Transcript for the NAFA® Candidate Chat December 20th, 2013
| emma.mak | This is Emma Mak. I'm a member of the election committee and the moderator this evening. Dale Smith and Kim Davis are assisting. Thank you all for joining us tonight for the third and final candidate chat for the 2013/2014 Nafa elections. |
| emma.mak | Our Board of Directors Candidates are: Steve Corona, Dirk Elber, John Hendriks, and Dave Walt. Lee Heighton is the Executive Director candidate. Steve, Dirk and John are participating in this chat. |
| emma.mak | If you have a question for the candidates, please send them in a private message to me. I will then queue the questions and provide them to the candidates. |
| emma.mak | Lee Heighton is also participating. |
| emma.mak | We will now take opening remarks from the candidates. |
| emma.mak | I have one question in the queue. |
| Dirk Elber | I would once again like to welcome everyone to the candidate chats. Glad to see a few new names checked in and looking forward to the questions that will be asked this evening. |
| Lee_Heighton | I would like thank everyone for attending and apologize that due to my work schedule this is the only chat I have been able to attend. |
| John Hendriks | To start i would like to wish everyone a merry christmas and all the best to you during this holiday season |
| Steve Corona | Good evening everyone. Thank you for taking time out of your schedules especially during this busy holiday season to join us this evening. Thank you to Nafa for hosting this chat and providing us with the forum to discuss the upcoming questions |
| emma.mak | First question from Dana Hanson: What is most appealing to you about serving on the Nafa Board? |
| emma.mak | one question in the queue |
| John Hendriks | in my case it is an opportunity to give a voice to the western regions |
| Steve Corona | The opportunity to serve the sport that I have enjoyed participating in over the years with the many different people and dogs that I have come to know. It would be most appealing to have a positive impact on the sport whether through rules, marketing, or other ways to serve Nafa and all the Regions. |
| Dirk Elber | for me it is to continue to be involved in the top level organizational level. .. |
| emma.mak | Next question from Dana Hanson: I believe the current Board has done an incredible job of moving the sport forward and preserving parts of competition that are already good. What opportunities do you see to make Nafa and flyball better? |
| emma.mak | 0 questions in the queue. Anyone else? |
| Lee_Heighton | I believe that we should continue to look for opportunities to expand the sport with Nafa's influence on a global scale. |
| Dana Hanson | I agree wiht approaching things on a global scale, Lee, but we have a lot of folks at home that still haven't discovered flyball. What can we do here to improve visibility? |
| Dirk Elber | Dana I agree that the Board has done a good job moving things forward. What I would like to see getting some of the new technology past initial testing and out to all the regions. I think the advancements of things like the pass calling system and the stat keeper would be something that would help bring more attention to the sport... |
| Steve Corona | In regards to making Nafa better I have previously stated that increasing the exposure of the sport through demos or marketing in areas of the country where participation is low is one area that could be improved upon. I would still also like to see an apprentice type program for those individuals wanting to be involved with Nafa at a higher level. |
| John Hendriks | I agree with the job the current board has done.i think marketing is an ever evolving opportunity to advance the sport |
| Lee_Heighton | We are continuing efforts to increase flyballs exposure to the general public including production of a flyball based movie. |
| Dirk Elber | it is very impressive that Nafa has had such an impact in the international scene, and I really hope that continues. But I agree with Dana that there are people that in our current regions that have not been introduced to the sport. I do commend the clubs like Revolution that took the challenge and hosted their last tournament at the Philadelphia Dog Show in an effort to bring the sport to people that may have not seen it before. |
| emma.mak | Next question from Roberta Mcclure: What do you think uniquely qualifies you to be a board member? |
| emma.mak | 0 questions in the queue. |
| Dirk Elber | Roberta, I'm nut sure there is anything that makes me uniquely qualified other than the interest to serve and help where needed |
| Steve Corona | I have been around dogs my entire life and the last decade has been spent as a professional in the industry. I am a Karen Pryor Academy graduate and believe in treating all dogs with respect. I also have the ability to listen to and moderate differences of opinions between people all the while also respecting their viewpoints. Being a business owner; I have the ability to put together good teams of people along with a solid business acumen. When you get down to it, the Board is running a business with the many myriad responsibilities that that encompasses. |
| emma.mak | This is the response from John Hendriks: I have served as Rd in Region12 for 4 years and have been involved in the sport for many years.i think I have a good handle on ther direction the sport is taking and believe my experience can help |
| emma.mak | Next question from Dana Hanson: Think of a time that you participated in group decision making and the result was different than you had hoped for. What did you do afterward? |
| emma.mak | 0 questions in the queue |
| Dirk Elber | decisions in the corporate world are not always ones you agree with. However you accept that the decision has been made and you work your hardest to help make it work even if it was not something you initially supported. |
| Steve Corona | As a team, you don't always get your way but for any organization to move forward one must support the decisions that may not entirely reflect your vision. As long as those decisions are ethical then supporting your organization is the correct thing to do. |
| emma.mak | John Hendriks is having trouble with his internet connection. Hopefully he'll be able to join us again. |
| emma.mak | Next questions from Dana_nichols_launch: What experience have you had working in a committee situation or serving on other boards? |
| emma.mak | 0 questions in the queue |
| emma.mak | John Hendrik's response to previous question: I would have backed the decision to the best of my ability if that was the concensous. |
| Steve Corona | I have not served on any other boards but my professional experience in the corporate world prior to being self employed taught me much about teamwork, decison making, and respecting the opinions of others. |
| emma.mak | John Hendrik's answer: He has served on the board of his own company, but not on a board of an external entity. |
| emma.mak | Last call for questions. |
| Dirk Elber | I have served not only on the Judges Committee for the past three years. But prior to that I was on the Board for a local 501c3 club as well as company representative on standards committee for one of my previous jobs. |
| emma.mak | Candidates please prepare your closing remarks. While they are doing that - A reminder that the ballots for the election have been sent out electonically at the beginning of December. If you have not received a ballot and should have (club owner, regional director, approved/supervising judge, board members) please contact the election committee at elections@flyball.org. |
| emma.mak | The election will close at midnight central time zone on January 16, 2014. Results will be announced at the Agm on January 18, 2014 in Denver, Co. Any concerns or questions regarding the election should be addressed to elections@flyball.org. |
| Lee Heighton | I want to thank everyone for attending and look forward to serving all of the members of Nafa in the future. As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or suggestions you may have. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a fantastic New Year. |
| emma.mak | John Hendrik's reply: I would be happy to server the board in any way I can. I look forward to the opportunity to serve the members of Nafa across all regions. I'd like to thank everyone for their time as well. |
| Dirk Elber | Thank you again for attending this evening, and I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a very safe 2014. |
| Steve Corona | I'd like to take this time to say that I have truly enjoyed the experience of participating in the 3 chats and gleaning insight into the truly wonderful aspects of the sport we all enjoy while also learning of some of the issues faced by our sport. I'd like to thank the other nominees for thier participation in these chats and once again thank Nafa for hosting. I appreciate everyone who submitted questions and took time to join us for these discussions over the past couple of months. May you enjoy time with your family during the Christmas Season and have a very Happy New Year! |
| emma.mak | Thank you to the candidates and thanks to all those who attended the chat, or who will read the transcript. Thanks to Dale and Kim for assisting. Good night. Have a wonderful holiday season. |