Month: December 2023

Candidate Q & A Responses #1 & #2

1. Why do you want to be a member of the NAFA Board of Directors?

Leerie Jenkins

I served on the NAFA board previously for 13 years.  After sitting out the required year, I find I miss it and would love to help again by donating my time and effort.  It’s a lot of work, but it can be very rewarding too.  I feel it’s super important to consider the needs of all the different types of clubs, competitors, and regions; and to consider the impact to each of these groups when making rules and policies.  I feel I have something positive to contribute in this area.

Jayne McQuillen

I truly believe if you want to make a positive impact within any volunteer organization, you need to be willing to not just talk, but to be willing to help out.  Three years ago, when someone suggested I run for the BOD, I thought this was a great opportunity to give back to the sport I love.  Working on a volunteer BOD takes compromise, listening skills and patience.  I fully understood that the majority of the work of the NAFA BOD is not glamourous.  No one will applaud your efforts, and you’ll need a tough skin.  In fact, if you do the work really well, people are unlikely to even know you did anything.  That’s exactly why I volunteered.  It was my chance to be one of the people who make NAFA hum along smoothly.  I want to make sure that the average participant can just enjoy playing this sport with their dog, teammates and the greater flyball community.  

Paula Johnson

I ran for the Board last year and was not successful, but that didn’t deter me from wanting to run once again. I was fortunate enough to be asked to fulfil the remainder of Emma Mak’s terms when family obligations necessitated that she step away. My experience with the board over the last several months has only served to make me want to continue to work for the organization at this level. 

It isn’t easy and it is very time consuming but so rewarding. I have a greater appreciation for what goes into making NAFA run smoothly and seamlessly so that we can all go play with our dogs and our teammates. We don’t always get everything right, but I can guarantee that we all come to the table with the best of intentions and a willingness to work together to make NAFA the best it can be as an organization.

I feel I have the skills and the time to put into the role. I have only scratched the surface of what is possible and would love the opportunity to continue to work on behalf of all of you on the Board.

Kayla Inman

I applied to be a member of the NAFA board of directors because I want to help inspire more new flyballers to join us and be more involved. I have been a part of the flyball community since 2018 and competing since 2019. I am a member of the Westside Woofers out of Grand Junction, CO, and always enjoy competing and traveling with my team. In my day job, I travel often and encounter more people who don’t know what flyball is than know what it is. I want to bring passion, knowledge, and excitement to the board to help expand the resources for teams, new members, and bring more small town teams to the conversation.

Russ Bob

I think some small clubs that attend a lot of tournaments, should have some representation and a voice on the BOD.

2. NAFA has these Standing Committees – Disciplinary, Election, Finance, Judges, Marketing, Rules and these Special Committees – NAFA Blog, Technology, Communications. Which board committee(s) would you make the best contributions to and why?

Jayne McQuillen

I currently am the Chairperson of the BOD, so I oversee every committee. As a member of the Disciplinary Committee, I do my best to treat everyone fairly and with understanding.  None of us want to be in this situation, so  I think it’s a particularly hard committee assignment, as you deal with very emotionally charged situations.  I have the utmost sympathy, I have been there myself, with my first dog who bit a teammate’s dog.  I think I bring the understanding that we can love our dogs, but also acknowledge that they did something wrong.  Before becoming Chair my favorite committees were Rules, Communication, and the Blog committees.  I personally like writing and sharing information.  I also find the Rules Committee enjoyable.  It’s very detail oriented.  As a former Regional Director, I already attempted to know the NAFA rulebook front to back.  It can always be improved.  It’s a large document with a lot of overlapping information.  There have been many edits and editors over the years.  We don’t always get T crossed of I dotted exactly right with each change.  As such I just approved a project to have further formatting updates done to the Rulebook formatting.  Hopefully this will make the document searchable, universally formatted and with better cross referencing.       

Kayla Inman

I would do well with the marketing, technology, and communications committees. I work professionally as a marketer and public relations specialist. I would be able to bring my expertise in sales, marketing, and networking to these committees. I also work with many software programs and would also be an asset to the technology committee. 

Russ Bobb

I believe that I could make some small contributions to Rules, Finance and maybe Communications.

Paula Johnson

Most recently, I have taken the lead on creating a Junior Participant special Committee (more on that to come so stay tuned). They are our future and the special Junior Division at CanAm was proof that we can and should do more to include and encourage our juniors.

Committees are essential to getting things done for NAFA. I have been able to be part of the Marketing and Communications committee as well a taking over the Blog committee chair role. I really enjoy using some of my background in public relations and marketing to help get the word out about NAFA to the broader community. Building a better SM presence would be on my wish list if I was to continue on the Board.

I would also be interested in being on the Judge’s committee to work towards building consistency across regions, as well as encouraging and developing new judges.

Leerie Jenkins

During my previous tenures with the NAFA board, I served on all the committees.  As a non-board member, I’m currently serving on the rules, judges, technology, and blog committees.  I can help out on any committees the Chair would assign to me, but I think these best utilize my skill set and interests.

