THE AKC DELEGATE
WHAT DO THEY DO? WHAT DO I DO?
I was asked by the CCCI Board to write about the role and responsibilities of an AKC Delegate. Because we have new club members every year, this seemed like a very good idea.
I have been honored to hold this position for our club for the past ten years. I will try to explain what the job entails. First, there should be a willingness to serve for 5 or more years and to invest time and effort in becoming involved in all aspects of the job. There is a large turnover of delegates, so it takes some time to know the names and faces of those who are long-serving delegates and committee members.
There are four quarterly meetings-three in Newark, NJ and one in Orlando, FL in conjunction with the AKC National Championship.
The AKC standing committees meet throughout one day and the Delegates General Meeting meets the next. The standing committees are the all-breed clubs, parent clubs, bylaws, canine health, dog show rules, companion events, field trial and hunting test events, herding, earth dog, and coursing events, and delegate advocacy and advancement. Delegates can pick the committees that best address their club’s needs and concerns.
At the General Meeting there are reports by the AKC President, the Chairman of the Board, and the Treasurer. Voting on any proposed amendments to the Charter and Bylaws or Rules Applying to Dog Shows takes place at this meeting. This is how delegates can truly represent their club.
I attend the Parent Club Committee, and I serve on the All-Breed Clubs Committee. Being elected to a committee means greater involvement and participation in delegate activities. I currently head the sub-committee that addresses Best Practices for club success in various areas such as finances, legislative outreach, and community involvement. These documents are shared with AKC member clubs’ delegates and are posted on the AKC website.
I have also written documents such as “Welcome to the Dog Show,” an informative handout for spectators at all breed and specialty shows. “Be Prepared-Plan Ahead” is an article outlining how to plan for pet care in the event of one’s incapacity or death. This was shared with delegates attending the committee meeting, printed in the delegates quarterly newsletter, and posted on the AKC website. I have had multiple requests from other Parent Clubs and All-Breed Clubs to publish it in their club’s magazines and to share it with club members. It has already been published in our Chow Life. It was also published in Canine Chronicle July 2025.
Throughout the year, I share AKC correspondence with the CCCI Board. Sometimes this is announcement of seminars, webinars, or conferences. Sometimes it is surveys related to club issues. If a topic is related to one of our committees, I send the information to that chair. AKC has a tremendous amount of information available addressing all aspects of dog ownership.
My latest involvement is participation in a Parent Club sub-committee called “Targeted Breeds Task Force.” This group highlights the growing problem, worldwide, of restrictions being placed on the breeding of dogs with so-called defects that are deemed unhealthy and cause suffering. Raising awareness is important, but clubs need to be prepared to take action when anti-breeding bills are proposed. I am working on a document that our club could provide to legislators when such bills are considered. This will emphasize our concern for breeding healthy Chows and what, as breeders, we do to ensure this. The Animal Rights extremists are not going away.
I was also asked to revisit the issue of airline restrictions on flying dogs. We addressed this problem in 2018-19 with no success. I again contacted Sheila Goffe, VP Government Relations, and she said she would see if anything has changed and if any airlines are friendlier than others. (We were not optimistic.)
Shortly thereafter, I received the following information from AKC. The link is to Pets Flying Cargo 2025 (Domestic)
Alaskan, American and Delta Airlines have a lengthy list of Restricted Breeds flying in cargo. Chows are on the lists. JetBlue and Southwest do not currently fly pets in cargo. It is highly unlikely that Chows and many other breeds will ever be able to be flown in cargo on domestic flights
I hope that this overview will give you an understanding of my involvement and commitment to the job of Delegate. I am always open to questions and will gladly serve as a resource if you need help with an AKC issue.
Margaret DiCorleto, AKC Delegate for CCCI
