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Wow, didn't think this announcement would cause such a stir. Well Jason, to get to your question first: Yes there are many Koi keepers in CA that are affiliated to AKCA, but at least two of those clubs and two more in Texas and the MAKC in the East that are also ZNA. This is an attempt to start a club in the Southern region of the U.S. Let me say that one of the differences here is that most of the clubs in AKCA are probably dual clubs that share an interest in Koi, watergardening or ponding in general. The emphasis in ZNA is on the Koi and helping beginners to understand Koi keeping and appreciation. ZNA in a closer link to Japan and the amatuers there than AKCA is and does therefore provide some more direct friendshop accross the waters so to speak and establishing some friendships there. There are more benifits, but to many this would not necessarily be of imprtance unless you visit Japan.
Bern, your question is a little more complicated and a long story so to make a long story short; I am told that if you are a Koi dealer or Koi related good dealer, then you can not hold any office or essentially a positon of major authority. I am a very small Koi related dry goods dealer. Actually I provide more of a service to my local Koi club and a few other clubs in the area than I am a dealer. I do it only part time and it is almost like a hobby and does not really provide me any real income when it is all said and done, but it is my love for the hobby and Koi people that makes me keep doing it. So, by the rules of ZNA, I can not hold office in the ZNA club and must quickly step aside. I have no problem with this and understood this from the very beginning. The first step in our becoming a ZNA club was to affiliate with an AKCA club to reap the benifits of their support also. Since the new club is going to made up of members from several locations thruout the South U.S., we felt it unfair to pick any one club to affiliate with and opted to start our own AKCA club instead. As such we needed officers. Some of these founding members were already officers in other clubs and others did not want the position or felt that the founding fathers of this effort should take the initial postions to get things started, hence I became president (I guess because I was pushing for ZNA the most). It is the love of the hobby and nothing more that caused me to push so hard for this club. Since that is the ZNA rules about dealers (no matter how small or in what capacity) and positions of authority, then so be it, I only want a ZNA club that can be meaningful for the Southern region of the U.S.
I hope this helps clear up/explain a few things.
Rod L.
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01-11-2004
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