2015 United Peafowl Association Convention

[frenchblackcopper]

I hope you get the chance to get involved.. Take your membership directory with you as it has the copy of the bylaws... If the club cant follow the bylaws it does not need to be a club, it can be people that care about the same thing... Don't let it go to pot.. I think they are close to folding up now as they are way out of reach of following the bylaws . good luck George connerhills

George,,MY POINT EXACTLY..You hit the nail dead on the head. Will new officers be elected at the convention? I see no mention of this anywhere on the itenirary. If by small chance a new president is elected someone please PM me? I had no idea things had gotten this bad the organization is about done for,but then again I can understand why. Some floods may be water under the bridge,,but a bridge burnt can never be crossed again and as in my case i have a memory like an elephant and some things done behind members backs without any following of the written by laws,should prove expulsion of those officers,,but losing members shows others do not approve of taking matters out of members hands. It sad when this forum has more threads and posts about peafowl than an organization with it's sole purpose is nothing but peafowl.

 

[MinxFox]

The convention was great and tiring. All of the UPA members (or non-members because you can still go if you are not a member) were very friendly and willing to share knowledge. I learned some great things during the convention and learned of some great peafowl info I have never heard of before. I even met a guy who is not too far from me that raised 100's of peafowl for 40 years and helped supply the Rocking B-A-B Ranch with their first peafowl. He no longer raises peafowl but he wants to get back into raising them and wants to re-join the UPA.

The UPA BOD are trying to follow the bylaws and do not want any drama. They are working very hard to keep the UPA going and to bring it back to its former glory. There are many changes in the works such as fixing up the magazine, working on the website (I will be hopefully collaborating with the current webmaster to improve the site), etc. The BOD is learning from veteran UPA members who helped make the UPA great and who can give advise on how to get it back to the way it was.

I attended the BOD meeting. The whole idea is not to tear people down but to give good, constructive criticism of each other. It is like an art critique. If you see something that needs improvement, you mention that but you also mention a good way of fixing it. The BOD is working very hard not only keeping the UPA together but also writing articles for the magazine because there are not a whole lot of people sending in articles. Anyone on here is welcome to write an article for the Peafowl Today magazine. It doesn't have to be some revolutionary way of sexing peachicks at a week old or something. It can be a story about your ventures with peafowl, advise you wish to give new peafowl owners, etc. Sure the magazine could have a better layout, but also what makes a magazine a magazine is the interesting articles and pictures and there sure won't be enough variety if people don't send in anything and the BOD is continually stressed trying to come up with new ideas and having to re-print old articles. Our solution is we might start calling members or just peafowl owners in general and interviewing them over the phone asking them questions, etc and from what they say we would turn it into an article for the magazine.

In the past I have tried working with the webmaster and that was impossible. I have no idea what I will be allowed to do with the site, etc but I think eventually I will have more control over the site. For now I will be collaborating with the current webmaster which I have not started doing yet but I will have to email someone to see how I should start going about doing that.

I am not a real BOD member yet. I am a stand in BOD member. The UPA members will get to choose by vote if I can be a BOD member. Even if I don't get to be a BOD member I can still do the things I am interested in such as working on the site and writing magazine articles.

I encourage all peafowl people on BYC to join the UPA or at least contribute. It isn't a lame association at all.

Pictures of the convention will come when I have time to show them.

 

[AugeredIn]

I think I have recovered. Not sure yet. Had a blast. Never butted heads with a bobcat before. Thinking I might need some Mocha though. Post pictures!

 

[MinxFox]

One of my favorite moments was seeing that big bobcat headbutt you.

Who bought the Imperator pair? I checked the UPA facebook and saw someone bought a pair of Imperators from Josh. I had to leave early because my Dad's back started hurting him really badly and we had to go home. I was waiting to here what Josh was going to say about the greens but he didn't get to them before I had to go. I did get to be pecked by my favorite male muticus muticus.

 

[connerhills]

