Front Cover Summer 2019

SAC ANNUAL REPORT – MAY 2019

Our president Barbara Baese and the Board formed the Strategic Advisory Committee, “ SAC ”, for the sole purpose of ensuring the long-term viability of our breed. SAC recognizes that reversing a decline is a multi-year undertaking. The corporate world would usually plan a 5 to 10-year program. That is realistic for us. We are now in our 3 rd year and are beginning to see objective measurements that indicate our program is working. It is worth taking a moment to step back and see where we have been, how we know our program is working, and then to spend a minute looking at where we are going. We want to share 4 important sub- jects with you: First: A little over 2 years ago we ran our first survey. Your responses provided great insights, particularly your insights about the hurdles to overcome in acquiring a Dandie. Armed with your insights, • We created an outreach program that would give people an opportunity to see Dandies and learn how special they are. We sponsored participation in Meet the Breed events, Celtic Games, parades like the Tartan Day Parade in New York and the Scottish Christ- mas Parade in Arlington. And that takes us to the most important part of the program – YOU and your willingness to be ambassadors for our breed at these events. Dozens of you stepped up – last year alone 60 volunteers helped introduce our Dandies at these events. Thousands – yes, thousands more people have now seen our Dandies up close. Our increased visibility has captured the attention of media people who have further expanded our outreach. Is all that effort worth it? You be the judge. This year AKC told us that the Dandie Dinmont Terrier rose 6 points in popularity. That is significant, particularly since it follows several years of decline. We hope you will search out opportunities in your local areas … and that you will say YES when Diane Hanowitz asks for your help at these outreach events. The first stage of the program is working but we have a long way to go. We need to keep the Outreach Program going. Our second subject : Last year we once again asked for your insights with our second survey. We were seek- ing information about what you wanted from the DDTCA and your thoughts about how we can make our or- ganization more open and welcoming to new people. Once again, you provided great insights. The Board acted. Probably the most significant advancement so far has been the change in membership policy. Thanks to your advice and counsel in your survey responses, today we have streamlined the process of becoming a member. The Board has instituted policies and actions that make the DDTCA more welcoming to new peo- ple – actions such as an increased presence on social media and making our website more welcoming and informative. Have our efforts worked? Consider these numbers: • We created printed materials to use as hand-outs. • And we created posters and banners that we provide for use at the Outreach events.

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