Getting to Know Your Candidates – Kayla Inman

Kayla Inman

Kayla has been a part of the flyball scene since 2018. She now has her 3rd flyball dog training to compete in the 2024 season. Kayla is passionate about flyball because it’s a great way to get dogs and people moving together. It’s also a great way to build teamwork and communication skills. She values the sport and knows the need to bringing in new people to keep flyball going. During some medical issues, flyball was the only thing she could do with her dogs and gave her a greater appreciation for the inclusive dog sport.

Kayla serves as an advocate for Amputees in Colorado in her professional career. She’s an avid runner, dog sport enthusiast, and enjoys hiking around Colorado. She has a senior pitbull-mix, a 4 year old Mini American Shepherd, and a 1 year old Mini American Shepherd.

Getting to Know Your Candidates – Paula Johnson

Paula Johnson

I have been playing flyball for the last 12 years and a judge for the last 5. This year I had the honour of being asked to be a head judge for CanAm. The experience was beyond my expectations and being able to connect with so many of you and your amazing canine partners was so fulfilling.

I have served on the Board for just a few months now after being asked to fulfill the rest of Emma Mak’s term when a family situation required her to step back from her role. It has opened my eyes to all that goes on behind the scenes to keep this huge organization running. It is no small feat and requires people who are able to balance the needs of all with the long term health of NAFA. Most of all it demands an exorbitant amount of time from those who serve. 

Being recently retired, I feel I have the time to put into helping NAFA grow and prosper. I also bring a background in public relations and marketing as well as management and organizational skills from my previous professional role. I also bring the social skills needed to navigate challenging issues, listen to differing opinions and work with others. 

Paula Johnson

I feel I have only started to get my feet wet on the BOD and would love the opportunity to stay on for a full term. My goals are to continue the work that has been done to rebuild the sport and the organization and to ensure that we are always mindful of making our sport as safe as it can be for our dogs.

I look forward to the Q&A and Live chat to share more of my ideas and answer your questions.

Paula Johnson

Region 2

Getting to Know Your Candidates – Leerie Jenkins

Leerie Jenkins

Leerie has previously served 13 years on the NAFA Board of directors (2009 through 2022), 12 of those years were as Chair of the Board.  During those years he served on every committee, some of which he chaired.

Leerie prides himself on considering the needs and situations for all flyball clubs, with their varied priorities and goals (e.g. “just” having fun, dog title points, winning placements, setting records and personal bests, etc.,…), as well as considering the needs and circumstances of all regions in NAFA.  He feels it’s critical to consider all these varied needs when writing rules and setting policy.

He is a supervising judge, and feels strongly that judges are there to make sure the rules are followed, but also to help steward competitors to have fun, make good choices, and behave in a sportsmanlike manner.

He co-owns and runs a dog training and events facility, Quicksilver Canine, in North Carolina, with his wife, Julie, and mother-in-law, Deb.  Quicksilver Canine has been a bronze level CanAm sponsor for the last two years.

Leerie would love to serve again on the NAFA board and continue to give back to his favorite sport.

Getting to Know Your Candidates – Russ Bob

Russ Bobb

I became involved in flyball in 2003. So, I guess that I have been active for 20 years. Wow. Time passes quickly. I have been a participant, a Tournament Director, and an all-around cheerleader. My dogs have achieved some wonderful accolades, including a Hobbes, Regional MVP, and many local awards. As President of ODTC (the largest, oldest, and most active dog club in the Baltimore-Washington Region), I have championed Flyball and have lobbied that Flyball is an important part of the dog sport community, I believe that our sport should be inclusive and welcome all dogs that can safely participate, I want to grow our community and actively encourage all who are interested to join and enjoy the fun that we have.”

Russ Bobb

President

ODTC 


Getting to Know Your Candidates – Jayne McQuillen

Jayne McQuillen

My name is Jayne McQuillen and I have had the pleasure of serving the last 3 years on the NAFA Board of Directors.  The last two of which I have served as the Chairperson of the Board.  I am honored to have had the opportunity to serve the flyball community in those capacities, as well as having served 8 years as a Regional Director.  I have an excellent idea of the time, dedication, and willingness to compromise needed to be an effective BOD member.  

I worked for 18 years in Non-Profit Animal Rescue organizations, and this is what led me to the sport of flyball in the first place.  While I have participated in many other dog sports, flyball is the sport that continues to be my favorite.  I now head up Skidmarkz, a large flyball club.  While heading up a large group of people and dogs is its own challenge, I also haven’t forgotten what it’s like to have just a few teammates and work your tail off to grow your team.  I now try to share my knowledge by teaching performance foundation classes and a limited number of flyball seminars.   

My experience of leading volunteers in shared goals and workloads taught me to value contributions and ideas from people of varied backgrounds.  I look to put people with the right skills in roles where they can bring the biggest impact to the organization.  As a BOD member, I served on many committees my first year, particularly Rules and Communications.  As the Chairperson, I am now a member of all the committees.  Seeing the overall workings of NAFA, I now seek to put the right volunteers in the right place to benefit NAFA.  That includes bringing in new people to help achieve NAFA’s goals.  I also appreciate the feedback that the diverse BOD members and the flyball community bring forward to me.  I really respect the idea that we all can contribute and that NAFA needs to be open to new input.  I hope you will continue to allow me to serve the greater flyball community as a BOD member.  My goal is always to make playing flyball fun, positive and enjoyable for everyone.