Dale Peterson

An Alabama native, Dale Peterson and his wife, Kathy, live in Birmingham.   They have one daughter and two grandsons.

After high school Dale joined the Marine Corps and served two tours during the Vietnam Conflict.   Upon returning home, he became a motorcycle patrolman with the Birmingham Police Department and entered college.  Dale earned his BS in Sociology at The University of Alabama and a Masters Degree in Psychology.

Dale’s desire to shape his own destiny has led him down many successful paths over the course of several decades.  After working in the industrial laundry business in both sales and management positions, Dale began his first start-up business.  He obtained a lengthy contract from a national company to be the first company in Alabama to pre-wash jeans.  After several years, Dale sold this successful company.

Next, Dale negotiated a contract with the Alabama Department of Mental Health to build and operate Medical Laundry Services, the largest commercial laundry in the South.  This facility processed laundry for a single customer, The State of Alabama.  A few years later, Dale sold the company.

He then approached the military services with the idea of replacing pay telephones with telephone centers.  Eventually Dale's company had 33 military bases around the country under contract. After several years, Dale sold his company to a competitor.

While all of these business ventures were going on, Dale and Kathy became interested in llamas.  They visited many farms, attended several ILA conferences,  Hartman's sales and the first Celebrity.  Dale and Kathy were among the first members of ALSA.  They were llama judges before they bought their first llama.  They finally bought their first llama (a Fiduciary son) in 1990, and he remains with them today in his own pasture at the front of their home.  Over time, their herd grew to almost 60.

When Kathy retired in 1995, she and Dale started what would become a dominant regional chain of full service pet stores.  Dale threw himself into his work at Pets America for the next several years, leaving little room for anything else.  In 2003, Dale and Kathy sold their chain of pet stores and revived their relationships with the llama community.  The severe drop that had occurred in llama prices over the last several years was showing no signs of rebounding.  They got recertified as ALSA judges.  Dale was elected to the board of directors of the Llama Futurity Association.   Although much of the experience was unpleasant, Dale gained a great deal of insight before resigning from that board.

Dale has always believed that, if the llama community in general does well and prospers, so will he and Kathy. That is why he and the members of the Executive Management Council (EMC) have established Collectible Llamas, Inc.  Dale, along with the other members will devote considerable time, energy, money and will do what ever it takes to return the llama industry to a fun, enjoyable and profitable community.   As Dale says, “This venture is no different than turning around a failing company.  Some will be unhappy that change is under way; however, when the change occurs and the profitability and value of llamas return, everyone will be there to take part in the success.  And, that is OK.”

Kathy Peterson

Kathy Peterson, a native of Georgia, brings many talents to the Collectible Llamas, Inc. organization.  She holds undergraduate degrees in Business and in Marketing from the University of Alabama and a Masters degree in Public and Private Management from Birmingham Southern College.

Kathy was employed by BellSouth Telecommunications for almost 30 years, where she held management positions in many different organizations, including president of an unregulated startup company.  Following her retirement from BellSouth in 1995, she and her husband, Dale, spent the next eight years building a chain of retail pet stores.  Following the sale of the pet stores in 2003, Kathy and Dale retired for the second time.

During her affiliation with the llama industry, which began in 1986, Kathy has belonged to various boards, including ALSA and the ILA.  She has several years of experience as an ALSA judge.  She and Dale have owned llamas since 1990.  During the past couple of years, they have rekindled their involvement in the llama industry and have begun once again to enjoy breeding and showing their llamas, while getting reacquainted with old friends and meeting new ones.

Kathy has noticed a few significant changes between the llama industry of today and that of times past.  First, the entire market is highly depressed, with low prices and low demand.  Second, many “staple” breeders and owners have left the industry.  Third, most llama owners no longer have a happy outlook about the industry in general.  Happy faces have been replaced with scowls and petty gripes about any and everything.  There’s a great deal of bickering and end-fighting.

Kathy believes that it is time for the industry to reinvent itself and to put the fun, excitement and profit back into the mix.  She looks forward to using her planning, organizing, marketing and communications skills to support the goals of Collectible Llamas, Inc. Both she and Dale are committed to helping the llama industry return to the fun, exciting and financially rewarding industry that it was in years past.

Kathy and Dale live in Birmingham, Alabama.  They are the proud parents of a wonderful daughter, who is the mother of their two handsome grandsons.

Anthony Stachowski

Anthony Stachowski, himself a Canadian import, earned his DVM from Ohio State University in 1978.  Upon graduation, he started a large-animal mobile practice that grew to a three man operation, specializing in equine and camelid reproduction in addition to general preventative medicine.  During this time he also worked with a leading Mid-West feed mill to formulate specialized llama feed to balance forage with necessary nutrients needed for healthy animals and fiber. The equine practice was sold in 2000 and today Anthony limits his practice to drive-in camelid care.

