quality. Their next meeting with be at Terry Schultz's; Xmas party at Hilton a catered lunch. Arthur Manaker, of Nature's Coast K&WGC, said that they had 52 fish at their koi show; made a couple hundred dollars from it. Elections will be next meeting; still talking about some field trips. Norbun Watson, of Warner Robins KC, said that everything is very quiet; some went to Atlanta Koi Show (some great fish). He was wondering what happened to the article their club submitted, with photos, of 4 or 5 club member's ponds. Several members are using "Micro Light" for winterizing ponds; wondering if anybody else has tried it; they are pleased with its results. Carl Fridenstine, of Santa Clara Valley Koi, said that their XMas party will be Nov. 16th at the 3 Flames Restaurant; preparing for koi show at the Cow Palace on March 20‑24th. Mike Perret got 5 koi while in Japan.

Written report submitted by Carole: Florida Koi & Water Garden Society had their last meeting at Gary & Marylee Jackson's house; their pond has koi that share their space with turtles that are about 12" in diameter; they mix well with the fish. Their next meeting will be held at Peggy Davis' house (their Vice President). They will be having elections in December. Kenneth Wong, of Koi & WGC of No. Texas, said that they will have elections in December as well as a Christmas exchange gift and afternoon together. In November they had a slide show on ideas of garden scape (using figurines, waterfalls, etc). They are in the beginning stage of planning for the 2002 Koi show that will be held in either May or June; still looking for a place to hold it. Ron Bergman, of Miami Valley WGS, said that they are doing great. Elections are in November. They will have a big conference next summer on mostly watergardening. Their Christmas party will be in Kettering; expect 70‑80 people. They have 130 family members and get 60‑70 at each meeting. Bob Rassavoy, of Mid‑West Pond & KS, said that Bryan Bateman, their main rep, is pulling Ray Abel's pond. Their club recently had a volunteer recognition award; Lee & Linda Bubser won Volunteer of the Year. They are shut down for next couple of months. Will have "Silly Bowling" in December with meetings starting up in January. Their 10 year anniversary for

the koi show will be this next year. They hope to make the Trade show bigger and better this coming year. Bill Bedwin, of Northern Lights KC, said that they had a pond tour this past summer; elections will be this month. They will have a Christmas Pot‑luck in December; the 2 d Tuesday. Their next meeting will be in February; they have 30 family members. Troy Wilson, of Saline County WGC of Missouri, said that they are off season. They just finished a community service project by building a pond in a historical town, Blackwater; the town is being restored. Their next meeting will be this coming week with their Christmas party in December. Barbara

Gantt, of South Carolina K&WGS said that they had an auction (no fish) of items donated by various vendors; went very well raising approx. $2,000. They just finished building a koi pond for a local nursing home; 1,500 gallons. Their Christmas party will be on December 8 . Met this past Saturday with a speaker talking about winterizing your pond. They have a lot of new members; 72 family members. Nathan Stover, of Valley of the Sun, said that they almost 70 family members. Just had a pond tour the past month with 12 ponds involved. They are encouraging their members to go to the San Diego show to see a Japanese style show. Their Christmas meeting will be at their Presidents home. They recently started a program with Dr. Nick St. Erne, one of

their members, on a program to train their members on pond health. They have also started planning for their koi show to be held around February. Carol Walters, of WG&KS of Alberta said that they had a monthly info session night by the authors of "Prairie Watergardeners" who showed slides and answered questions. In October, Bob BonGiomo spoke. They have 45 members and seem to get new members at each outing. Their Christmas party will be at the Nisku Inn in December. Their next meeting will be in February. In March, Leon Lopez will speak on Koi 10 1. They will be having a "Twilight Pond Tour" in Sept. They have 4 fish sales scheduled for the

upcoming year; each one has a different theme. They had their first fish sale one month after the club was formed; was very well received. Chucke Poppe, of ZNA Potomac, said that they are planning on a show on Sept. 45‑15, 2002. They had to cancel this years show due to the events of Sept. 11 th The ponds are closed for the winter; next meeting will be in two weeks. Chuck's wife stated that she was so glad to hear from an AKCA rep... feels loved! Mike Przewoznik, of the High Desert Koi Fanciers, said that their annual Christmas party (feast with a white elephant) will be Dec. 8th They are quiet in January. Their huge bash will be in April, with a raffle, a

double decker bus taking members on a pond tour of 8‑9 ponds as well as a guest speaker They have 65 family members. Their turnouts are fabulous; lot of good pond tours this year from their newer members. They have increased their dues and, hopefully, will have more club outings/functions. They want to focus on the Santa Clarita area for new members. LarTy Hursh, of Genesee Valley Pond, said that they had a presentation on nightscape lighting for the pond and garden on Nov. 2nd . They had election of officers. On Nov. 14th, they will be guests of the Oriental Garden Society to view "The Secret Gardens of Rochester". This is an extended version

of a broadcast prepared by the local public channel. One of the featured gardens includes the ponds and Zen garden of one of their members. They will have their holiday celebration on Dec. 7 th ; dinner and their version of pond jeopardy for educational and entertainment value. They will do their general planning session on Jan. 4 th . For March 14‑17th, they have requested a not for profit space at Garden Scape, the local garden show. If they are accepted, their members will staff the booth to answer questions and recruit additional members. Carole tried but was unable to reach the following clubs: Southwest Koi & Pond Bakersfield K&WGS. Central Alabama

K&WGS, Eastern Iowa Pond Society, Florida K&WGS, & Golden Horseshoe K&PC of Ontario.

