It’s Election Time for Calpaca!
Meet Your Board of Directors Candidates
The Calpaca organization is overseen by a dedicated group of Calpaca members who volunteer their time, skills, and talents to serve on the Board of Directors. The election to fill director positions occurs annually. A big thank you to these Calpaca members who have stepped forward to run for a position on the board.
Tracy DiPippo
Hi ~ my name is Tracy DiPippo and I am running for re-election on the Calpaca Board of Directors. I have been an animal lover all my life. While initially I was a horse woman, owning a horse and riding dressage, after losing my horse, I wasn’t sure what to do to fill the void I felt. One morning in the spring of 2010 I saw a story on the Today Show about alpacas….when I heard that they hum I knew I had to investigate them further. I found a local alpaca ranch and scheduled an appointment to go out and meet these curious animals. I did my research and showed up one spring evening after work with pages of questions. After spending about 2 hours at the ranch I knew I found my next animal endeavor and offered to be a volunteer at the ranch to learn what these amazing animals were all about. I was immediately drawn to the look of Suri’s and after 6 weeks volunteering at the ranch, I purchased a female with a cria by her side and a breeding included in the package. Today I own and operate Angel Dreams Alpacas that consists of 18 Suri alpacas. I’ve actively bred and shown my animals quite successfully. My business partner and I are currently starting up a Needle Felting Fiber business that we are calling Fabulous Felted Fabrics and are very excited about getting this business up and running I have served on the Calpaca Board for the past two years as the Treasurer and would be happy to serve another 2 years if I am re-elected. I am excited that the current Board is working towards offering our members some new and exciting educational opportunities for their alpaca businesses. I have served as the Event Manager for the Gold Country Gathering Alpaca Show, this year being my 3rd year. I have also served on the Board of the 501c3 non-profit United in Light located in Livingston, Montana for the past 12 years. United in Light is the only non-profit that rescues neglected and injured mature draft horse breeds from an untimely death. The horses are rehabilitated to their optimal health and allowed to live in a herd family with other draft horses for the rest of their lives. Since I’ve retired and moved up north, I’ve attended most Calpaca meetings and events and am excited to continue to have the opportunity to contribute to this wonderful organization in any way I can! Thank you for your consideration.
Russell James
Hello, my name is Russell James, and I am running for a position on the Calpaca board of Directors. I am owner of Little Providence Alpacas in Reno, Nevada along with my wife Wendi. She is the reason that we got started in the alpaca business. We live on two acres on the edge of town with enough room for alpacas, goats, chickens and gardens. We have 10 alpacas and are selectively breeding to keep the numbers at a manageable level. We are looking to keep a line of white huacayas and a line of white suris. But mostly we are just looking to breed for quality animals and fleece characteristics. While Alpaca’s are reasonably new to me, the rural and farming lifestyle is not. I grew up on a family farm in Wisconsin, milking cows and driving tractors for as long as I can remember. I very much enjoy the alpaca lifestyle and the people that we have met. I am very much enjoying the breeding aspect and seeking improvement through breeding. Scott and Laurie Findlay have been and continue to be our mentors in the business. Wendi and I met them at a winery in the Fairplay area (those of you who know them will not be surprised by this) and the next thing you know were bringing home two alpacas. Then two more. And now we are looking to improve their traits with good breeding. I do have quite a bit of frustration with the fiber issue. We need to develop fiber markets for raw fiber. If there are not enough animals to do this on a national level, then we need to start on a regional level. When people ask “what do you do with them?” and we respond “they are fiber animals, we are failing the industry if there are not sufficient fiber outlets. I am running for a board position to explore what we can do better to create demand for fiber products. I believe that alpaca fiber is a viable and valuable product that needs further promotion and marketing. Thank you for your consideration!
Jackie Jones
Hello, my name is Jackie Jones, and I am running for a position on the Calpaca board of Directors. I began fulfilling my dream of alpaca ownership in May of 2015 when I purchased my first ranch home. I quickly became acquainted with Dianna & Jack Jordan (Alpacas of Somerset Farm) spending many weekends visiting their ranch and learning. Back 40 Farms was established and the dream became a full reality when I brought my first 6 alpacas home in August of 2016. Since then, I have grown my herd to 25 with 5 cria on the way and relocated to a larger ranch I recently purchased in Valley Springs, CA. My herd includes Huacayas and Suris. I am eager to learn as much as possible about these amazing and animals and the industry. I have an affinity for multis and appaloosas and I am building my breeding program around that focus. I enjoy showing my alpacas and I am excited about bringing my “home grown” youngsters to upcoming shows. I have met many wonderful alpaca people and I am looking forward to further deepening my relationships and ties within the Calpaca Community and alpaca industry. My career has been in the Mortgage Banking Industry and I recently became the Director of Mortgage Operations for a major lending company. Through the years I have developed vast leadership and project management skills. If elected to the Calpaca Board I will use these experiences and skills to serve the Calpaca membership and Board. Thank you for your consideration.
