Law Firm Controller Kerri Cook Named CFO of National Canine Breeder Reform Group

    FORT WORTH, TX, January 15, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Reform Canine Breeding and Auctions (RCBA), a new advocacy group with plans to reform dog breeding and auctions by seeking legislation to register and regulate commercial dog breeders, has named key officers.

Kerri Cook, Controller and office manager for a Dallas law firm, will serve as RCBA's Chief Financial Officer. During a 20-year career in accounting, she has been Controller for several Dallas Fort Worth-based businesses.

As a lifetime dog owner and ardent supporter of animal rescue, Cook believes strongly in RCBA's mission to ensure commercial breeders treat dogs humanely and kindly and breed them only using medically sound practices. Cook says, "Better regulation of breeding has begun to make a difference in Missouri, and it can nationwide."

As CFO, Cook is committed to transparency. "RCBA understands the need for fiscal responsibility and transparency, and we will put annual financial information and the filings required for our non-profit status on the website for members and the general public."

"Every dollar we collect will go to third party expenses," said RCBA Founder and Sr. VP Ron Sturgeon. "We made the decision early on not to have any paid positions in this organization." The people who have volunteered to be a part of RCBA are doing so because their passion for dogs and their desire to see them treated compassionately, he added.

Stacie Kyle, owner of IT Strategic Consulting in Northfield, New Jersey, will be RCBA's Vice President of Fundraising. She is a senior IT executive with Big 5 experience and 18 years of experience in leadership of systems management and strategy to improve mission-critical, enterprise-level business processes and operations. She holds an MBA from Westwood College, a CSS in Technology from Harvard and BS from Boston College.

Kyle is active in the animal rescue community in the Northeast and supports the fundraising and social media for Northeast Boston Terrier Rescue (NEBTR), a large, multi-state, all-volunteer rescue group. She also volunteers with the Humane Society of Atlantic County, which operates a no-kill shelter in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In addition, Kyle owned and operated a non-profit organization in the early 90's.

"When the no-kill shelter concept became a reality more than thirty years ago, 17 million dogs were killed every year in the United States; today, that number is 4 million," Kyle said. "As much as we have done on the demand side, however, we won't really end canine abuse until we get everyone on the supply side of the dog business to move beyond dogs as property," she added.

Carol Hallows will serve as RCBA's Secretary. She is an escrow officer for Jones Hassett PC, the fee attorney for Stewart Title Company. She has more than 29 years' experience handling commercial and residential real estate closings. She is a certified escrow settlement agent (CESA), one of only 169 out of 3,800 Texas escrow officers to earn the Texas Land Title Association's designation.

Hallows serves as Treasurer and rescue contact for the Dallas-Fort Worth Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Club. She also volunteers, transports and fosters dogs for a variety of DFW dog rescue groups. Hallows said, "Reforming dog breeding won't be fast, it won't be easy, and not everyone is going to agree on everything we do, but better laws and better enforcement will make a huge difference for the dogs."

"I am grateful to the many fine people who have agreed to lead the effort to make dog breeding better for the dogs," said Hue Grant, President of RCBA. "Every dog is a living soul that deserves to be treated with kindness," added Grant.

RCBA will hold its first organizational meeting on January 17 in Dallas, TX. It is seeking volunteers to fill leadership roles and social-media-savvy advocates to spread the word online. To volunteer or get email updates, visit reformcaninebreedersandacutions.com.

About Reform Canine Breeders and Auctions:
The organization is committed to the mission of improving conditions for dogs by improving the regulations that govern dog breeding and dog auctions. It has the goal of ensuring that dogs in the hands of breeders are treated with kindness, with humaneness, and only bred using medically sound practices. Connect on Facebook or learn more at reformcaninebreedersandauctions.com.

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