Minxfox,, I will assume most of them were talking about me and don't want any drama.. from me.. I don't want to give any drama but I know drama to some people is lack of common sense to others.. The things I think need to be done is for all members and BOD to understand the UPA bylaws.. the club was set up in Penn. and had the rules that it will operate from.. The info in the PT re: the BOD is not correct and has not been,,, most people don't even know what the dates mean after the names... The Club says it is a not for profit or nonprofit corp . The info should be provided to the members... it is against some laws to claim your a not for profit and claim that you are... are they or not.? It does have to do with how much money the club makes and I don't think the UPA has that much revenue ... again the rules... There was no one that ran for the UPA B OD this year.. when the BOD went in to the meeting Most of the B OD term had expired and I would guess that they did not have a quorum of officers to even have a meeting and I would guess that the meeting was not official If that is the case the bylaws calls for another meeting when more officers can be in attendance I do not want to hurt the club ,, I have more years in it than most all of the BOD put together. You did state that you had tried to work with the web master .. We found years ago that one person only be allowed to say what does and does not happen on the UPA web site . If the club does not want to operate with by laws just junk them and go on with the errors . I believe you ask. Changing the P T ... that is addressed in the bylaws....... Another thing is the club is probably giving away around 15 issues or around 90 issues a year at a cost of 6-8 dollars each and in return we get what noting that I have ever seen, and I would guess that the BOD does not even know what the true cost of the P T is... . I don't need drama to survive ,, but I do suggest a way to solve most of the UPA problems is to learn the bylaws and do as they state ... if a situation comes up that is not addressed the BOD should refer to ""Roberts rules of Order"" and that has been voted on some time back and until it is changed that is what the club does. The club can not do just what ever it wants to do, anyway it wants to do it. HOw many people on here are UPA members ???????? Does the use of the bylaws make you any difference ?????? Maybe it does not.. My statements are not fiction and until I am proven wrong. ....... I have or did have many friends in the UPA and there were some that have never cared for me, but that does not really bother me all I want is to make the UPA better and it cant be done the way it is headed... The BOD needs to set down with each other and see that all of them understand what is what in the bylaws .. This is a business and should be ran kinda like one. Was the meeting taped like it should have been ?? connerhills

 

[MinxFox]

I don't want to be pulled into any drama here. I don't even know fully what happened to the UPA. All I know is what was said which was some drama happened in the BOD in the past and caused people to take sides and from this drama it caused the UPA to suffer. No one ever mentioned you as being a cause for drama. The only time I heard you mentioned was in a positive way and that mention was from a couple from Florida who has been in the UPA for a good while mentioned that you, George Conner, usually attend UPA conventions and that they missed you. They were talking about members that usually come that were not at the convention and they were saying all this on the car ride over to the Rocking B-A-B. No names were mentioned in a negative way.

The BOD is trying to follow the bylaws. They are not trying to disrespect any rules. As I have said other members are trying to help them because from what I was told, the current BOD was left to pick up the pieces when the UPA was in decline and they didn't really have anyone at the time to help them figure things out.

The UPA is still listed as a non-profit.

It is hard to follow a lot of procedures because there aren't enough BOD members but they do still need to meet. We can't wait for a full BOD when things need to get done right now. Members are not stepping forward to serve. The UPA has been calling members asking them to serve on the BOD and the majority has said "NO".

The BOD does know the cost of the magazine, and I believe they said one of the next Peafowl Today magazines will propose to the members the idea of printing 4 issues a year instead of 6 and they will explain to members the current magazine cost and how much money it would save going down to 4.

We know the rules are there for a reason, but costs have to be cut to keep the UPA running. A lot of things are being sacrificed to keep the UPA alive and we all want to stick to the bylaws and believe me the BOD is not trying to ruin everything and do whatever they want whenever.

Anyways, this association is about peafowl. It is supposed to be fun not something super complex and political. But who knows what I am talking about anymore - All I am interested in is helping get information/pictures for the magazine and helping with the site. That will be my contribution because that is what I am good at.

The meeting was recorded by the secretary and also by at least one other BOD member.

BOD members had the bylaws in their hand and were referencing them to make sure we followed procedure as best as we could.

 

[connerhills]

Thank you Alea , I appreciate your reply. To me the bylaws are the only way to have an efficient way to run any organization and make it work. I realize that you don't have the knowledge and history of the UPA but there is a written one and it is called standing rules, but most don't want to under stand those either. The membership should see the minutes of the meeting in the next issue of P T.. The bylaws has a way to fix all of the action taken and it does not say,," when and if you don't know , just improvise" thank you again Alea. connerhills

 

[AugeredIn]

One of my favorite moments was seeing that big bobcat headbutt you.

Who bought the Imperator pair? I checked the UPA facebook and saw someone bought a pair of Imperators from Josh. I had to leave early because my Dad's back started hurting him really badly and we had to go home. I was waiting to here what Josh was going to say about the greens but he didn't get to them before I had to go. I did get to be pecked by my favorite male muticus muticus.

Loretta. I think that was mine not Josh's.

