Every major program should have a plan to guide the work to be done, and to help those involved know when success has been achieved. We would like to share a distillation of the plan for the CFA Mentor Program with you. The CFA Mentor Program (originally sponsored through the generosity of The Hartz Mountain Corporation.) has been established as one of mentoring as opposed to coaching. There is a distinctive difference in the relationship that one develops when people work together as mentor and protégé, as opposed to the relationship between a coach and his or her protégé. The program's primary functions include the recruitment of new people into the CFA family; retention of participants; achievement of some degree of competency related to the exhibiting and breeding of pedigreed cats; and, the encouragement of personal growth. The overall primary objectives of the program are to attract new breeders and exhibitors and retain them in the hobby of breeding and exhibiting pedigreed cats; to establish a program that provides education, guidance, assistance and nurturing to new breeders and exhibitors; and, to put forward the notion that CFA is a friendly association with friendly people ready to assist the novice or newcomer. Looking more closely at these objectives, the Mentor Program seeks to assist CFA to:  

• Be the association of choice when the new exhibitor selects a show to enter.
• Be the registry of choice when the new breeder registers his or her first litter or cat.
• Be perceived as the association that is most likely to provide both written and personal guidance for new breeders and exhibitors.

In addition, the Mentor Program must assist the novice breeder and exhibitor to understand:  

• The minimum standards for the housing of breeding cats.
• The basic principles of applying the standard of their chosen breed to the actual cat(s).
• And recognize the signs of collecting/hoarding and in identifying and implementing early interventions.
• That winning isn't everything and that breeding is one very important pursuit.

The best way to know if a program is on track and doing what is intended is to periodically Review and Assess the Program. We are convinced that through the efforts of people participating in the CFA Mentoring Program, the association will see a sustained increase in:  

• The number of registrations.
• The number of entries in member club shows.
• The number of mentor-protégé relationships on an annual basis.
• New cattery names.
• First litters registered.

And, through the use of questionnaires and surveys, we hope to find that:  

• CFA constituents, breeders and exhibitors value the program.
• People are staying with the hobby and that there is an increasing tenure of those who exhibit and register with CFA.
• People value CFA as their major registration/exhibition association.
• CFA is the friendliest association and that people stay with CFA because established breeders and exhibitors are willing to work with and help each other with the exhibiting and breeding of the pedigreed cat.
• CFA is the association most likely to assist the new exhibitor or breeder.

Moreover, we hope that the CFA Mentor Program will foster personal growth that results in:  

• Protégés becoming mentors.
• Protégés reporting that they have established personal relationships.
• Protégés joining the membership of CFA clubs.

To contact the CFA Mentor Program, please send an email to mentoring@cfa.org Last Updated: Tuesday, March 09, 2010