USMRA Elections

This year’s election we will be electing for the positions of President, Secretary and 1 Director at Large position. Each position has a term of 2 years, beginning January 1, 2024.

Please take a moment to get acquainted with those that are running and please ask them any questions you may have. The election will be administered by Election Buddy once again. Ballots will be sent by Election Buddy to your email tonight,12:00 AM EST, and voting will remain open for 7 days. The election is only open to full members that were active during the 2023 membership year. New or renewed memberships as of today, November 1, are for the 2024 membership year.

Tomorrow please check your SPAM folder for your ballot. If you do not see one, please contact me.

Candidates for President

Nominated by Synergy Ringsport Club

Qualifications:  

Over the past decade, Mahogany has been involved in virtually every aspect of USMRA:

  • Member trainer and competitor with several titled dogs;

  • Club level as training director, decoy and club president;

  • National Championships as an organizer and competitor;

  • International Championships as team leader and handler;

  • USMRA Leadership on the BOD, serving as secretary and on the Decoy Committee;

  • Finishing Judges program to soon support clubs across the country as a judge.

Mahogany has supported the USMRA’s growth through helping build four clubs, as well as assisting her home club over the years as club president, training director, and training decoy.

She has passionately taken action to create opportunities for USMRA members across the country to access training. She has traveled across the country to assist clubs in their training as well as developing their own decoy training skills. Mahogany has hosted more than 10 decoy seminars with experienced decoys. She recently led a women’s decoy development seminar in Canada. As an active member of the decoy committee, she has assisted with creating new training opportunities for both certified and training decoys.

As president, Mahogany would work to accelerate the growth of the USMRA, help create opportunities to further develop decoys both at the club level and on the trial field, and support the growth of the USMRA’s judges program. Additionally, she would continue to pursue the tasks she has done as the secretary over the last two years to work toward streamlining and simplifying processes for USMRA members.

Mahogany cares deeply about the USMRA as can be shown by her involvement. Her broad and deep experience within the organization, as well as her professional non-profit experience, will help her to continue to serve the membership and develop opportunities for USMRA!

Nominated by Fire Pines Mondioring Club

Qualifications:

I have been involved in dog sports for over 20 years, starting in Agility with my German Shepherds and most recently Mondioring with my Malinois, Teagan.

I have been training in Mondioring for 6 years and a member of USMRA for 4 years. I have participated in the Obedience and Brevet Certificate programs and have put both MR1 and MR2 titles on Teagan, and actively training for our MR3. We competed at our first Nationals showing in 2022 as a Level 1. I have taught a couple of Mondioring Obedience Only workshops in 2019 to advance the sport to newbies.  I traveled to spectate and support Nationals in 2021 in Colorado and again in 2023 in California, I am planning on competing at Nationals in 2024 in St Louis.

I have been a member in good standing with Fire Pines Ring Club since its inception and, most recently I was involved with starting up Texas Area Ring Team Mondioring Club (fondly known as TART) with other Texas locals. I continue to collaborate with other clubs (local and not so local) to help with trials and training, including Trial Secretary.

My day job is working in corporate America, specifically as a Sr Finance Manager for Keurig Dr Pepper in Frisco Texas. I have been in Finance for the past 13 years, and before that was in Accounting for 18+ years. I routinely head projects coordinating multiple departments and different personalities to meet hard deadlines and goals.

I have been the USMRA Treasurer this year and would love the opportunity to expand that role to President to help drive growth and success of Mondioring in the US.

Candidate for Secretary

Qualifications:  

Current President of STL Working Club

  • Duties include running social media 

  • Organizing and running training events, trials and seminars 

  • Communicating with USMRA and other organizations as needed 

  • Communicating with members as needed. 

Former Secretary of Evolution Working Dog Club 

  • Taking meeting notes on a monthly basis

  • Attended monthly meetings to be sure that the club is running efficiently and in the right direction

  • Assisting in planning for trails, training events, seminars and weekly training

  • Communicate with president on a weekly basis to be sure everything is running efficiently

  • Assist in running social media

Nationals Committee 

  •      Recently appointed to nationals committee

Former Philanthropy Chair and Secretary for Alpha Phi Fraternity 

  • Assisted in running social media in regards to philanthropy events

  • Communicated with members and other board members alike when announcements from headquarters needed attention

  • Attended weekly, monthly and yearly meetings to be sure that all standards are being held in the organization

  • Communicated with Alpha Phi headquarters, vendors and sponsors for philanthropy and fundraising events. 

Candidates for Director at Large

Nominated by TART

Qualifications:  

I have been a member of USMRA since early 2020. My journey began in the Obedience Only program with my IGP-titled German Shepherd, Echo. However, I quickly transitioned to become a dedicated Mondioring competitor. Since then, I have achieved an MR1 title with Echo, earned one leg of MR1 with my Malinois, Arrow, and am actively training them for higher-level Mondioring titles.

During my time as a member of USMRA, I have actively sought opportunities to become more involved in our community. I have assisted in hosting trials with various clubs in Texas, Oklahoma, and North Carolina and have attended every national competition since 2021. Additionally, I am proud to be a founding member of the TART Working Dog Club, where I am particularly passionate about mentoring new competitors and helping them find success in this challenging and thrilling sport.

Before immersing myself in protection sports, I was an active member of my local Search and Rescue team. Both of my search dogs achieved nationally recognized certifications in their respective disciplines. I had the privilege of instructing at and hosting seminars across the country and served on the Board of Directors for the Search Dog Organization of North America, initially as Secretary and later as Vice President.

My life outside of Mondioring continues to revolve around dogs and training. I currently work as a professional dog trainer at Einstein K9, where I hold the position of Head Trainer and Director of Operations. In this role, I coach clients through training their dogs for a wide range of behaviors, from basic manners to complex problems. I also serve as the primary point of contact for prospective clients, facilitating communication between our clients and the seven other trainers within our company. My success in my career hinges on clear and consistent communication, both with dogs and their owners.

I am enthusiastic about the opportunity to combine my passion for this sport, my previous experience on the Board of Directors of a national organization, and my excellent communication skills to serve USMRA’s membership as a member of the Board of Directors.

Qualifications:  

I am excited about the opportunity to serve our organization in this capacity, and I believe that my skills and experience would be a valuable asset to the board.

I have been a member and actively trialing for USMRA for 4 years. I have volunteered my time to help with fundraising for the 2023 USMRA World’s team. I am passionate about our organization’s mission, and I believe that I have the skills and experience necessary to be an effective member of the board of directors.

Here is a short list of my qualifications:

  • 7 years of experience in Marketing / Communications

  • 6 years of experience serving on non-profit boards of directors (Local DockDogs Club)

  • Proven ability to work effectively with a team

  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

I am committed to working with the other members of the board of directors to ensure that USMRA continues to thrive and fulfill its mission. I am confident that I can make a significant contribution to the board, and I look forward to the opportunity to serve.

Nominated by West Penn Mondioring Club

Qualifications:

I have been a member of USMRA since 2005. In the past, I have served on the Board of Directors and been a member and chair of several committees. I am currently in the Judge’s Apprentice Program, a member of the Membership Committee, and I am working with our Web Master to help clarify and simplify data and paperwork processing.

I have titled two dogs to Mondioring 3 and another to Mondioring 1. I have competed in seven USMRA Nationals with podium wins or placements each time.

My career, prior to retirement, was working as a Systems Analyst where I was tasked with reviewing, analyzing and updating major business systems to integrate and maximize the use of technology.

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