The weather is changing, and fall is upon us. I enjoy the crispness in the air and all the smells of harvest, bonfires, watching the crias frolic in the fields and wondering how next year’s breeding program will look. The fall shows are upon us, and it will be exciting to see old and new friends and all the beautiful alpacas. We also beginning to think about preparing for the winter months. What are you doing this fall? We would love to hear from everyone.
What’s Happening at the Suri Network:
Suri Network Annual Meeting
Mark your calendar – October 11, 2023, at 8:00 PM EST Zoom information will be sent out prior to the meeting.
Suri Network Board for 2023-2024
In case you missed the announcement for Suri Network Board here are your officers.
Beth Sheets – President
Liz Vahlkamp – Vice President
Nikki Griffith – Secretary
Laurel Shouvlin – Treasurer
Karen Ball - Member at Large
Randy Brealey – Member at Large
Candy McMahan – Member at Large
Online Silent Auction
The Suri Network Online Silent Auction kicks off this year on November 5th, runs for three weeks and ends November 26th (the Sunday after Thanksgiving)! The proceeds from the auction support many activities that the organization is involved in. The auction committee has worked hard in years past to identify potential vendor donors of items, and this year we would also like to ask our members what they might have to donate.
Since the auction platform is open to anyone in the U.S., it can be an alpaca related or non-alpaca related item. For example, do you have an airbnb that you could donate a weekend getaway for? Could you donate a gift card that would be useful to purchase items of the bidder’s choice? Do you provide a service that could be useful to a bidder? Perhaps something in your store? Whatever it is, contact Nikki at 509-378-6909 or sandollar01@gmail.com! We will just need a description and a photograph or two and will provide directions on how to mail to the Suri Network office! Let’s make this the best online auction ever!
Membership
Have you renewed your membership yet? If you know of another Suri breeder who has not joined Suri Network yet, please encourage them to join us for 2024. Suri Network Board of Trustees is committed to making sure members receive excellent value. We estimate the return on a full membership investment is easily worth 2-10 times the cost, depending on the benefits a member chooses to utilize, not to mention the value of education and networking with those who share your passion for Suri alpacas!
To see all the member benefits, click here We have created a Membership subcommittee of our Marketing Committee. Headed up by Randy Brealey, they are updating some of materials to encourage and maintain membership roles. Stay tuned for more information and please encourage others to join the Network and help us to grow in 2023.
All Suri Fleece Show
The 2023 Suri Network All Suri Fleece Show is "noodled and in the bag"! Once again Dawn Browning and her sidekick, Judy Schroeder were awesome running the show. Thanks to senior Judges Jude Anderson and Cheryl Gehly for judging the Regular Fleece Show, Maureen Macedo for judging the Spin Off, and Elizabeth Taylor for judging Fiber Arts. We saw increases in all competitions which included 18 Fiber Arts entries, 14 Skein entries, 79 Spin Off entries, and 225 Regular Fleece Show entries! There were also 4 entries in Produce of Dam and 5 entries in Get of Sire.
A large event such as this owes much of its success to 3 groups- the show participants who enter their fleeces, the volunteers, and the sponsors. A HUGE THANK-YOU to our volunteers Abby Shelhart, Paula Clegg, Beth Sheets, Nancy Lindemood, and Beth Cripe, Lydia Au, Dan Clegg, Lisa Collura, Yvonne Jones, Karolyn Knoll, Steve Ross, and Laurel Shouvlin. Everyone worked long days, and many paid for hotels and travel to advance your Suri industry with this show. When you see them, be sure to thank them for their efforts!
The financial contributions of our sponsors help keep the show financially secure. When you have a chance, please thank the following fleece show sponsors for their generosty: Big Timber Alpacas, D'Lux Meadow Alpacas, Healing Springs Suris, Heritage Farm Alpacas, 2 Point Farm, Memory M-Acres Farm, Heart and Soul Alpacas, Long Hollow Suri Alpacas, Raynay Alpaca Farm, Derwydd Alpacas, Anderson Acres Alpacas, Sapaveco Ranch, Shelhart Acre Farms, and Macedo's Mini Acre.
Congratulations to the Triple Crown Award Winner – Whistling Pines Vontae Mack -owned by Chris and Jess Fredericks. This award was determined by the fleece that accumulated the most points on their scores from entering the AOA IFA, the SN Regular Fleece Show, and the Suri Network Spin Off competition. All other show results can be found on the AOA Show System site
PurelySuri
The 2024 PurelySuri magazine is currently being worked on. If you would like to support the magazine and purchase an ad, please contact the office or Laurel Shouvlin. Once again, we are very fortunate to have Dale Davis help with the layout for the magazine. Thank you, Dale!
Fiber Committee
The Fiber Committee led by Liz Vahlkamp has been very busy working with Joe Whalen and four fiber artists to create spectacular videos and is continuing to bring Suri and Suri fiber to the forefront in social media! Do not forget to link your websites to the first YouTube videos:
• Hannah Thiessen: Why Knit with Suri
• Celeste Malvar-Stewart: Felting with Suri
• Sally Brandon: Weaving with Suri
• Pat Maley - Spinning with Suri
The video with Sally Brandon had a posted link via Long Thread Media – the Owners of Handwoven and Little Looms magazines. We increased our total hits by 150% (over 700hits). That is just amazing! Thanks to the committee for all their hard work.
Suri Simply Stunning Brand
Some of our Board Members had a chance to present an educational talk at Education with a Destination. It was a great opportunity to share what Suri Network has accomplished with the Certification Mark. Don’t forget to complete the easy form for your continuation in the program as Suri Network members. If you have not already applied to be a licensee, now is a wonderful time to do so. We also have merchandise that you can purchase to help label your products. For more information
S.H.I.P. (Suri Herd Improvement Program)
It is not too late to schedule your S.H.I.P. classification. Do you still have your fleeces? If so, the classifiers can evaluate the fleece and confirmation of the animal. What other program can provide a qualitative evaluation of 16 key classification traits (8 conformation and 8 fiber traits) on each of your Suri alpacas? Upon completion of the individual assessments the classifier spends time discussing the information collected and affords the opportunity to discuss and sort the data according to expressed farm goals, both current and future. All S.H.I.P. classification scores are stored in a specific S.H.I.P. database.
Consider scheduling an S.H.I.P. classification now. One of the classifiers can help you select the timing depending upon your shearing dates. Click here to learn more about S.H.I.P.
- from Board member Nikki Griffith Have you heard about Pirate Ship? No, it’s not a cruise ship! It’s a new method of shipping via UPS or USPS anywhere in the United States or abroad that can save the shipper a LOT of MONEY. Whether you are a one-time shipper or a regular shipper, you just go to www.PirateShip.com, and create a free account, and link a credit card to charge. Once you have your account set up, you are ready to roll.
• Simply login and up at the top you can click “Create a Single Label” (there are also options for multiple shipments using an excel spreadsheet).• You will receive an email receipt for your purchase.
It is so very simple. Once your package has its label, take it, and drop it at the post office or the nearest UPS office. You don’t even have to stand in line. Just drop it on the counter and leave! Simple! So glad we found it!
Have a terrific Fall!
Your Suri Network Board of Trustees
Beth Sheets – President
Liz Vahlkamp – Vice President
Nikki Griffith – Secretary
Laurel Shouvlin – Treasurer
Karen Ball - Member at Large
Randy Brealey – Member at Large
Candy McMahan – Member at Large