1. You are here:  
  2. Home
  3. About Club
  4. Volunteer Roles
  5. Roles
  6. National Specialty Chair/Committee

National Specialty Chair/Committee

Purpose:

Select, schedule, propose, and manage all required logistics for a specific annual National Specialty.

Committee

  • Three Club members form the National Specialty Committee:
    • The Chair of the committee is the Chair for the current upcoming National Specialty.
    • The Chair of the prior National Specialty who will serve as counsel/mentor.
    • The Chair of the next future National Specialty who will assist with completion of tasks and as an “apprentice” to the current Specialty Committee.
  • The Committee is expected to recruit additional club members to assist with various tasks and activities and to coordinate with other chairs (e.g. Judges Education, Breed Versatility, etc.).

Key Responsibilities

  • Recruit, encourage, and assist a club member in selecting and proposing a future National Specialty including coordination with a Host Kennel Club.
  • Hold committee meetings periodically but with increasing frequency as date of Specialty approaches to monitor and follow up to ensure all required tasks, agreements (including Superintendent, Host Hotel, etc.), and filing of documents with AKC are completed timely.
  • Ensure event logistics are defined, scheduled, contracted as appropriate, and confirmed such as but not limited to:
    • Judges, superintendent, host club
    • Host hotel, lodging, and RV parking
    • Space for Grooming, Merchandise, Seminars, Annual Meeting, Hospitality
    • Trophies, awards, merchandise, memorabilia
    • Banquet location, menu, facilities, audio visual, auction tables
  • Report overall progress, status, and any issues to Board on at least a bi-monthly basis.

Note:  the above list is not all inclusive – for further information see ACA Website “So you want to host a Specialty” and forthcoming ACA National Specialty Manual.

Time commitment

5-20 hours per month depending upon proximity to Specialty and the extent of delegation to additional recruited volunteers and experience of all involved parties.

Skills, abilities, interests useful to this role

Organization. Scheduling. Follow up/Follow thru. Project Management. Attention to detail. Ability to establish and meet deadlines. Communication/people skills.