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Responsibilities of the Show Secretary
By Gina (Wiley) Lehman, updated by Karen Lawrence
The Show Secretary is the official "liaison" between the club management and the CFA Central Office.
While the show secretary must complete the show license application, the signature on it must be that of the club secretary. The approved show license will be returned to the show secretary. All materials sent from Central Office for a show will be delivered to the show secretary. It will be their responsibility to let Central Office know if any changes occur in the show license information, i.e. change in show management, showhall, judges, etc. It is also the responsibility of the show secretary to return the show package to CFA after the show, making sure that it is complete prior to sealing that envelope!
at least 6 months before the show -
get
license (CFA Show Rule: 12.04), send flyers to judges, central office and regional directors(CFA Show Rule: 16.03-16.04).
With the flyer, make sure judges know which airport to use for
flying in, how to get their airline tickets paid for, and a club
contact to ask questions of regarding their travel to and their stay
in your city.
2-3 months before the show -
all of the judges should have been contacted with a nice letter
with the flyer and you should have begun to get information regarding
their flight plans. You should also be sure to book hotel rooms
for the judges.
2-4 weeks before the show -
Send
the judges a letter with details of their ground transportation
arrangements including airport-hotel and hotel-show hall and return.
Also give them the confirmation number for their room at the
hotel so that their check-in will go smoothly. Let the judge
know if they can charge meals to the room.
Week of the show -
Contact
the judges by phone (or email if they are online) and reconfirm
flight times and who is picking them up at the airport. Also,
many times, the judges are interested in hearing the final count
for the show (example - 421 cats entered)
At the show:
Check-in -
mark
absentees and transfers on the sheets and prepare them for each
of the judging rings. Deliver the sheets to each ring. Announce
the absentee and transfers for exhibitors to mark their catalogs.
After the show:
Show package - get
the show package from the master clerk and check its contents
to ensure all items from CFA Show Rule: 16.10 are included. Send this package
via overnight delivery to Central Office. Store the other documents
in a safe location for a year. Send exhibitors list to regional
director.
Back to the Top
The CFA show rules 16.01 - 16.13 list the basic responsibilities of the show secretary and are reviewed here with comments.
16.01 The show secretary must submit the
show license application to the Central Office as outlined in
Paragraph 12.04.
This should be done as soon as the judges contracts are in and you have decided
upon a show management team, entry clerk, show hall, and show format. The sooner you
get your license in, the sooner your show appears in the Almanac in the list of shows.
16.02- Judges books, entry forms, and copies
of the show rules will be sent to the show secretary approximately
4 months prior to the show date. Additional supplies may be ordered
at the current fees.
It is up to
the show secretary to make sure that you have all of the necessary
paperwork for the show. The judges books paper and entry forms
should be shipped to the show secretary, who should pass all forms related to judges books on to the
entry clerk as that is who will (most likely) be doing the judges book printing.
16.03 - The show secretary must file a copy
of the show announcement with the Central Office as soon as printed.
It is often a good idea to do this at the same time that you
send the show license (if the flyer is ready at that point).
This ensures that Central Office has all of the correct information on your
show for publication.
16.04- The show secretary must send a copy
of the show announcement to the officiating judges and the Regional
Director.
It is important for
judges to get a copy of the flyer so that will know at which hotel
they are staying and other pertinent show information. The flyer
also gives them information on the show management and person to contact information.
16.05 - The show secretary must advise the
officiating judges of the accommodations that have been made for
them and the available ground transportation between airport,
show room, and hotel.
It is important
to keep the judges informed of the arrangements that have been
made for them while they are officiating at your show. Judges do not feel comfortable leaving home without a phone number to leave behind for their family or cat sitter, and like to know whether they will be met at the airport upon their arrival.
16.06 - The show secretary or designated
representative is responsible for preparing the judge's books,
including those for judging Best of Bests competitions, which
shall be in sequence by catalog numbers. A minimum of two lines
must be left between color classes. The color class number, age
(indicated in years and months) and the class for each must appear
in the judges' books. At least 2 open spaces should be left between
each class (Open, Champion, Grand Champion) to allow for transfers.
