It is April 24, 2011 and this will be my last blog post as a candidate for the 2011 AOBA BOD elections. Yesterday was the last day for AOBA members to have their ballot envelopes postmarked. Now five other candidates and I wait to find out the results.
What a journey this has been. In the past few weeks I have learned so much about the concerns and challenges, the hopes and dreams, and the ingenuity and creativity of my fellow alpaca owners/breeders. I have read with great interest the discussions occurring on the various alpaca sites having to do with the state of our industry. There have been many well thought out possible solutions to some of the challenges facing our emerging industry. I appreciate the individual phone calls and email exchanges from AOBA members wanting to know how I felt about....or what I would do about particular issues of concern for them if I am elected to the BOD.
This journey has caused me to think about things that challenged my comfort level, look at our breeding focus and how we operate our business and think about what our industry will look like in 5, 10, or 20 years. I must say that what I have learned will stay with me and affect decisions my husband and I make about our alpaca business in the future. My background is training and development and one of the phrases I used in the topics I presented was..."A mind once expanded will never return to it's original state." My mind has definitely been expanded by this experience.
As I write this entry I do not know if I am a former candidate or a candidate elect for the 2011 AOBA BOD. I don't know if as an organization we received the record setting number of votes needed to pass what I believe was a critical change in the by-laws. I don't know if the budget was passed. I do know that I am more uncomfortable not knowing than I was being a candidate. But, soon all AOBA members will know the results.
I want to take this opportunity to thank the 2011 AOBA Nominating Committee for doing an outstanding job. As I have mentioned before, I am honored to be on a slate of such qualified candidates. My appreciation goes out to the committee, the candidates, and the supporters of the candidates for a relatively smooth running election process. As one AOBA member to another, whether our candidates of choice were elected to join the AOBA BOD, let's pledge to support our BOD as it leads us through this time of change in our industry.
Finally, to all who gave me your vote of confidence...THANK YOU.
Sincerely,
Dianna Jordan
Alpacas of Somerset Farm
www.alpacasomersetfarm.com
530-620-6033
