Spring 2016  Saber Tails 7    

Petit Basset Griffon Vendéen Club of America

T

his edition 

of Saber 

Tails will look 

quite different.  

We are hoping 

that by making 

some produc-

tion changes, 

we will be able 

to increase con-

tent at the same 

time as reduc-

ing production 

costs.  Knowing that all our members look forward 

to receiving Saber Tails, we want to make sure we are 

including something for everyone.  We want Saber Tails 

to be a great source of entertainment, information and 

education.  As we reduce the quality (in terms of page 

thickness) making Saber Tails more closely resemble a 

magazine, we will be able to increase the number of 

pages and color content, improving the reading experi-

ence for our members.  We are adding several articles 

that we hope will be recurring, such as Meet Our Mem-

bers, Recipe Corner, Tails from the Clown Hound Files, 

etc.  Your input is greatly appreciated.  If you have any 

stories, send me an email and let’s talk about publish-

ing your hound’s tale!

W

e also have a new editor of Saber Tails.  Jane 

Swanson did a fantastic job on Saber Tails for a 

number of years and we are grateful for her hard work.  

Our new editor beginning with the June issue, will 

be Katherine Howell.  Katherine is a wonderful young 

woman who has been involved with our club for the 

past several years as a junior handler and member.  

As a new college student studying marketing, we are 

pleased that Katherine’s valuable service to the club 

will also be a valuable experience for her in building a 

resume for her future.  You can learn more about her in 

the “Meet Our Members” section.  

T

here is a lot of important information to review 

in this issue including a proposed update to the 

Club’s Constitution and Bylaws.  Please take the time 

to read through the side-by-side comparison.  A few 

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

By Tiffany Cannon

things are being changed, some topics are being moved to 

a different section that closely aligns with the content and 

a few additions are being proposed.  We want to add in the 

flexibility we may need to help the club thrive in member-

ship and remain solvent financially.  There have been no 

changes made to the Constitution and Bylaws since 2002 

so we were overdue for a revamp.  A ballot will be mailed 

in early Summer for the membership to vote on these 

changes.

A

lso take note of the club’s financial position through 

2015 year end.  At one time, the club had a much 

greater sum of money in the bank.  The Board commit-

ted to spending some of the money on club activities to 

reduce the ‘warchest’ of cash and made decisions to sup-

port more things such as funding the Welcome Party at the 

National Specialty and buying down costs for the Annual 

Banquet to encourage more participation, etc.  The club 

has now reached a financial position that we would like 

to maintain.  That is, we have roughly enough in the bank 

to cover a National Specialty and a year’s worth of Saber 

Tails production with no offsetting income, if necessary.  

Of course, we do not foresee that situation ever occurring, 

but good business practices dictate that we be prepared.  

This year, we will focus on increasing membership, creating 

financial efficiencies where they can be found (Saber Tails 

production, etc.) and other ideas that ensure the club can 

work toward breaking even financially to maintain the de-

sired bank balance.  We would normally NOT have included 

proposed changes to the Constitution & Bylaws directly 

in an issue of Saber Tails, but it saves us a great deal to not 

need yet another mailing with associated production and 

postage costs.  

S

o please enjoy this latest edition of Saber Tails.  Hope-

fully you will find some of the articles entertaining and 

educational.  But read through the ‘dry’ material as well.  

And do forgive me any problems with grammar, punc-

tuation and formatting in this issue.  I prepared it as the 

Interim Editor until Katherine could take over and it’s my 

first time working with a Publishing program.  I know there 

are still corrections needed and every time I review it...I 

find more things I want to change.  Eventually, you have to 

call it ‘good enough’ and send it to the printer.