(Sounds Like JelloWood)
Developing the Premier Colored Huacaya Alpaca Herd in the World
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(Sounds Like JelloWood) Developing the Premier Colored Huacaya Alpaca Herd in the World |
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Biography & Candidate Statement Erin
McCarthy Owner, BelleauWood Farms
Alpacas Principal & Managing Partner of American Classic Alpacas, Ltd. Active as an alpaca owner and breeder since 1996, Erin has developed an exceptional herd of alpacas and a thriving business. She started BelleauWood Farms Alpacas on a shoestring budget using financing to purchase two female alpacas. With the help of her family, she has built the farm to a thriving and growing herd of top quality animals. In the summer of 2002, she launched a new endeavor with the opening of Luxury Wool, an expansion into the retail sales of alpaca garments and products. Erin manages the herd health, sales and advertising, website design and maintenance, and strategic planning and development. During her many years in the industry, Erin has actively volunteered her time, energy and money to the growth of the alpaca industry. Due in part to Erin's leadership of the national marketing programs, the the Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association has increased membership 30% in the past 12 months. AOBA marketing continues to leverage a relatively small marketing budget to receive significant airtime on national dish and direct TV with commercials and coverage on CNN, Larry King Live, Discovery, Animal Planet, A&E, History Channel as well as magazine coverage in Smithsonian, National Geographic, Martha Stewart Living, Country Home, Better Home and Gardens, Spin Off and much more. In 2003, AOBA marketing has also successfully launched an aggressive public relations program with the goal of making alpacas a household word and making American alpaca products a much sought after luxury band. The AOBA website www.alpacainfo.com has over 200,000 visitors annually that generate over 30,000 inquires and over 1,000 new breeders a year. AOBA is also now getting daily press coverage in newspapers and TV programs around the country. A volunteer at the national, regional, and local levels with alpaca marketing and education, Erin has organized multi-farm tours, educational seminars, industry research, and taught hundreds of prospects and new breeders about the advantages of alpaca ownership. She has taught seminars on marketing and breeding strategies. A statistician by profession and geneticist by hobby, Erin has spent hundreds of hours researching bloodlines and color genetics. While raising show rabbits, she was able to quickly go from a new breeder to one of the top ten in the country and developed a 3rd to 4th generation down grand champion herd of her own stock. She uses this knowledge to develop her alpaca herd and offer consulting services to her customers. Erin uses her MBA and financial services background to help customers develop customized business plans for their own farms. Erin has several alpaca partnerships, active and passive investors, and regularly consults with breeders on herd development. She also takes on an occasional customer for web development and marketing strategy services as time permits. Current projects include launching the inaugural BelleauWood Select Alpaca Auction, Carolina Classic Alpaca Show, Herdsire Hall of Fame, CABO Carolina Alpaca Celebration, and working with NC State University School of Textiles to develop alpaca fiber processing facilities in North Carolina. Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association (AOBA) Member –
Alpaca Registry, Inc.
Carolina Alpaca Breeders CABO
Alpaca Fiber Coop of North American (AFCNA)
New England Alpaca Owners & Breeders Association (NEOBA)
Mid-Atlantic Alpaca Association (MAPACA) – Member since 1999. South East Alpaca Association (SEAA) – Member since 2002. Prior to becoming a full time alpaca
farmer in December of 2003, Erin was responsible for Customer Segmentation for Bank of America.
In this role, she drove out the use of customer intelligence and
advanced analytics to all of the lines of business within Bank of America.
Focused on creating a World Class Customer Relationship Management
program for the bank, Erin was at the forefront of an evolution in marketing
techniques. Using
customer segmentation and analytics, Erin worked to increase retention and
organic growth, customer satisfaction, customer acquisitions, and ROI on
advertising and marketing spend in an effort to create a brand for Bank of
America that makes it the world’s most admired company.
While at the bank, Erin was trained in the Six Sigma process. She was the project lead for the best-in-class analytics
initiative for Customer Analysis, Modeling, and Market Research where she
benchmarked Harrahs, The Royal Bank of Canada, Barclays International Bank, Eddie Bauer,
and Sprint. In addition, she has
conducted several competitive intelligence studies. When she joined the bank in 2001, Erin was the marketing
analyst for Bank of America’s Premier Banking & Investments, where she
provided analysis to senior management to make informed decisions about resource
allocations and market optimization for licensed financial advisors. Prior to joining Bank of America, Erin
was Manager of Statistical Services and Market Research for The Vermont Country
Store, a multi-channel catalog retailer. During
her three years in Vermont, she was responsible for migrating circulation
strategies from RFM to statistical modeling based segmentation and targeting.
