USCA Committees
USCA Bylaws provide for the creation of three types of committees: Standing, Special, and Appointed.
Standing Committees
The committees indicated below are permanent. All members of these committees are elected by a plurality vote of the General Board. The members of these committees shall elect a committee chairman unless otherwise stipulated in the Bylaws. All members of standing committees serve two-year terms and must be full members of USA.
The USCA President sits on all committees with the exception of the Board of Inquiry and Nominating committees.
Auditing Committee
The Auditing Committee shall audit the financial accounts of USA. The committee shall consist of three (3) persons. The Treasurer shall not be a member of the Auditing Committee.
- Lisa Clark
- Brian Cox
- Ben Kools
- Vadim Plotsker, President
Board of Inquiry
It shall be the duty of this board to hear cases of alleged misconduct and alleged violations of USCA regulations.
- Trish Taylor– Chair
- Rob Dunn
- Preston Costa
- Christina Fallin
- Roni Hoff
- Alternates
Breed Advisory Committee
This committee shall advise the board on all matters pertaining to the breed registry. It shall recommend criteria for administering the program including the breed standard, tattooing, registration eligibility. This committee shall be the keeper for rules of conformation shows and breed surveys.
- Heidi Theis, National Breed Warden
- Vadim Plotsker, President
- Nathaniel Roque– Director of Judges
- Christina Fallin, Mid-Central Region
- Staci Murphy, Mid-Eastern Region
- Ivana Karlsen, New England Region
- Rosetta Barke, North Central Region
- Bob Frampton, Northeastern Region
- VACANT , Northwestern Region
- Cindy Schneider, Pacific Northwest Region
- Larry Vinzant, South Central Region
- Elena Ortiz, Southeastern Region
- Stephen Romeo, Southwestern Region
Judges Committee
The committee shall be responsible for the judges at all USCA trials. It shall be the keeper of the trial rules and regulations. It shall be responsible for the conduct of USCA judges. It shall recommend that a judges license be granted to persons who have successfully completed the apprentice judge program. It may recommend that a judges license be revoked for conduct prejudicial to the interest of USA. A decision to accept or reject the recommendation shall be made by the Board of Directors. Any judge whose license has been recommended for revocation shall be permitted to speak at the board meeting at which the recommendation is heard.
The committee shall design and implement a program to select and train apprentice judges, to see to the ongoing education of licensed judges and oversee the conduct of all apprentice judges and judges.. No candidate for the apprentice judges program, apprentice judges, or judge shall be a professional. That is, he/she cannot earn a substantial portion of his/her income by breeding, handling, training, or selecting Schutzhund type dogs. The method of determining the income shall be any reasonable means determined by the committee.
- Nathaniel Roque – Director of Judges
- Mike Caputo , USCA Judge
- Beth Bradley, Member at Large
- Mike Diehl, Member at Large
- Vadim Plotsker, President
Event Planning Committee
It is the duty of this committee to solicit and manage bids from local clubs wishing to host national events. It shall establish, maintain, and improve on application deadlines and processes. Further it shall assist in raising sponsorship money for the events and provide guidance to local clubs in advertising and community involvement.
- Michele Elmore – Chair 209-610-3502
- Roni Hoff , 574-370-3403
- Vadim Plotsker, President
Nominating Committee
Consists of five members. The committee shall nominate a single slate of candidates for Officer, Directors at Large and standing committee positions in USCA excluding regional directors.
- Betty Thomas –
- Nina Bingham 410-371-5585
- Gary McGillivary – 404-272-7773
- Carolyn Daniel
- Marla Hultgren
Helper Committee
World Championship Committee
It is the duty of this committee to recommend rules for the selection of a team to represent USCA at the World SchH3 Championship for German Shepherd Dogs. The committee will also recommend sites and judges for qualification trials to the Board of Directors. The committee selects a person to act as team captain.
- Rob Dunn – Chair
- Carolyn Daniel
- Mike Diehl – 317-677-3417
- Carina Sweeney
- Vadim Plotsker, President
Special Committees
Either Board of Directors shall have the authority to create special committees as deemed necessary. Such a committee shall be dissolved when the task assigned to it is completed. Election to a special committee shall be as determined by the creating authority.
Budget Committee
- Vadim Plotsker — President
- Jim Alloway, Treasurer
Bylaws Committee
Reviews proposed Bylaws changes and presents them to the Board for approval.
- Sara Wallick — 360-825-7676
- Vadim Plotsker, President
General Education
- Jennifer Acevedo – 815-307-0137
- Vadim Plotsker, President
Youth Committee
- Michele Scarberry, Chair 330-696-1120
- Carolyn Daniel
- Karen Seaton
- Vadim Plotsker, President
Magazine Committee
Website Committee
- Trish Sansbury
- Jim Alloway
- Vadim Plotsker, President
RH Committee
- Stephanie Dunion – Chair, 610-353-3943
- Craig Groh, 805-447-4592
- Lillian Hardy, 812-526-0013
- Jan Harkner-Abbs
- Kelly Landers
- Vadim Plotsker, President
Sponsorship/Advancement Committee
- Michael Sweeney (Sponsorship Chair)
- David Caruso (Sponsorship)
- Tony Copani (Sponsorship)
- Amanda Homan (Sponsorship)
- Gary McGillivary (Advancement)
Tracking Committee
- Mark Chaffin – Chair
- Curtis Johnson
- Willi Ortner Jr
- Jim Sullivan
- Kris Taylor
- Vadim Plotsker, President