Written report submitted by Doug : Gary Chin, of Camellia KC said that Larry Gill and Gary Chan spoke about "How to Buy Koi" at the October meeting. Following the program, members selected live koi for a growing contest. Their November meeting program will be at David Lake's discussing how to "Prepare for Fall/Winter." Their club continues to work hard and will meet monthly with the San Francisco KC on the 2002 AKCA Seminar. Art Lembke, of Mid Atlantic KIC, reports that they are planning several holiday parties; their November meeting will discuss winterization issues. Final figures from Koi America ‑ profited $4,500. The Olympic KC reports their October meeting was held at Ed and Ann Fujimoto's in Kingston. Their November meeting will be at the home of Linda & Sandy Olsen. The topic for this month’s newsletter was an article by Larry Christensen on "Putting Your Fish & Pond to Bed for the Winter." Nick Leschuck, of Northern Midwest ZNA, thanked AKCA for the clarification on the two different types of Speakers Grants offered by AKCA. Their club questioned whether the 6 club Speakers Grant was disadvantageous for areas of the country where clubs were far apart like the Midwest and asked that this concern be discussed at the next AKCA Board meeting Virginia Joiner is the new ‑ AKCA Director for Lone Star KC; she reports they are very happy to have two of their members participating in the Koi Health Assistance Program, which will help their members in the future. Their club will hold elections for club Officers at their December meeting, which will also be their Christmas celebration where they plan to raffle three beautiful koi and have an auction of donated items. Claudia Herdeman, of Austin Pond Society, stated they have paid their dues and will get their member roster to AKCA soon so that they can receive the new Koi Health Guides. They celebrated their 100' Anniversary at the October meeting complete with a cake and all past Presidents present to recall memories of their terms. They had Anita Nelson as the meeting speaker since she was the first speaker the club had 10 years ago. Claudia Herdeman, of Austin KC, has signed up several new members recently. One of the new members moved to Austin from Kentucky where they were active in koi, bringing some great ideas to improve the club. Their club thanks AKCA for their new Koi Health Guides. Hill Country Water Gardens hosted the September meeting with one of the owners, John Howell from Lone Star KC in Houston, Texas, giving a presentation on "Koi Health & Disease." John also donated several door prizes for the raffle. Most of their members attended the Texas K&GFS show and have been invited to join the Texas K&GFS trip in November to Brett Rowley's Koi Farm. The club celebrated its first anniversary in September and will have its first Christmas Party and gift exchange this December. The Tulsa Koi Society stated their Board will review their club By‑Laws regarding dealers given the recent clarification of AKCA By‑laws on that subject. The club wants to thank Don Connelly, of Cross Timber Koi in Oklahoma City, for sharing his slides of a koi buying trip to Japan at a recent meeting. Their October meeting will focus on the upcoming slate of Officers and the selection of club AKCA Koi (photo) of the Year and Person of the Year. (ed.‑ a bit early but good planning). Dr. Mark Setzer will present A program on Koi autopsy. Their Christmas dinner is coming up. Two of their members represented the club by showing their koi at the Oklahoma Koi Show in September resulting with several I' Place awards. The club held a display of ponds and koi photos at the Asian‑American Festival in September. This event presented an excellent opportunity to gain new members and interest in koi. Recent newsletter articles included "Water Quality Part 2" and "Fall is Here" both timely subjects as winter approaches. At their upcoming November meeting they will be shown a video presentation of the Japanese Tea Ceremony (Chanoyu) narrated by a person who performs this ceremony. Doug will contact the following clubs next month: Ventura KC, Texas K&GFS, Moto Kara Koi Kai, North Carolina K&WGS ' Las Pampas K&WGS, & Kansas Pond Society. He tried but was unable to get return messages from the following clubs: Blue Water Pond Club, Mendocino Coast, & Kalhanie KC. Better luck next month.

Written report submitted by Joyce: Dave Peebler, of Water Garden Society of Kansas, said that all is cool with them. ZNA Southern California reminds us there is a koi auction at the Earl Bums Miller Japanese Garden, in Long Beach, on November 18th. It will start promptly at noon. Atlanta Koi Club reports their Annual koi Show and Japan Fest that was originally scheduled for September 14‑16 was held Oct. 26‑28. Joyce has been receiving news about clubs wanting to put up their Grand Champions for the annual AKCA Koi of the Year. Please put those in the Champion of Champions Award. Joyce thinks the AKCA Judges handle this. The regular AKCA Koi of the Year is the fish who wins the AKCA award at a show, or is the photo winner of a club that does not host shows.

Written report submitted by Larry: Alice Ames, of the Santa Fe Pond Society and Koi Appreciation

Club, said their club decided to host their own koi show next year. They decided to do this after attending the Texas Koi and Fancy Gold Fish Society's show. Alice helped as a judge handler and learned a great deal. She said it was a blast and will do it again at the Tucson, Arizona show. Their show is being planned for September 2002. Most of my other clubs do not meet in the winter months, so little is happening.

PROXY CALLS FOR DECEMBER/JANUARY

Check list for clubs who haven't paid dues or sent in rosters ... remind clubs!

What club wants to host the 2004 & 2005 Seminar?

If your club has a new rep, please get name, address, and phone number of new rep

OLD BUSINESS: None

NEW BUSINESS:

Central Pets.com: Burt received a letter from Central Pets.com. Doug stated that they are compiling a list of fish resources to put on their internet site. They want to be able to have AKCA's web site as a part of their site. There was discussion. In the end, it didn't seem to be a benefit to AKCA/KOI USA to be a part of their site.

Meeting was adjourned at 8:26 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Carole Elliott

Secretary