Bay Team Board 2021 Elections

Board members serve 2-year terms, with half the Board typically elected each year. New Board members start on January 1.

To vote, you may fill out a ballot online. If you previously indicated you require a physical ballot, those will be mailed to you.

Candidate Statements

Gina Day - Candidate for President

My background in dog sports includes conformation, junior handling, obedience and barn hunt. I have been addicted to agility for about 20 years now, and I've competed in AKC, USDAA and UKI with miniature pinschers (Vida and Elle) and border collies (Tiger and Maui). In my professional life, I'm an optometrist in private practice, and I have published research about the relationship between vision and jumping performance in agility dogs.

From my very first experience at a Bay Team trial, I have been impressed with the friendly and welcoming atmosphere. I have had the pleasure of serving on the Bay Team Board as a Member-at-Large this past term, 2020-2021, when our club had to navigate the challenges of the pandemic. Now that the worst of the social and financial stressors are past, I look forward to continuing on the tradition of hosting lots of fun agility trials.

As President, I hope to guide the next Bay Team Board to add a UKI trial in the North Bay, and increase member engagement both at the trials and on the new Facebook Group proposed by our current Board. With prudent financial decisions, we can invest in new equipment upgrades that improve safety for our dogs. Although I don't participate in Nose Work, I know that many of our members do, so I support Bay Team's involvement in Nose Work trials. Bay Teamers love to have fun with their dogs, and I will strive to keep the Board open and responsive to member suggestions.

Karey Krauter - Candidate for Secretary

My name is Karey Krauter and I’m running for the secretary position on the Bay Team board for the term 2022-2023. I’ve been in agility for forever and still get super nervous about it, so it is still a super exciting sport to me. I started with Belgians in the late 1990’s and got sucked into the Border Collie vortex not long after that – the sport and border collies keep me young! Oh yeh and these past couple years I got hooked on nosework, now too! I am embarrassed to admit that I love opportunities to do quality paperwork, creating order out of chaos, having people say “oh I needed that”, nurturing my OCD. I love secretarying stuff, and would love to do it for the Bay Team board and its membership. My goals would be dissemination of MORE information that you can possibly want, answers to questions before they are asked, everyone satisfied that they know what’s going on in a timely manner. All the people happy all the time. I would be in your debt if you gave me the opportunity to step into this role for the club!

Gwen Tatsuno - Candidate for Member-at-Large

I have been a member of the Bay Team since 1999. I started agility with two Border Collie/Newfie mixes and currently share my life with two border collies. I’ve been retired from a long career in the Biotech industry.

As a Board Member, I would support the goals of the Bay Team, which is to promote the sport of Dog Agility through local agility trials. open to all breeds of dogs, all types of people and teams at all levels of experience. In doing so, we are also supporting the importance of responsible pet ownership.

The Bay Team Board needs to be transparent and sensitive to the needs and wishes of the general membership. It is especially important that a MAL act as liaison between club members and the executive board. I’d like to encourage continued participation of Bay Team members in decisions about the direction of the club.

The Bay Team Board should assist trial committees as necessary to ensure that every trial adheres to a reasonable budget, is enjoyable for competitors, and fairly compensates (and does not overwork) our tireless volunteers.

I would like to see the Bay Team continue to put on USDAA trials and to Increase our participation in UKI agility events. The board should be available to assist trial committees to ensure that our trials are within a reasonable budget, enjoyable for competitors, and haven’t overworked our volunteers. The Bay Team should continue to explore Fair compensation and promote volunteerism.

Carol Newman - Candidate for Member-at-Large

After watching a friend run agility at the Pleasanton Fairgrounds in 2005, I was hooked. In 2009, I adopted River, a 12 inch tall bi-black Sheltie specifically to train for agility. Flash, a 14 inch tall bi-blue Sheltie joined my family in December 2014. Together we have enjoyed many great adventures and met many wonderful people competing in agility. Since I retired from teaching fourth grade in 2017, I now have more time to give back to the sport I love.