Menu
Log in



Suri Network News September 2013

P.O. Box 1984 | Estes Park, CO 80517 | (970) 586-5876 | office@SuriNetwork.org
www.SuriNetwork.org

Board of Trustees

President

Tim Sheets

Phone: 765-566-3077

Phone: 765-860-1220

sheets@ourheritagefarm.com

Vice President

Kristie Smoker

Phone: 717-503-6168

Cell/2nd Ph: 717-867-2897

kristie@sweetvalleysuris.com

Treasurer

Patty Hasselbring

Phone: 816-769-3939

Cell/2nd Phone: 660-463-2716

patty@hasselbringsharmonyranch.com

Secretary

Cindy Harris

Phone: 620-486-3531

Cell Phone: 805-386-2394 Office

Cell: 805-907-5162

Cindy@alpacalink.com

Trustee at Large

Joyce White

Phone: 330-524-2077

Cell Phone: 330-524-5187

tinkerscreekalpacas@gmail.com

Stay Connected


Like us on Facebook        

FROM THE PRESIDENT  

Fall is here and many of us are enjoying cooler weather and a new crop of Suri crias. Hopefully, we're all excited about the promise they oer for improved quality and marketability. Your breed association, The Suri Network, is here to support you as we work together to improve our national herd and is dedicated to offering programs and services that help you succeed.

 

Each year the Suri Network presents an outstanding educational event, the annual Suri Symposium. The Board of Trustees would like to thank everyone who contributed to and participated in making "Creating Superior Suris" an extremely successful event. A special thanks goes out to our sponsors and many of our outstanding speakers who willingly paid their own travel expenses and devoted the time and eort to prepare presentations without receiving speaker compensation. 

 

A long-time crowd favorite of the symposium is the Live Auction. This year's auction featured some outstanding Suri herdsires as well as some great products and services. Brett Kaysen once again helped generate a lot of excitement and frequent bidding. By the end of the night, we had raised over $24,000 to help fund SN programs in the coming year! See the article for more about this year's symposium.

 

A personal highlight of the symposium was the presentation of the Jim Barker Suri Ambassador Award. Jim was a great friend of mine and to the entire Suri industry and he is deeply missed. Jim was always a fixture of the Suri Symposium and this award was presented to keep his legacy alive. I was pleased to present the award to another long-time advocate of the Suri industry, Dick Walker. Dick has contributed so much to advance our breed and I'm sure Jim would be very pleased with his selection. You can read more about the award here.

 

A focus of the Suri Network in the coming year is the Suri Network Herd Improvement Program or S.H.I.P. As many of you are aware, the BOT temporarily suspended herd classifications last spring so that we could re-evaluate the program. We put together an advisory panel of industry and livestock experts to make recommendations on moving forward. We have implemented many of these recommendations and we are pleased to announce that new classifiers have been selected and we will restart herd classifications in early 2014. You can read more about S.H.I.P. in this article in the newsletter.

 

Election results were announced at the symposium. I was re-elected and we welcomed new Board of Trustee member Joyce White of Tinker's Creek Alpacas in Ohio. A special thanks goes to outgoing Board member and two-year president, Linda Kondris. Linda worked tirelessly on your behalf to strengthen the association and to make sure we continue to focus on adding value to our members.

 

The new Board elected ocers as follows and agreed to the following assignments of primary responsibility. Your Suri Network Board of Trustees is a hardworking group of dedicated Suri breeders volunteering their time to implement programs to support all Suri Network members while advancing the recognition of Suris. We have many plans for the year and are always looking for volunteers to serve in any of these areas. If you are interested in becoming involved, or have ideas you would like to share, please contact the appropriate Board member. This is a membership-focused organization and the more we are engaged, the more we can accomplish together.

  • President: Tim Sheets, (Marketing, SHIP, Website)
  • Vice President: Kristie Smoker, (Symposium, PDC, Education)
  • Treasurer: Patty Hasselbring, (Membership, Website, Funding)
  • Secretary: Cindy Harris, (PurelySuri, Communication)
  • Trustee: Joyce White, (Youth Programs, Communication, Symposium)

I'm as excited as ever about the Suri industry and look forward to what we can accomplish as a breed association in the coming year.The Board is committed to our membership and we welcome your comments and suggestions for better serving you and your Suris.

 

Warm Regards,

Tim Sheets, President

CREATING SUPERIOR SURIS

That was our theme for the 2013 Suri Symposium in beautiful Estes Park, CO ... Creating Superior Suris!  And wow, this conference was filled with so much information to help us all do just that, create superior Suris!

 

A record number of Suri breeders from across the country joined together for three days of presentations, workshops, and networking.  Estes Park, again, provided a gorgeous backdrop for this informative opportunity, as well as amazing weather and an occasional peek at some of the infamous elk. Continue reading.....  

  

 

2013 Suri Symposium Quotes:

 

"This was an awesome day"

 

"What a great speaker."

 

"Always excellent and thought provoking"

 

"Great info.  Always learn something new"

 

"Needs no improvement"

 

THE JIM BARKER SURI NETWORK AMBASSADOR AWARD PRESENTED AT SYMPOSIUM

 

Jim Barker left a legacy of contributions that will continue to impact the Suri Network community for a many years to come.

The Jim Barker Suri Network Ambassador Award

was established to recognize a SN member who exemplifies Jim's commitment to and enthusiasm toward the Suri alpaca industry and shares the Suri Network's mission of promoting and preserving the Suri alpaca in North America.

The award was presented to Dick Walker during the Summer Symposium. (Read more)

THE SURI HERD IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM (S.H.I.P) REORGANIZES

 

An Advisory Panel was selected by the Board of Trustees to make recommendations to guide the program in the coming years. The Advisory Panel convened in May 2013 at AOBA Show in Denver and developed some recommendations to help move the program forward.  The BOT has acted on some of these recommendations and are pleased to announce that  (read more) 

UPDATES FROM THE SURI NETWORK
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
 

The Suri Network Product Development Committee (PDC) wants to keep you informed of this year's activities. We have spent most of this year creating a video that will help alpaca farmers continue to improve their herd's fiber production. In addition we have developed several projects that help us learn about the various uses and performance of Suri alpaca fiber. It has been a busy and exciting year for the committee. Read about it here! 

PASTURE TO PROCESS, PRODUCT TO PROFIT DVD

 

COMING SOON! Read more....

 

2013 SURI NETWORK MEMBERSHIP SURVEY 

 

Suri Network membership was surveyed in February 2013 to determine the perceived value of benefits of membership. Overall, members appreciate the benefits they receive. PurelySuri Magazine, Find A Farm on the Suri Network website, and Member Communications received the highest ratings, followed by help in advertising and promotions, the membership directory and the new member gift certificate program.  Members also provided many thoughtful comments, including both strong positives and recommendations for improvement. View results here.

SURI NETWORK | P.O. Box 1984 | Estes Park, CO 80517

970.586.5876

office@SuriNetwork.org
www.SuriNetwork.org 




Copyright © 2013. All Rights Reserved.



Suri Network
Phone: (970) 586-5876
Fax: (970) 591-0007

P.O. Box 1984

Estes Park, Colorado
80517


Copyright 2021  
Suri Network


Powered by Wild Apricot Membership Software