 

[frenchblackcopper]

It amazes me all the questions and answers fellow pea owners offers here daily and all through the year and the UPA is struggling so much with members,or not getting new members. I offer anyone here to type in Peafowl in Google search and Backyard Chickens comes up the link above the UPA's link,which is number 7 down on the first page of results. This should NOT be the way the UPA website should come up. Ranking this low a "pay per click" would get more people there.Another internet option is to post links on websites that gets lots of traffic and costs nothing. Aside from hosting and initial set up a website should be a resource to anyone that comes online seeking answers or advice.I'm assuming a hosting package with unlimited bandwidth is the most economical for this particular situation. But then again it's not my concern.I'm not a member. I for some reason on relaxing evenings come here to catch up. There are times for many weeks I don't get a chance to get online much unless we get a rain day off work but like tonight for instance I've wandered all over this site catching up.
I myself was accused of actually getting started in peas from an officer in the UPA because I had purchased some peafowl from members of the UPA. Fact of the matter was I had spent MONTHS here reading over hundreds of threads about peafowl,some dating back so far the images no longer appeared in the posts. All of the first IB peas I hatched came from an ad I read on craigslist from a breeder about 30 miles away from me and he was not a UPA member. Then came the e-bay fertile hatching eggs buying that went on for 2-3 years,,but I was falsly accused of benefitting from the UPA and not being a paid member. Benefit from accessing freely the website to find members as it was pointed out to me to get my start in peas.
Alea,,your having far better luck at getting to contribute to help than what I was told years ago. The one year probation period,,being accused of benefitting from the freely accessible UPA website to get started in Peas,,took the wind outta my sails. I've given peafowl eggs for hatching to help people to get started. I've sold peachicks for less than 1/2 what I see others selling them for. We've stayed home on many weekends when people want to come here and see our small flock. And this has happened many,many weekends.
To all the UPA members out there,,instead of lining your pockets with cash when you sell a peachick,,or hatching eggs,,ask that person if they know about the UPA,,and if not take some of their money and sign them up as a member. Just another idea how to help briing awareness that there is an organization out there specific to peafowl,,but then again,I'm not a member.

 

[MinxFox]

I wanted to post the photos yesterday but then I realized I had some online art history homework to do and I had to take a quiz as well so that took almost all day. Today I am calling "Peafowl Day" because I have been able to do a lot of peafowl related things today such as fix some of the aviary netting, sort through the UPA convention photos, take the peachicks out, etc.

This first photo was taken by Loretta. I brought all of my peafowl themed clothing and wore something peafowl every day so Loretta wanted to get a photo of me on the first day. Behind me are some of the auction items and to the left of me you can just barely see the green peahen portrait I painted for the auction.


AugeredIn (Phil) gave a very helpful talk about peafowl genetics on Friday. There is a glare on the screen but hopefully you can read it all. I think I might bring it into Photoshop to get rid of the glare or something like that.











Here is AugeredIn drawing out the chromosomes I believe.










Here are some photos of the Emerald Coast Animal Hospital that we went to on Friday:


AugeredIn is a cat whisperer. This big bobcat really loved him and headbutted him a few times. I thought I got a picture of them headbutting but I guess I didn't.

The next day on Saturday we toured the Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge which is pretty much like a small zoo.




We all noticed the free-range peafowl of course!

They had many ring tailed lemurs.


The refuge is constantly improving and they want to update many of their facilities to look as nice as this new ring tailed lemur pen here. This lemur pen looks like a nice bird aviary design.




This lemur gave us a funny pose.




I enjoyed seeing others sport their peafowl themed shirts. Some people even had their own personal shirts such as Raymond Watts pictured below. Unfortunately he is down to one Arabian horse so now he will mainly be focusing on peafowl only. Dennis Erdman had some really nice peacock T-shirts he wore I think Friday.

One of the zookeepers getting the tiger to touch a tennis ball for food.



The lion was too sleepy to show us his tricks. Evidently he is the best at doing tricks.

The guy in the front wearing UPA clothing is Burt I think. I got his number to talk to him but I can't find it at the moment. He actually lives in Florida and at one time had 100's of peafowl. He wants to get back into raising them again. Evidently he supplied the Rocking BAB with their first peafowl when they got into peafowl. He has raised peafowl for around 40 years and he knows a ton about them. Behind him in the orange is Danny Potente. He is the new UPA president. He is really friendly and he also knows a lot about peafowl. He gave me some very good free-ranging tips.



A cute fennec fox!

Jen Louden in a pretty peacock feather dress looking in at the refuge's best exhibit - The otter exhibit.

The otters were curious about everyone too!

A few members were talking to each other about making their own little pond like this. I sure would like this in an aviary!

One of the coyotes.

This was my favorite animal at the zoo. This is called a Muntjac and they are from Asia. If you look closely you see that he has fangs. They use the fangs to fight other deer. He was so friendly he walked up to the fence and I got to pet him.

Here are two of the Louden kids petting him.

Sidney Louden was the star of the UPA auction. She was a great auctioneer! Danny helped her out as well. They made a great team!

Here is the iconic Rocking BAB grill.

Josh talking to UPA members about the birds.



Here are the rows and rows of breeding pens.

Blackshoulder spalding hen

Flight aviary



Another Spalding blackshoulder hen

Spalding bronze blackshoulder





























Inside the big flight pen

















My favorite BAB bird - A muticus muticus male.









I think this one is an Imperator










I had to rush so I didn't caption everything. I might go back in and caption it all later.