Life Membership

On behalf of Dogs Victoria (VCA) and Kennel Control Council of Victoria, we want to thank our Life Members for being supporters and advocates for responsible dog ownership.

We honour the following individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the sport, breeding and showing of purebred dogs.

Please see link to download a list of VCA Life Members and Life Councillors (amended 23/05/2024).

 

Dogs Victoria's Life Membership History

The first Life Members of the Kennel Control Council (KCC) were appointed in 1956 on the basis of years served on the KCC Committee.

The first non-KCC Committee member to be appointed a Life Member was in 1961.

In 1993, members were given the opportunity to nominate suitable people for consideration to be awarded Life Membership.

In the same year, the Life Members Approval Panel (LMAP) was formed to make recommendations to Management Committee. This panel consisted of Management Committee members who were themselves Life Members.

In the same year a brief criteria was established to assist in making consistent recommendations for Life Membership.

In 1995, Management Committee resolved that only Life Members were eligible to serve on the Approval Panel in order to remove any perceived conflict of interest, and a more comprehensive criteria for Life Membership was approved.

In 2000, the criteria was amended to include points for each item with a maximum allocation of 200 points. A minimum of 150 points must be achieved before a nomination can be considered for recommendation.

In 2001 the nomination form was amended to include a Declaration by the Nominee declaring that the information contained in the nomination form is accurate in all aspects. This was felt necessary due to some information provided in previous nomination forms being found to be incorrect.

In 2005,  Dogs Victoria established the “Outstanding Member Contribution Award” and in 2007 the “Outstanding Canine Contribution Award”.  There have been several successful awards presented in both these of categories. 

To date there have been some 140 members awarded Life Membership by the Kennel Control Council/Victorian Canine Association/Dogs Victoria.

It is important to understand that the criteria is constructed in order to stress the actual work and promotion of Dogs Victoria.

The work and promotion of a club by an individual should be recognised by the actual club concerned, not by Dogs Victoria itself.

Prepared by Roger Bridgford

August 2020