New York, NY - At the AKC Delegate Meeting on March 11, Dr. Patricia H. Haines was elected to the AKC Board of Directors, Class of 2007, and Dr. Carmen L. Battaglia and Mrs. Patti L. Strand were re-elected. Ronald H. Menaker was re-elected Chairman of the Board and David C. Merriam was re-elected Vice-Chairman.

v Dr. Patricia H. Haines, AKC Delegate to the Cincinnati Kennel Club, has been dedicated to the sport of purebred dogs since childhood and to all companion animals in her career as a practicing veterinarian. She is a 1979 graduate of The Ohio State University College of Agriculture and a 1983 graduate of the College of Veterinary Medicine.

Initially involved with Golden Retrievers, she bred her first litter and champion in 1970, the same year she won the junior showmanship competition at the Westminster Kennel Club. With Golden Retrievers she bred and owned BIS and national specialty winners and top producers. She has bred American Foxhounds, producing multiple champions and group winners. Since the early 1990's her focus has been Pointers, producing multiple breeder-owner handled BIS winners, national specialty winners and top producers.

Her activities in the sport of purebred dogs include involvement with national breed clubs, local breed clubs and all-breed clubs. From 1995 to 1999, she was a member of The American Kennel Club Board of Directors and since 1990 has served on numerous AKC Board-appointed committees, including the Breeders Education Committee. Currently she is the president and Delegate of the Cincinnati Kennel Club and a board member of the American Foxhound Club. As a member of the Ohio Veterinary Medical Association, she served on the OVMA legislation advisory committee.

v Dr. Carmen L. Battaglia, re-elected to The AKC Board of Directors, is the AKC Delegate to the German Shepherd Dog Club of America, as well as the president and CEO of The American Kennel Club/Companion Animal Recovery (AKC/CAR) organization (1998 - present). CAR's mission is the recovery of lost pets. Under his guidance and leadership the organization has reported over 126,000 recoveries and has enrolled approximately 1.6 million pets. Dr. Battaglia has also been instrumental in the development of the AKC DNA program, which seeks to use modern technology to insure the integrity of the registry.

Dr. Battaglia has published many articles appearing in Canine Chronicle, AKC Gazette, Dog World, Dog News, Canadian Shepherd Journal, South African Dog Magazine as well as many other international dog publications. He is the author of four books, Educational Perspectives, Caring for the German Shepherd, Genetics-How to Breed Better Dogs, and Breeding Better Dogs, which is in its fifth printing and is widely used by breeders to upgrade and improve their breeding programs. His lively and dynamic personality makes him a popular guest on TV and radio programs and a frequent speaker to dog clubs on the subjects such as "How to Breed Better Dogs," "Selecting Sires" and "Choosing the Best Puppy."

As an expert on aggression in dogs, Dr. Battaglia was appointed chair for a study group on vicious dog legislation in Georgia in 1987. Since then, his report and recommendations on this subject have been widely used as model legislation for changes in dog ordinance laws in several states.

Finally, Dr. Battaglia is considered a preeminent expert on the German Shepherd Dog, establishing with his wife, Nancy, the Van Cleve breeding program. He is a popular judge of Herding and Working breeds and has judged many national specialties. He is one of only a few judges to have judged the German Shepherd national specialty show in the US, Canada, and Mexico.

v Mrs. Patti L. Strand, AKC Delegate to the Dog Fanciers Association of Oregon, was re-elected to The AKC Board of Directors for her third term. She is an internationally- recognized animal issues expert and the author of numerous articles on dogs and animal issues including a 1993 Maxwell winner. With her husband, Rod, Mrs. Strand is co-author of An Owner's Guide to the Dalmatian and The Hijacking of the Humane Movement: Animal Extremism, which was featured at the 1993 National Conference of State Legislatures as a key resource for understanding contemporary animal issues.

Her articles and views on animal welfare, public policy, and animal rights have appeared in a wide variety of trade, professional, and scientific magazines, in addition to lay publications including the Los Angeles Times, the AKC Gazette, Veterinary Forum, Wall Street Journal, and the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Mrs. Strand has been a guest panelist on dozens of radio talk shows, numerous television programs and a featured speaker at over 40 different conferences for zoos, state and national veterinary groups, kennel associations, and agricultural, hunting and humane associations.

As a breeder of Dalmatians for over 30 years, she has owned several of the
Breed's top sires and Best-In-Show winners. Under the kennel name Merry-Go-Round, "MGR," she produced numerous Specialty, Top Ten and Best-In-Show winners. In 1993 Ms. Strand received the Fido Award for "Dogdom's Woman of the Year."

v Ronald H. Menaker was re-elected Chairman of the Board at a meeting of the AKC Board of Directors, convened after the Delegate Meeting. He was first appointed to The Board of Directors in 1996 to serve as a Director, and then elected in 1997 to the Class of 1998. He was elected in March 2000 as a member of the Class of 2004. Mr. Menaker is the Delegate for the Des Moines Obedience Training Club. He is the Show Chair for the AKC/Eukanuba National Invitational Championship. An active participant in the sport of purebred dogs for more than 35 years, he bred and exhibited Giant Schnauzers, and has also shown Bedlington Terriers and Norfolk Terriers. A licensed judge since 1994, Mr. Menaker is approved to judge Best in Show, all Working breeds, several Sporting breeds, Bedlington Terriers and Miniature Schnauzers.

v David C. Merriam was re-elected Vice-Chairman of the Board. He also serves as the Delegate of the Duluth Kennel Club, and has been in the sport since 1952. He previously served on the Board from 1979-1985 and from 1994-1996. He was Executive Vice-President and interim CEO of the AKC for six months and after returning to the Board served as Chairman from September 1996 until March 2002. He has bred and exhibited Bull Terriers extensively for almost 50 years. He has served as show chairman for the Kennel Club of Riverside for 14 years and president of the Bull Terrier Club of America for three years.