Stewardship of a magnificent breed of dog is ADI’s mandate. ADI prides itself for placing the needs of the breed before the needs or wants of the people who own them. But people still count, and nowhere is this more evident than at the Gathering of the Akbash Clan, our version of an annual general meeting. A 'sort-of' AGM, that is.
We’ve been meeting annually since the 1980s at members’ farms and ranches or nearby. We see Akbash Dogs in their working environments. We renew friendships and make new ones. We talk Akbash Dog health, training and any other topic that arises. Many of the board of directors typically attend the Gatherings, so association business will inevitably arise in the conversation. However, we don’t make resolutions or vote on matters. All official business is done either within board meetings or through the Akbash Sentinel. This is because our membership is located around the world. Farmers and ranchers are typically the hardest people to get to meetings in the summer, so we don’t make the Gathering a must-attend affair.
Gathering of the Akbash Clan
We move the Gathering around so that everyone can attend some of them without paying too much for travel. We’ve met in Canada, USA, Germany and Turkey thus far, on the west and east coasts, in the Rocky Mountains and on the prairies. In 2010 we met in Ohio. For 2011 our Gathering was in New Jersey, and we had a wonderful time. In 2012 we met in a remote, mountainous portion of Montana. Wherever we meet, there will probably be an educational session or two, a tour of a ranch or farm, and a discussion of the resident Akbash Dogs, their strengths and challenges. For certain there will definitely be good food, comraderie and fun. This is what we aim for at a Gathering.
Past Gatherings have taken place in farmer's fields, at farms and ranches of ADI members, at county fair grounds, and in off-season ski lodges high in the hills. The locations have all been interesting, but the location does not make the Gathering. ADI's board of directors always assists in planning a Gathering, and attendees pay for all of the costs of Gatherings. If you have a pretty camp ground, ranch or other location in mind, where a Gathering could take place, please contact our president, Diane Spisak, at spisak@embarqmail.com. For details on the May 2016 Gathering in Kansas, please visit the Message Board part of this web site. We hope you'll join us.