When a color class includes entries of more than one color, the
exact color indicated on the entry form must be entered in the
judges books. At the end of the breed, the show secretary shall
type a form for the following awards: Best of Breed/Division,
Second Best of Breed/Division for Kittens, Championship and Premiership,
and where necessary, Best Champion of Breed/Division.
The judges books are usually taken care of by the entry
clerk but should be double checked by the show secretary to ensure
accuracy, and to make sure that all breeds sheets and finals awards sheets are included, as well as a copy of the judging schedule..
16.06.01 - The show secretary or designated
representative is responsible for creating a computerized file
in a format specified by the Central Office which contains complete
information as required on the show entry form for all cats, kittens
entered in the show (effective May 1, 2000).
Most entry clerks using Compu Show prepare a disk to send to Central
Office in the show package.
16.07 - In a show without veterinarian inspection,
the show secretary or designated representative shall mark all
those entries present for competition and therefore benched.
There are multi-part absentee and transfer sheets that are to
be marked as exhibitors arrive at the show.
Part of the show check-in procedure should include asking for
any absentees or transfers which must be correctly recorded to ensure accuracy.
16.08 - After benching, the show secretary
or a designated representative must prepare and deliver to each
ring a list of catalog numbers of entries that are absent, transferred
or withdrawn. Should an entry be withdrawn, the entry will be
marked absent.
Each judge must
have a list of the absentees and transfers prior to the start
of judging in order for the show to flow smoothly. As soon as
possible after check-in, you will want to make 2 more multi-part
duplicates in order to give each ring and the master clerk a copy
of the absentees and transfers.
16.09 - The show secretary must fill in
orders for marked catalogs. Should it become impracticable to
fill any such order, the purchase price of such marked catalog
must be promptly returned to the person ordering it.
Fully marked catalogs are rarely requested, but when one is it is the responsibility of the show secretary to accurately copy this from the club copy of the catalog given to the show secretary by the Master Clerk.
16.10 - The show secretary MUSE send the
following to the Central Office by EXPRESS MAIL next day Service,
UPS Overnight, Fed Ex, or an equivalent overnight service, no
later 12:00 noon of the first (1st) business day
after the close of the show:
a. one catalog completely marked for all
rings and signed by the master clerk. If an NCR catalog (see
18.17) has been marked, also a blank, official show catalog;
b. a complete set of judges color class
sheets and finals sheets for each ring;
c. a copy of the absentee and transfer
list
d. a complete list of exhibitors' names
and addresses and entry numbers if not included in the catalog.
This does not apply to Household Pet exhibitors;
e. the original copies of the catalog correction
request forms submitted to the master clerk;
f. those official forms that relate to verifications
of catalog corrections made by the master clerk at the show with
the appropriate feel and,
g. official championship/premiership claim
forms, if any, filled out and submitted to the master clerk at
the show with the appropriate fee; and,
h. the diskette containing show entry information
(effective May 1, 2000)
Most of these items will be handed to the show
secretary at the end of the show by the master clerk, but again,
it is necessary for the show secretary to check and re-check to
make sure everything is in the packet prior to sealing the envelope and sending it to Central Office.
16.11 - The show secretary must send a copy
of the catalog exhibitor list with complete addresses to the regional
director and his/her designee within one week after the close
of the show.
Check with your Regional Director. Often, they would prefer that these items be sent directly to the Regional Scorer.
16.12 - The show secretary must retain in
club records for one year the original entry forms with the exception
of official entry forms sent to the Central Office for verification
of a correction made by the master clerk because of a typographical
error. The Central Office may request that a form(s) be submitted
as verification of a valid entry.
16.13 - The show secretary must retain the
original (white) judges' color class sheets and final sheets from
each ring in club records for one calendar year.
It is best to keep the entry forms, catalog marked by the Master Clerk and marked judges sheets all together in a safe place for one year.
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