The CFA Siamese Breed Council’s Lifetime Achievement Award

Each year, the CFA Siamese breed council presents the Lifetime Achievement Award to breeders who have dedicated their careers to the welfare and advancement of the Siamese. Recipients have shown their devotion to the Siamese with a successful breeding program, skillful exhibition of high quality cats, participation in activities that promote, protect and advance the breed, and mentorship of other breeders. Previous winners include Marge Naples, Jeanne Singer, Harriet Little, Marion Butler, and Laina Aitken. These women are shining examples of breeders who have dedicated much of their lives to the Siamese and advanced the breed significantly through their efforts. The purpose of this document is to establish the guidelines and criteria for the Lifetime Achievement Award so that all future recipients meet that same level of quality and greatness.

Eligibility

To be nominated for this award, a breeder or partnership of breeders[1] must meet all of the following minimum requirements:

·         15 years of breeding CFA Siamese

·         5 CFA Siamese grands in championship bred by the nominee with the nominee’s CFA cattery prefix

·         1 advanced award in championship for a CFA registered Siamese bred by the nominee with the nominee’s CFA cattery prefix; qualifying advanced awards are DM, NW, RW, a National Best, 2nd Best, or 3rd Best of Breed

·         Membership in a CFA Siamese breed club[2] and the CFA Siamese breed council at some time during the nominee’s career (note: current membership in each is not a minimum requirement since the nominee may be retired or have other justification)

·         Currently in good standing in CFA, with no violations ever of Article XV Section 4a of the CFA constitution; Article XV Section 4a currently states “Cruel or inhumane treatment in the breeding, keeping, showing, or otherwise dealing with felines”

These minimum requirements are objective in nature, and a good breeder should be able to achieve this baseline easily in a 15+ year breeding program. However, the above items should not be viewed as meaning a breeder will automatically be honored with this award. The ideal recipient should have a far more distinguished resume that includes some of the following achievements:

·         A breeding program that has had a substantial impact on the CFA Siamese breed

·         Notable success exhibiting Siamese in CFA with a pattern of consistent wins from one generation to the next

·         Outstanding contributions to promoting the Siamese and CFA through club involvement, breed council work, the judging program, CFA government and committee work, Siamese rescue, publications about the Siamese, or through any similar activity other than breeding and showing cats

·         Most important – mentorship and cooperation with fellow Siamese breeders, especially new breeders

Recipients do not need to have all of these accomplishments, but someone who is deserving of a Lifetime Achievement Award will have focused their career and achieved great success in one or more of these areas.

Nominating Committee

The breed council secretary will appoint a nominating committee of three Siamese breed council members, each from a different region. Any breed council member can nominate a Siamese breeder for the award by submitting an essay to any member of the committee, or to the breed council secretary who will forward the essay to the committee. The committee will review the essays and verify that the nominees meet the minimum requirements, and may reject any nomination they believe does not rise to the level of the Lifetime Achievement Award. The committee will choose one nominee (or two at their discretion) to present to the full breed council, then current members will vote to approve (or decide) the recipient by simple majority of ballots returned. In the event of a tie, both nominees will receive an award that year. There is no limit on how often someone can be nominated for the award, but no one can win the award more than once. If a committee member is nominated for the award, the breed council secretary will appoint a replacement for that member on the committee. Nominees must be resubmitted each year since the committee members could change. The committee will hold all nominations secret and will release only the nominee(s) to be voted on by the breed council.

If the committee feels that none of the nominees are yet deserving of a lifetime achievement award, they can reject all nominations with no award given that year. The committee will exercise great discretion when doing so, will carefully and impartially consider each nomination, and will present only worthy nominees to the breed council. If the committee feels a nominee that is a partnership is not really a partnership or would be better split into individual nominations, the committee can reject the nomination or request that the author change the nomination. If the committee receives no nominations, then there will be no award that year.

The purpose of the minimum requirements is to have a baseline that all nominees must meet. However, there may be situations where someone is clearly deserving of a Lifetime Achievement Award yet does not meet a particular minimum requirement. For example, a breeder may have achieved an advanced award for a cat that they bred under a cattery prefix other than their own. Such a situation could easily arise from a partnership arrangement with another breeder, and cooperation among breeders is to be encouraged not penalized. The committee can be flexible when a nominee fails to meet a minimum requirement if the committee believes the nominee has accomplished the intention of the requirement.

The Essay

Any breed council member can nominate a Siamese breeder or partnership by submitting an essay to the committee or breed council secretary. The essay should go into great detail describing the career of the nominee, and the author can use a resume format if he/she prefers. The essay must show how the nominee meets the minimum requirements, and should include a comprehensive description of all of the nominee’s relevant accomplishments and why those justify a Lifetime Achievement Award. If selected, this essay will be presented to the breed council, and for some members it may be the only information they have about the nominee. So the more detailed the information, the better chance the nominee has of being recognized with the award. The author should not assume the committee will fill in the details, but should also not hesitate to ask for assistance from anyone on the committee or from the breed council secretary.

Relevant Dates

The Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented at the Siamese breed council meeting at the CFA Annual. Voting must be completed in time to acquire an appropriate award and in time to notify the recipient so that he/she can plan to be at the annual, so this timeline should be followed:

December 1ston or shortly before this date, the breed council secretary will choose the nominating committee and will ensure that each current breed council member and any that were eligible to vote in that year’s CFA balloting receives a copy of these guidelines and direction on where to send nominations

February 1st – deadline for essays

April 1st  – ballots, including the selected essays, are mailed to breed council members; only breeders who have renewed their breed council membership by April 1st may vote; the breed council secretary will coordinate mailing the ballots through CFA central office if possible

May 1st – deadline for receipt of ballots; ballots will be returned to the person who is coordinating the awards for the Annual meeting to expedite arrangements



[1] A partnership is two or more breeders that have a joint cattery and breeding program. If a partnership of breeders is nominated, that partnership is “the nominee”.

[2] A breed club is any CFA club that has “Siamese” in its name, is specifically devoted to the Siamese, and actively promotes the Siamese (or such a club that did so at some time while the nominee was a member).