I began my interest in rabbits in 1993 with a wild baby rabbit I caught after the farmer next door plowed his field.  I raised this rabbit up and later released it back into the wild.  After that, we then purchased two mini lop rabbits for my children.  Throughout the years, we have produced many BOB and BOS winners at ARBA and National Mini Lop Shows, as well many BOB, BOS, and BIS winners at shows in many states.  We continuously won sweepstakes awards for the Ohio Mini Lop Rabbit Club, Mini Lop Rabbits of America, and the Ohio State Rabbit Breeders Association. 

        I have been Director and President of the Heart of Ohio Rabbit and the Ohio Mini Lop Rabbit Club; I assisted both to become financially stable.  I have spent many years serving as District 8 Director of the Mini Lop Rabbit Club of America, heading the judges committee and running the rabbit auction.  I was honored to be named as “Member of the Year” and selected for the “Hall of Fame” for the Mini Lop Rabbit Club of America.  In addition, I am a current member of the Mini Lop Rabbit Club of America, Council Oak RBA and Medina RBA.

        My involvement with OSRBA began by assisting with setup and teardown at the Ohio State Rabbit Breeders State Convention and Show when the National Mini Lop show was being hosted in 1999.  I became an OSRBA Show Superintendent in 2001 and steadily held the position until 2007 when my role grew to General Chairman.  I began my term as President of the OSRBA in May of 2006 and continue to uphold that position today.  My many responsibilities over the years have included chairman of the judge’s selection committee, equipment chairman, booth chairman, Hall of Fame selection committee, chairman setup show committee, advertising committee and Director at Large.  I am a proud member of the “OSRBA Hall of Fame” and a “Distinguished Service Award” winner.

         With the assistance of many others around me, I have brought up the OSRBA from an almost bankrupt organization to one with a very sizable and stable treasury.  This was accomplished by the reduction of expenses and continuous diligent monitoring of the financial movements of the club.  During my term, we have also made vast improvements with equipment management.  My most recent focus includes a process to streamline loading and unloading of the judging holes and show tables.  In addition, I feel this will contribute to the protection of the OSRBA’s investments in the equipment and lower our costs of setup and teardown.  We have reduced the costs for tow motor and trucking trailer expenses, on top of the achievements I have made already in this particular area.  I have also made strides by eliminating the use of straw for bedding.  This change reduces necessary clean up time of the show room and aids in the tear down of coops.  With my contributions, setup has been reduced to three days from the previous five days needed.  The headquarter hotel has also been upgraded and a more cost effective backup hotel was added to save exhibitors money.  All these savings help us to keep the exhibitor rates from going up, regardless of our building costs at Ohio Expo Center being doubled and increased judging fees.  Additionally, the OSRBA has increased its positive reputation.  With the contributions of Lisa Hoffmann, we have taken the youth program to new heights.  The OSRBA has gained national attention and is now the organization to beat in ARBA competitions.

        I hope to have another two years so that I may continue these successes.  I am looking forward to more of the positive improvements in the OSRBA that others and I have contributed towards.  I hope you, the members, can sort out the inaccurate negatives that been thrown about.  I welcome a chance to speak with you about any questions you might have.  My e -mail is chowmanosrba@yahoo.com and I can be reached by telephone at 330-234-2444. 

         Thank you for this opportunity,