Present: There were 40 members and 3 guests in attendance. The members were: Ann & Harris Andrews, Lois & John Cleland, Kelli Winkler, Linda Reiff, Ken Moe, Bill Kent, Peggy Slattery, John & Barbara Kornylo, Janet Neilson, Jackie Sowards, Nicole & Dave Mitchell, Trudy & Jim Graham, Jeff & Leslie Spencer, Lydia & Dwight Hutchinson, Lynda Hammel, Matt & Patti Gaston, Duane Schell, Debbie Burgess, Karen Yu, Karen Wilson, DiAnn Flory, Pam Davis, Connie Burnley, Bobbi Warren, Bill & Trudy Thomas, Liz Ludlow, David & Brenda Blanchfield, Diane Ondo, Beth Wilder Wilson, Harriet Kavanagh.

Officer's Reports

President Ann Gates: Welcome! It is wonderful that so many are here at our Annual Meeting. This has been a special year for me. As president, I was able to attend most of our regular programs and all of our outreach events, and it gave me the opportunity to get to know many of you much better. These events also provided a structure that enriched my dogs' lives: at field trials, the CGC event, and our meet and greets at outreach events. I hope to see all of you at Club events and urge everyone to try something new. I think you and your dog will enjoy it. I'd like to thank you all for your support, none of what our club does could happen without you.

Vice President Lois Cleland: PCTC held or participated in 12 events this past year. We were slated to participate in 14 events, but the June Field Trials and the June Supported entry were rained out. PCTC tries to evenly split our events between MD and VA. During the past year PCTC hosted the Annual Meeting, Swap, Meet and Pot luck, Health Education Seminar. PCTC participated in an outreach program at the VA Scottish Games, and MD Celtic Festival, and sponsored CGC Testing, Fall and Spring fun matches (one of which was a Sanctioned B Match), and a Post-Holiday luncheon. It has been a wonderful year for all Cairn enthusiasts.

Secretary Peggy Slattery: The PCTC's Annual Minutes for 2018 were presented in the March edition of Thistle talk, and were approved at the September meeting. The Board met 4 times during the past year and the minutes were distributed to the Board by the Secretary. PCTC's regular class judge for 2021, Marly Lucier has been contacted and has accepted the club's invitation. Also, the 2021 sweepstakes judge, Michael Pesari, has accepted PCTC's invitation. Letters of Welcome have been mailed to this year's Specialty Judges, Joe Vernuccio, regular class judge, and Liz Ludlow, sweepstakes judge. Letters were sent to club members with the slate of officers for 2019 from the PCTC Nominating Committee which stated that additional nominees could be sent to the Secretary by February 15th. The new Board will be announced by the Chairperson of the Nominating Committee, Lynda Hammel. Thank you all for your support.

Treasurer Ken Moe: Ken distributed copies of the Financial Report to all present. A copy of the financial report for 2018 may be obtained by contacting Ken Moe via e-mail or phone. His number is listed in Thistle Talk, the PCTC newsletter.

Committee Reports

PCTC Specialty Weekend Report (Beth Wilder Wilson): This year's theme is "Cairns Coats of Many Colors. ". The committees are in place and are doing a great job. Thanks to all the committee chairpersons; hospitality, trophies, advertising, ways and means, hotel liaison, raffles, and caterer coordinators, we will be ready for another terrific Specialty. The brochures have been mailed out to the membership with all the details for the weekend. The committee encourages all to attend our PCTC Specialty and dinner on April 19th. We welcome volunteers to help!

Breeder Referral (Roberta Perry): The Breeder Referral committee is a resource for people who are inquiring about Cairn terriers. We refer inquiries to our website and give general information, provide contacts for available Cairns, club information, and rescue contacts. The 2018 inquiries have averaged 4 per week from VA and MD. Over this past year, there has been a noticeable decrease in contacts from PCTC breeders. Please let us know if you have a Cairn available so that we can help place your Cairn. Your support helps us to offer the most current information and is greatly appreciated.

Rescue (Lois Cleland, Veronica Hudak-Moe): We are extremely grateful for our many supporters and donors. This past year was an unusual year for rescue, as we had the fewest Cairns in need since 2004. PCTC rescue had a hand in placing 7 dogs in 2018. Only one dog came into the program as a foster. Even though our numbers are down, we are not complacent about rescue, as things can change quickly. The rescue committee can always use more volunteers, especially with foster homes. It is truly a most rewarding experience to help save the life of a vulnerable Cairn terrier in need.

Membership (Veronica Hudak-Moe): Since the last annual meeting, we've had three new members join; Connie Burnley, Carolina Johnson, and Deborah Burgess. One member passed away (Nan Anderson), and all other existing members have renewed for 2019. Four membership packets were sent out in the last year: all electronically. As of this writing, we have 132 members in 92 households.

Newsletter (Sharon & Larry Deibel): Thistle Talk is published six times per year. The newsletter team consists of Sharon & Larry Deibel, and Lydia Hutchinson. There are 26 households who receive the hardcopy via U.S. mail. The rest enjoy their issue online. We encourage members to elect the online version, as it is a savings for the club. We are seeking a volunteer to handle the newsletter mailing. Please help! When submitting articles please use ThistleTalk@PotomacCTC.org. Thank you for your positive response and please continue to contribute your information, pictures, and articles.