Anthony received his first llama, Victor Supreme, in 1974 as payment for transporting Arabian horses for Dick Patterson.  For the next 10 years Anthony collected and bred llamas, increasing his herd to over 30.  In 1984 he attended the Hunt/Catskill Game Farm sale of llamas and alpacas (the first imported from Chile in 50 years), to purchase llamas.  Anthony went to the sale to buy llamas, but the range of hybridization and diversity of phenotype, color patterns and sizes in the group was a concern.  By comparison, the homogenous appearance of the alpacas gave Anthony the confidence to invest in this "new" species of camelid.  He purchased approximately 1/3 of the alpacas and became the first "large" alpaca breeder in the US.  

Anthony was instrumental with the development of AOBA and ARI.  He served as Chairman of the Alpaca Registry Screening Committee from 1991-1994. In 1991 he organized his first importation of alpacas from Chile to Australia.  Together with his Australian business partners, he maintained a herd of alpacas and Boer goats near Melbourne until 1998.  In 1993 he became marketing agent for the first Peruvian importation of llamas and alpacas. He became a partner in the 1995 Peruvian importation, and completed four more importations until the close of the registry in 1998.  During this time he spent months each year in Peru evaluating, screening and selecting llamas and alpacas for future import to the US.  In addition he has exported animals from the US to Canada, Australia, England and Europe.

Stachowski Alpacas hosted the first ALSA alpaca judge's training clinic in 1990.  Two additional clinics were hosted in 1994 and 2000.  A Senior Alpaca Judge, Anthony has judged livestock both in the US and overseas for close to 40 years.  Perhaps the youngest certified large 'R' AHSA judge in Ohio, Anthony judged national horse shows at 21 years of age.  Anthony enjoys teaching others how to evaluate livestock. He is a well-respected speaker on conformation (Form to Function) at the AOBA National conferences, regional shows and overseas. Anthony presently serves as a Director on the AOBA board.  

Having sold thousands of camelids through creative marketing techniques, he is recognized for organizing highly successful on-farm auctions and Internet sales.  Anthony looks forward to sharing his knowledge and marketing expertise with the Collectible Llama community!

Mary Reed

Mary Reed is no stranger to the Camelid industry.  A Denison University grad, Mary first learned about llamas in an alumnae newsletter that featured graduate Dick Patterson.  That inspired her search to find llamas a little closer to home than Sisters, Oregon and her introduction to llamas and alpacas through Anthony Stachowski, DVM. 

Mary purchased llamas in 1990 and alpacas a year later.  She became active in the show association ALSA, serving as chair of the budget and finance committee and then as a Director for six years from 1993 through 1999.  She served on the ALSA Judges committee from 2000 through 2002.  Under Mary’s tenure as Treasurer of ALSA, the organization grew from a deficit net worth to assets exceeding $100,000, all without an increase in fees.  Under her Presidency, the first Grand National was held, at least one year ahead of schedule due to the success of the ALSA Regional show network.   Mary was instrumental in establishing the ALSA llama fiber competition and judging programs.  Mary served as a level III Alpaca Judge and Judges Instructor, instructing/hosting four successful Alpaca Judging Clinics at Alpaca Jack’s Suri Alpacas and Stachowski Alpacas.   Mary chaired the ALSA Alpaca committee from 1995 through 2002.  She managed the ALSA Buckeye Regional Show from 2000 through 2002. 

Mary has been recognized as one of the premier judges of Suri Alpacas in the United States, and she judged the Suri Division at the 2002 AOBA National Show.  She has enjoyed judging llama futurity shows and the opportunity to lend her expertise and knowledge of camelid fiber to the llama industry. 

From 1995 through 1998 Mary served on the board of Fiberfest Limited, the largest festival and educational program in the United States for natural fibers and the animals that produce them.

From 1996-1998 Mary served on the Board of the Great Lakes Alpaca Association.  She organized a successful national marketing program that developed over 20,000 leads within the first 12 months.

In 1998 Mary was asked to serve on the founding board of the Alpaca Fiber Cooperative of North America.  She was elected to the first board of directors later that year.  Under her guidance as Treasurer, the organization was able to grow its business and manage its financial resources.  In 1999 Mary was elected to the board of directors of the Alpaca Registry, Inc.  Mary served as President of ARI in 2000-2001 and refocused the organization to sustain profitability and independence in the Alpaca industry.  

Mary divides her time between the Camelid industry and her “day job” as a financial executive in broadcasting.   Mary earned an MBA from John Carroll University.  Her 10 year career in banking included Corporate Lending positions at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, Ameritrust and Citicorp.  She joined Scripps Howard in 1982, first as financial manager of the Broadcasting division and currently as controller of television station WEWS in Cleveland, Ohio.