“Outline for Change” Aug. 1-3, 2008 Radisson Hotel, Kansas City, MO
By Sheila Fugina and Barb Baker
Background and History
Camelid Community is the only national forum that offers the opportunity for dialog among representatives of national, regional and local camelid organizations as well as interested individuals and owners, providing a unique opportunity for an assessment of the “state of the union” of the camelid world. In the 1990s, the International Llama Association (now defunct) sponsored an annual Llama Assembly, the last of which was held in Colorado Springs in 1997. Representatives of a number of llama and alpaca organizations got together to host Llama & Alpaca Symposium in Kansas City in 1998, a highly successful and representative event. No group or combination of groups sponsored a similar national gathering in 1999. Feeling a need to see such a gathering held on an annual basis, several members of the Llama Association of North America tried getting it going again by hosting a Lama Community in 2000 in Kansas City. Though numbers were few at first, attendance grew as hosting and facilitating rotated among various groups and individuals. At the 2004 event the group voted to change the name to Camelid Community to better reflect the background and interest of attendees. Unlike most conferences, Camelid Community’s agenda is set by participants, and those unable to attend also are encouraged to submit proposed agenda items. Camelid Community is a “move forward and get things accomplished” group and not simply a weekend gathering to wring hands and re-hash old problems.
Camelid Community 2009
Work already has begun on Camelid Community 2009, which is set for July 31-Aug. 2, 2009, at the Radisson Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri. For information on how you or your organization can be involved, contact Sheila Fugina (bsfugina@pressenter.com, 715-246-5837) or Barb Baker (bebaker@hughes.net, 740-397-1736).
Reports Submitted at Camelid Community 2008
Reports and documents submitted at Camelid Community 2008 are available on ICI’s web site at www.icinfo.org, as is this overall summary and report. Reports include:
“Report to Camelid Community 2008 from the LMRG”
“Alpaca Research Foundation (ARF) Report for Camelid Community 2008”
“Morris Animal Foundation 2008-2009 Approved Llama/Alpaca Studies”
