Gerald (Jerry) W. Klopp
1946 - 2008
~In Memoriam~
The members of Bulldog Club of America, Division II, took pride
in nominating Jerry M. Klopp to the Hall of Fame for
Individual Contribution following his untimely death at age 62 in July 2008. He
was inducted into the
Few members of the Bulldog Club of America have made a more
positive and lasting impact on the stability of this organization and its
financial affairs than this former National Treasurer and longtime National
Audit and Finance Committee chairman.
The purpose of that committee is to help ensure the financial
stability of the BCA. His leadership and professional accounting skills
resulted in the restructuring of the BCA's financial
practices and record keeping. His expertise and devotion to the BCA in this
endeavor cannot be overestimated at either the BCA National
and Division levels.
His service and membership in the BCA began in 1978, the same
year he purchased his first Bulldog puppy. He served several terms as treasurer
of Division II, and he was elected to every office in the Chicago Bulldog Club,
including the presidency. His hands-on leadership and involvement in the BCA's financial affairs continued until his death.
There are no better examples of his work than can be found the BCA's Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). While chairing
the Audit and Finance Committee, he defined not only it's purpose but also
wrote and developed detailed documents and forms that set the standard and
define the duties and responsibilities of the National and eight Division
treasurers, which are attached as appendices to the SOP.
That committee's periodic reviews of the books and records of
the National Treasurer ensure the accuracy and reliability of the organization's
financial records. It also helps to advise the National Council and Executive
Committee on compliance with all federal IRS regulations and ensure that the
BCA has sufficient risk insurance, including the National Specialty Show
Gallery of Winners portraits.
As one member of the committee, which Jerry helped
found and chair, observed, the amount of work he did every year was tedious,
detailed and staggering. It included matching every Division's nearly 3,000
members with the exact amount of dues sent in. Division treasurers changed
often and reports were subject to mistakes. But for Jerry it was a labor of
love.
He also served several terms as treasurer of BCA Division II,
which has the largest membership among the eight divisions of the Bulldog Club
of America.
Jerry's special talent for detail was also evident in his staff
position of copy editor of The Bulldogger. Thanks in part to his eagle eye, this quarterly magazine is recognized as one of the
finest purebred breed publications in the country. In addition to correcting
spelling errors, he would attempt to detect every dot, dash and space problem
in all of the editorial articles. Once he finished editing, he would drive from
his home in
His most recent achievement just prior to his death was his
selection for the AKC Sportsmanship Award, submitted by the Chicago Bulldog
Club.
Postscript: He suffered for several years from Spinal
Bulbar Muscular Atrophy (SBMA), known as Kennedy's Syndrome or Kennedy's
Disease, caused by a rare untreatable and incurable recessive neuromuscular gene. SBMA causes progressive
muscle weakness and severe muscle cramps.
© 2009 The Bulldog Club of