Dianna Jordan
I along with my husband Jack own and operate Alpacas of Somerset Farm. The farm was created in our hearts in 1978 when we moved to the beautiful Sierra Nevada foothills. As my retirement eligibility approached we began searching for a business that would allow me to stay home and enjoy the country lifestyle. During that search I discovered alpacas. In the spring of 2005, Alpacas of Somerset Farm was established with the purchase of our first foundation female. We started with Huacayas and over the past few years have added Suris. We recently changed the focus of our breeding program and are concentrated on breeding for multi color Suris. Of course we are still focused on solid conformation and excellent fiber quality. We have been members of Calpaca since 2005. Through the years I have been actively involved in serving Calpaca. A few of the many hats I have worn include co-event manager for the California Classic, the Show Program manager and Sponsor Coordinator for the California Classic and Gold Country Gathering, and I am currently the editor of the Connection. This year I am stepping out of my comfort zone and filling the position of Walking Fleece Coordinator for the 2018 Gold Country Gathering. I am also a member of the Calpaca Camelid Symposium and Fiber committees. My industry contributions include serving three years on the Board of Directors for Alpaca Fiber Cooperative of North America, participating in several AOBA committees, serving on the AOBA Board of Directors during the lengthy process of merging AOBA with ARI, and serving on the first AOA Board of Directors. I, like many of our long term Calpaca members, have experienced the changes in our industry. through the years. In my opinion, what hasn’t changed during this time is the commitment of the Calpaca leadership teams to the industry, Calpaca members and other alpaca enthusiasts. I have heard about some of the exciting ideas the current board has discussed to support our Calpaca membership moving forward including bringing back the Camelid Symposium and focusing on fiber through education and other opportunities. It would be my honor to serve on this board and I am asking you to consider me for one of the open positions.
Maureen Macedo
Along with my husband, Larry, I am the Co-owner of Macedo's Mini Acres, a ranch with 80+ alpacas, llamas and miniature horses. Our focus in alpacas has included breeding for colorful fleeces with crimp, fineness and density, while maintaining and improving conformation. We also enjoy taking our alpacas into the Performance ring and competing in that venue. We joined Cal-Paca at the same time that we purchased our first alpacas, about ten years ago. I have been serving on the Board for two year, as the Secretary, and am enthusiastic about the vision for the future of the alpaca industry. I am a member of several Agricultural organizations, including AOA, ALSA, ILR, Merced County Farm Bureau, California Women in Agriculture, Ag In Motion and Merced County Ag Ventures. I am currently serving as Secretary in the Cal-Ila association. In addition, I am active in PEO, an organization whose primary purpose is to support women’s education, principally through distribution of scholarships. (Oh, I just retired from teaching Junior High Science, so have joined Larry full time on the ranch.) I am an ALSA (Alpaca Llama Show Association) fiber judge and am in the process of completing certification in Halter and Performance. This year I had the honor of judging in the Home Arts Division at the California State Fair. I am the Leader for the Hughson 4H Llama and Alpaca group, which is growing in popularity. My grandson and I show at the California State Fair, in halter, shorn fleece and Performance events. During time off in the summer, we hold clinics at our ranch, including llama shearing for shorn fleece, how to skirt fleeces, dyeing, spinning, knitting and felting. We host a Performance show at our ranch in August and participate in the AOA National Farm Days event every year. Not only do we bring our alpacas to schools for Ag Day and Career Day events, we host several school tours each year, usually with a fiber art “make and take” at the end of the visit. Families and groups are frequent visitors to the ranch where they learn about alpacas and their fiber. We have a small store on the ranch where we have fleece, rovings, yarn and items created from our alpaca fiber. Background - BS Genetics from University of California at Davis. I also worked for over 10 years with Ralston Purina Corporation, in Nutritional research and development of new products. This year we had a booth at the Handweavers Guild of America Convergence, where we were able to successfully showcase alpaca rovings and fleece to an international group of fiber enthusiasts. In addition, I participate in several Farmer’s Markets and Fiber events and thus have an opportunity to showcase (and sell) products made from camelid fiber..