Field Trials (Veronica Hudak-Moe): The club attempted to hold two field trials in 2018. The Spring Trial was canceled due to wet conditions and low entries. In the fall, there were 41 terriers entered in the races and 24 in go-to-ground. Thank you to everyone who helped with the field trials planning and execution. Without you, the field trials cannot continue to be a success. Due to scheduling constraints, we've decided to hold future Field Trials once a year in the fall. We are always looking for volunteers. If you can help with anything, please let me know.

Web Site (Veronica Hudak-Moe): The web site will be 20 years old this June and continues to give members the ability to update contact info, pay dues, and access club forms and other "members only " information. Since the last Annual Meeting, the site was given a new look and the content was reorganized to make it easier to find. The PCTC fan page on Facebook allows both club members and non-members to follow club happenings and currently has around 571 followers. This page allows its fans to share Cairn-related photos, videos, and links and it is another way to get more traffic to our web site and inform the public about our club. There is also a Rescue fan page on Facebook with 489 fans that targets rescue owners and Cairn lovers in order to educate them about rescue and get them involved in club events.

Match Report (Peggy Slattery): PCTC hosted two fun matches since the last Annual Meeting. The fall match was held on September 8th in Frederick, MD and had an entry of 14 puppies. Bill Kent was the judge. Thank you, Kelli & George Winkler for hosting this event. The winter Sanction "B " fun match was held on February 2nd in Annandale, VA, and had an entry of 11 entries. Sas Argentine was the judge. They were delightful events with good Cairn comradery. I thank all who helped with registration, stewarding, and especially the wonderful lunches. Many thanks to Beth Wilson for the many years she served as the PCTC Match Chairperson.

Specialty Judges Selection Committee for 2022(Diane Ondo, Linda Reiff, John Kornylo): Diane Ondo reported that 92 voting packets were sent out to the membership for selection of regular and sweepstakes judges for the 2022 PCTC Specialty. Forty-three ballots were returned. Six ballots had to be discounted due to incorrect marking. The Committee feels the process was successful. The results of the balloting are: Regular Class judge for 2022 are: (1) Kari Logan, (2) Bergit Coady Kabel, 3) David Kirkland. The Sweepstakes judge results for 2022 are: (1) Ellie Wilson, (2) Barbara Allen, and (3) Patrice Wills. Letters of invitation will be sent to Mrs. Logan and Miss Wilson.

Selection of PCTC Match Judges: Names to judge the two PCTC matches were solicited from those in attendance. A written vote was taken. The results were: (1) Jackie Sowards (2) Gwen Metzler, (3) John Kornylo. Jackie and Gwen will be notified by the Secretary.

Presentation of the 2018 Annual Awards (Lois Cleland): Eleven awards were presented for Conformation champions. Six awards were presented for Grand Champions. Ten awards were presented for Performance Champions, and nine awards were presented for Canine Good Citizen. The full report will be presented in ThistleTalk.

President's Award (Ann Gates): The 2019 President's award was presented to Lydia Hutchinson for her outstanding commitment and service to PCTC, and her generous assistance in helping in all areas of PCTC.

Sportsman Award (Liz Ludlow): The 2018 Sportsman Award was presented by Liz Ludlow, last year's recipient, to Lynda Hammel for her many years of dedicated service to our club members, and for her dedication to the well-being of Cairn terriers, especially Rescue.

Service Award: The 2018 Service Award was presented to Sharon & Larry Deibel for their outstanding work and dedication to the PCTC newsletter Thistle Talk.

Outreach Award: The 2018 Outreach award was presented to Veronica Hudak-Moe for her superior expertise with the PCTC website, and for PCTC outreach events.

Nominating Committee Report (Lynda Hammel, Lydia Hutchinson, and Ann Gates): The Nominating Committee submitted the following slate of Officers: President-Lois Cleland, Vice President-Kelli Winkler, Secretary-Linda Reiff, and Treasurer-Ken Moe. Board of Directors: Bill Kent, John Kornylo, and Harriett Kavanaugh. The committee sent their recommendations to the Secretary who sent a letter to all PCTC members. As of February 15th (per PCTC Constitution) no other nominations were received. Therefore, the 2019 slate of officers were voted on, with the Secretary casting the first vote to accept the slate of officers as presented. Motion was made to accept the slate of officers as presented. The motion carried.

Old Business: Ann Gates introduced the proposed changes to the Bylaws which clarify that the Club may use email, as well as postal mail to notify the members of certain information. The membership voted to accept the proposed changes.

New Business: Lydia Hutchinson gave the membership a brief history of the CTCA Foundation, and an update on the ongoing research, which AKC is helping to fund, and the significant progress that is being made. Lydia encouraged all to support the Foundation, which can be done online and is tax deductible.

Meeting adjourned at 1:50 pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Peggy Slattery, PCTC Secretary