A History of VLAA
By Susan Houston
According to my notes, VLAA came into being thanks to emus!
Here’s my recollection….. in the winter of 1994 I began noticing in Agriview that the Emu People were often in the news and getting support from the Department of Agriculture (now Agency of Agriculture). I called Roger Clapp, deputy to the Commissioner of Agriculture, and wondered if the llama and alpaca people in Vermont should organize into an incorporated association and thus be eligible for Department offerings and possible financial support. Roger was most enthusiastic about this idea and thus in April a group of camelid owners and llama Filbert met with Roger and discussed some possibilities. Thanks to the emus for getting us started!
Chris Wood and Bob Wadds took on the task of writing up bylaws. Meeting in June of ‘94 at the Wood’s place, we accepted, with a few revisions, the proposed bylaws. Next approved was the following slate of officers: Tamara Girod, president; Bob Wadds, vice-president; Lindsay Chandler, treasurer; myself, secretary; Jane Grillo, director it large. Dues of $15 were approved and a monthly column in Agriview was agreed upon to be our means of communication. Thus the “Lliving with Llamas” column began and continued for many years coordinated by me for about 6 years and then by Deb Gaynor. Lindsey Ketchell and Jennifer Grahovac became our liaisons to the Ag. Department. VLAA was now officially on its way.
The first round of meetings focused on attracting membership, creating a brochure and a logo, listing trails available to camelids, topics for Agriview articles, and the Farm Show. Our first membership meeting was held in Londonderry at Jane and Arthur Klonsky’s place. 20 people attended. Thereafter the annual membership meeting was held for many years in May at Lars and Gayle Garrison’s Llama and Alpaca Bazaar at their West Mountain Farm in Stamford. A semi-annual membership meeting is now held at the Farm Show every January. VLAA has sponsored a booth at the Farm Show since 1996. Each November we get together at the Agency of Agriculture and often a member may host a meeting or event at his or her farm.
Chris Wood took over the president position in 1996; Ellen Clattenburg became vice-president; Linda Wood took on the job of secretary; Lindsay remained as treasurer. A membership position was added with Linda Purdy at the helm. Gayle G. soon assumed membership responsibilities and continued in this role for many years. Chris described the fledgling association “like a llama not completely haltered yet. 1996 will be to complete the haltering process”. Thanks to “T” Girod a logo was in the works and Gale Birutta and committee had a brochure ready for printing. VLAA sponsored a fun and festive “Llamas on Parade” day at the Champlain Valley Fair organized by the Chandlers and myself.
Llama Lline Dancers hit the scene in 1997 at the Champlain Valley Fair and life on the farm has never been the same since! With snazzy purple halters and tassels on the camelids and spectacular matching t-shirts and bandanas on the humanoids, dancers reeled and sashayed for a much bemused crowd. Once the llamas mastered left from right and the handlers figured out the key was to just smile and follow along, they were ready for a world tour! Recently a stir to dig out the dancin’ shoes may rally the troups once again so start those toes tappin’ for lines may be forming soon. 1997 also featured the first Performance Day at Moonlight Llamas, a time to practice showing and performance techniques in a relaxed and cheerful company. Great food and Jan Wadds’s creative awards always add spice and zest. Our “room for most improvement” award has a prominent spot in the barn just as a reminder…
By 1998 we had 46 members, had $1951 in the bank ($1000 from the Ag. Dept. for an event), a portable display created by Ned and myself, our first pack llama trial organized by Lindsay, lots of activity by members at fairs and events, some great hikes and a campout, and the hugely successful “Stowe Llama and Alpaca Festival”, organized by Chris and Linda Wood at which VLAA had a prominent presence. The Festival benefited North Country Animal League and included a jackpot, llead a llama, a fiber display and demos (June Taylor became official VLAA fiber chief), and terrific food vendors. VLAA capped 1998 with a newly approved mission statement for the updated brochure:
“An organization dedicated to:
promote the llama industry
educate the public about llamas, alpacas, and other camelids
create a social and supportive network for owners and enthusiasts”
Jan and June worked on a ‘new member’s packet’ in 1999 and an Advisory Network was initiated. VLAA, with Jan now as president, sponsored the “Stowe Llama and Alpaca Festival”, a terrific undertaking with tremendous success again. Fun, games, great PR, and fine times were had by all. This year the event benefited Copley Hospital.
At the turn of the new millennium a large group from all over the state, organized by Deb Gaynor, assembled with Mary Peabody from Extension and an Action Plan for the future growth of the Association was created. The Festival was moved to be in conjunction with the Windsor County Fair. In April of 2000 Lindsay offered to head up a newsletter specifically for VLAA and thus Agriview ceased officially to be our method of communication. Lindsay has chaired the editorship ever since. The quarterly newsletter is now printed by the Farm Bureau and costs about $100 per issue.
Fiber came to the forefront in the millennium as VLAA was invited to participate with a booth at The Big E. June Taylor and her fiber committee sent out the word and a number of members accordingly sent in items for sale. After the energy and work put in organizing for VLAA members to have a presence at The Big E for two years, the booth was deeded over to the fiber group “The Herd of Northern Vermonters”. Looking for another way to involve VLAA members with their fiber, a “Vermont Felts Day” was invented with the goal of hosts around the state inviting members over for a day of felting squares. These squares were then sewn together into a most unique, one of a kind rug. Raffle tickets for the rug were sold with proceeds to help offset costs of the fiber booth at The Big E.
Dale Newton, vice president in 2002, was able to reserve a space in April for VLAA to set up a display in the card room at the state house. Members staffed the booth and schmoozed with interested legislators. Many members, old and new, participated in a great hike in June on the Trapp trails in Stowe. The Festival, again at Windsor County Fair, added a jackpot, performance, and halter classes.
The “Vermont Felts” project in 2003 lasted over two weekends with the end result being three stunning window frames surrounding incredible felted and needle felted masterpieces. One of the two sunflower scenes was donated to GALA, the other went as an out-of-the-hat drawing to Katie Smith. The Vermont Life scene window has circulated to various functions and events and has inspired yet another such project for 2004. About 30 members participate in the Vermont Felts project each year with approximately 6 host farms.
A map of the Vermont Forestry Districts and the status of hiking policies on state land concerning camelids was compiled by President Deb Gaynor and published in the newsletter in 2003. We started off the year with 86 members and a very well maintained members list thanks to Terry Miller who served in the membership position for four years. The Festival, after much discussion, joined forces with the Sheep and Wool Festival and thus moved to the Champlain Valley Fairgrounds the first weekend in October. Nancy Smith volunteered to be liaison to the Sheep Breeders Association. By the end of 2003, somewhat due to the expense of the tent at the festival, our revenues were down, and membership was not climbing. At the annual November meeting with our liaisons at the Agency of Agriculture, David Lane stressed the need to “have a clear focus, then build a plan and try to get there”.
In 2004, 10 years after that initial gathering, our Association had a very successful presence in January at the State House again including a meeting with the House Agriculture Committee and a good semi-annual membership meeting at the Farm Show. Aaron Vincelette of Vermont Premium Fiber Company (now, unfortunately, no longer in business) spoke to us about his new enterprise at the old Johnson Woollen Mills site and we all were much enthused. Another Vermont Felts project was in the works and members were beginning to plan for the upcoming fair season. VLAA indeed had much to celebrate and a bright future was anticipated.
