Liebe ASCA-Mitglieder,

I wanted to take a few minutes to talk openly about what’s been happening in the Business Office.

Over the past several months, we’ve received a lot of emails, phone calls, and Facebook comments from members who are frustrated because they haven’t been able to get answers, registrations have taken much longer than expected, or issues that should have been simple have dragged on for months.

First, I want to say that I understand your frustration. If I were in your shoes, I’d be frustrated too. You deserve timely responses and good service, and right now we simply haven’t been able to provide the level of service that our members expect from ASCA.

I also know there has been a lot of discussion and speculation online about what’s been happening. While we’ve shared updates along the way, I thought it might be helpful to provide a little more context about how we got here and where we are today.

This hasn’t been a typical backlog.

Over the past year, we’ve experienced an extraordinary amount of turnover in some of the Business Office’s most critical positions. When our Office Manager left in April 2025, we filled the position internally, believing it would provide stability. Unfortunately, over time it became clear that many responsibilities weren’t being completed, and when we ultimately made another staffing change in January, we discovered the situation was much larger than we had realized.

As we began working through that backlog, we uncovered additional issues within the Registry Department that also required immediate attention. What we thought would be a matter of catching up turned into months of sorting through work that had accumulated over a long period of time. Every time we felt like we were making progress, we’d uncover another issue that needed to be addressed before we could move forward.

At the same time, we lost another key employee whose responsibilities included Stockdog and Tracking. Thankfully, she agreed to return to ASCA just a few months later and will be coming back from maternity leave soon, which will be a tremendous help.

We also hired a brand new Office Manager this spring. Imagine walking into a job where you’re learning an entirely new organization, new software, dozens of programs, thousands of members, and trying to untangle months of backlogged work all at the same time. It has been an enormous challenge, but she has approached it with a great attitude and a genuine desire to make things better.

More recently, we lost another employee who handled Membership, the front desk, Scent Detection, and Dock Jumping. She generously stayed on part-time to help with the transition, and we are actively working to fill that position.

There were times this spring when an office that is normally staffed by six full-time employees, along with part-time help, was operating with only three or four people.

On top of that, life continued to happen. Employees dealt with illness, family emergencies, and, in one heartbreaking case, the loss of a parent. Through it all, this team has continued showing up. They’ve worked evenings, weekends, overtime, from home, and whatever hours they could manage just to keep ASCA moving forward.

I wish more of you could see what I’ve seen over the last several months.

This staff cares.

They care about the members. They care about the dogs. They care about ASCA. And they care deeply about getting things right.

I’ve watched them celebrate when another stack of registrations gets finished, stay late to answer one more email, and jump into jobs that aren’t even their own because they know someone needs help. They didn’t create these problems, but they’ve been working incredibly hard to solve them.

The Board has been working alongside the staff throughout this process. An Executive Committee was formed last fall to help evaluate the situation, remove roadblocks, and develop long-term solutions. Next week, members of that committee will be in the Business Office working alongside the staff to continue moving things forward.

The good news is that we’re finally beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Backlogs are shrinking. Our returning employee will be back in just a couple of weeks. We’re actively hiring another staff member. Processes are improving. While we’re certainly not where we want to be yet, I truly believe we’re headed in the right direction.

While the past year has certainly been challenging, it has also been a year of tremendous change. We’ve taken a hard look at how the Business Office operates, made difficult decisions when necessary, brought in new talent, and are continuing to improve our processes. I truly believe these changes will result in a stronger office and a stronger organization for years to come.

I know many of you are still waiting for answers, registrations, or other assistance. Please know that we haven’t forgotten about you. Every email, every application, and every phone message represents someone who simply wants to enjoy ASCA with their dog, and that’s important to us.

All I ask is for a little more patience and a little grace as this incredible group of employees continues working through what has been one of the most challenging periods in the Business Office’s history.

We’ll get there.

And when we do, I think you’ll see an office that’s stronger than it was before.

Thank you for sticking with us.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen,
Jodie McLellan
ASCA-Präsident