Emily-Rose Allred 
Russell Evans 
Kathy Haney 
Meagan Langs
Question 1: NAFA has attempted to become more transparent in recent years. Where has NAFA succeeded and where do you feel that there is still room for improvement?E
Emily-Rose Allred: I think Nafa has been very clear in how they have handled flyball during this pandemic and have made responsible choices for their competitors. I think they could have been more clear with WHY they have gone ahead and chosen laser measuring as well as showing the reasons why carpal measuring did not work. I think many people do not understand why it was chosen, which comes down to a lack of communication.
Russell Evans: Easily accessible Board meeting agendas and minutes are examples of transparency.
Kathy Haney: The Board has been very good lately at posting dates and times for Board meetings, asking for input on important items and being available to all members of NAFA. We have done this through the NAFA website, Facebook page and meetings with judges and RDs. I believe we can be even more transparent by updating all of our social media platforms and possibly by Board members reaching out individually to as many NAFA participants in areas near and far to them. Information on reaching Board members is available on the website, but maybe part of the updated platforms could include better profiles and more information on reaching out to the Board Members.
Meagan Langs: NAFA has made a lot of recent changes and they have communicated those changes to the people quicker than in years past which I believe has been a great thing and a huge positive for our sport. For example, NAFA has made changes widening the boxes and jumps which were discussed and implemented very quickly compared to changes in the past. I would like to see NAFA be more innovative and less reactionary to changes in our sport. To do this, we will have to be even quicker with our willingness to try new ideas and communicate responses to the flyball community. If we come up with new ideas and implement them before other flyball associations then this will change the perception that is held by some that we are slow and unwilling to innovate. We can also do this by making our website easier to update.
Question 2: What board committee would you see yourself as most qualified for and why?
Russell Evans: Disciplinary. I’ve learned that compassion and objectivity are needed in equal measure to effectively evaluate a disciplinary problem, and have strived to develop these qualities.
Kathy Haney: I really enjoyed being the Chairman of the Election Committee last year and, if I am elected to the Board again, I would like to resume that role or at least be able to help by being on the committee. It can be a complicated process and I believe it helps to have done it before. I am currently on the Rules Committee and would like to continue on there as well, possibly adding the Disciplinary Committee which would be a good fit with the Rules Committee.
Meagan Langs: I believe my experience as a teacher, paralegal and Regional Director would help qualify me for any of the committees and I would be happy to sit in on any of the committees. I have skills working with Drafting/Writing, Organization, Multitasking, Training/Educating, Researching, Communication, Microsoft Office, Adobe, Foxit Phantom PDF, QuickBooks, WordPress, DropBox, Social Media sites such as Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, Yelp and Google.
I would like to help with communications, marketing and an “idea committee”. I know there isn’t a current “idea” committee but wouldn’t it be great to have a committee that brainstormed new ideas and worked with the other committees when needed?
I would like the purpose of each committee communicated in more detail to the flyball community. Information about how often they meet and what types are things the committees are working on each month should be presented in some way. These details help people understand the work that goes on behind the scenes and also lets people know things are happening even if the board meeting notes haven’t been posted. Additionally, it would help me (and others) fully understand what a specific committee does.
Emily-Rose Allred: I think I would do a great job on the marketing committee, I’m personable and have a great love of flyball that oozes out of me. I’d love to help bring more people to this sport.
Question 3: As a board member, how would you address and prioritize updating NAFA’s aging technology?
Kathy Haney: I have to admit, I am certainly no technology whiz, but I do see the need to continue to update our technology as often and as quickly as possible. The best I can offer is to support the efforts being made to have new starting systems and to get them made and out to the tournaments in a timely manner.
Meagan Langs: I believe updating NAFA’s technology should be our number one priority. Updating our technology could help us to stand out among other flyball associations and make us a leader in innovation.
Ideas: It would be great to have smaller updated lights/timers that also recorded the dogs individual runs and team times. I believe NAFA spends a lot of money on shipping the large lights from one state to the other and updating these systems could help to make the load smaller and hopefully make the shipping costs less. How many light systems could we have purchased if we didn’t have high shipping costs for the current EJS lights? Has this been researched? How many light sets do we need as we sit here today? If the lights were smaller would we have more teams willing to “hand carry” the lights from tournament to tournament?
The NAFA website needs to be updated. Updating our website will help in communications and make sure that news is being communicated quickly to all members and will help grow our sport.
Emily-Rose Allred: As a board member, how would you address and prioritize updating NAFA’s aging technology? I know our lighting system needs renovations but honestly I think our website is in dire need of an upgrade. Of all of competitors we have to have a graphic designer and coders that could help freshen up our site and make it more user friendly.
Russell Evans: Lighter, easier-to-ship timing systems. Current EJS is very heavy and awkward. A simple, low-cost “start dog” trainer (to reduce early starts). Find ways to move towards paperless tournaments.