During her last 12 months with the company, Erin led a team of analysts
that increased sales by 26% and profits by 24% in a single year.
An analytical thought leader for the catalog industry, Erin continually
tested new segmentation and targeting techniques, data sources, and software
tools to achieve world-class results with dramatic increases in profitability.
Erin's work was featured in data analytics and information
technology magazines including DM News and Information Weekly, and spoke at
numerous industry conferences including the 2000 DiamondSUG Data Mining
Conference, the SAS Data Mining 2001 Data Mining Conference, and the SAS 2001
Executive Conference. Erin was responsible for e-commerce marketing including
e-mail campaigns, affiliate marketing, strategic alliances, real time cross-sell
engines, and search engine optimization. In
addition, she was responsible for market research to include tracking surveys,
focus groups, customer segmentation, customer advisory board, web usability
studies, and generational marketing strategy. Prior to joining The Vermont Country Store, Erin spent 6 years with USAA Financial Services in San Antonio, TX. While at USAA, she held several positions. She began her career at USAA in Corporate Research developing tracking surveys for USAA Federal Savings Bank and USAA Investment Management Company to measure brand/product awareness, market share, penetration, and share of wallet for banking & investments. Erin then moved to the Investment Management Company where she held the positions of Senior Marketing Analyst, New Customer Segment Manager, and Lost Customer Segment Manager for the Relationship Management team. Utilizing advanced targeting techniques and creative strategy based on customer profiling, needs analysis, and operational market research, Erin was able to deepen customer relationships, loyalty, retention, and profitability. While with USAA Investments, Erin spoke at the 1998 Business Strategies Financial Services Profitability & Retention Conference in Boston and the 1997 Direct Marketing of Securities, Insurance, & Other Financial Services Conference in New York, held by Business Strategies Network. Erin earned a B.A. in English Literature with an A.A. in Management Studies from University of Maryland’s European campus in 1990. She earned an M.B.A. in Business with a focus on International Business from Webster University in 1992. In addition, Erin has completed coursework for credentials as a Chartered Financial Consultant and a Series 7 Brokerage License. At the age of 18, she was a licensed real estate agent in the state of S.C.. Erin has spoken at numerous data mining and financial services industry conferences on topics including retention and profitability, marketing strategy, modeling tools, and customer relationship management. Erin was also recruited by the Episcopal Bishop of NY to work with parishes as a generational consultant applying leading edge marketing techniques to evangelism for the Episcopal Church of New York State.Erin currently resides in Charlotte, NC with her 18 year-old daughter Megan, and growing herd of alpacas (residing at BelleauWood and numerous other locations) belonging to the McCarthys and several business partners. Affiliate(s)
CABO, SeAA,
MAPACA, NEOBA AFCNA 2002/2003
AFCNA Board of Directors Alpaca
Owners & Breeders Association - AOBA 2003/2004 AOBA Board of Directors 2003/2004 AOBA Marketing Committee - Chairperson 2002/2003
AOBA Marketing Committee – Assistant Chairperson Shows
AOBA Nationals 1999; AOBA Nationals 2002, 2003; AOBA Winter Nationals 2003, 2004; MAPACA - 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002; Empire Extravaganza 2002 AOBA Conventions AOBA
Nationals 1999 & 2002; AOBA Winter Nationals 2003 Professional
Experience ~ My experience includes 12 years of marketing
for USAA, The Vermont Country Store, and Bank of America.
I have been responsible for consumer market research surveys, focus
groups, acquiring new customers, retaining existing customers, generational
marketing and customer segmentation, targeting using advanced data mining
techniques, launching e-commerce programs including websites, e-mail campaigns,
search engine optimization, and an affiliate marketing program.
I
have an M.B.A., a B.A. in English Literature, and an A.A. in Management.
BelleauWood Farms Alpacas
~ My husband Steve, my daughter, Megan, and I started BelleauWood Farms Alpacas
with a financed package of two bred females.
We opted for monthly alpaca payments over a much-needed new (used)
vehicle. We now have a growing herd
of 80+ alpacas. Megan recently began
her own herd with two girls and a boy to fund her college tuition.
In July, we opened a small but prosperous on-farm fiber store.
We have built our two herds and our store without a lot of money but a
willingness to work hard, be creative, and volunteer our time and energy. We are proof that you don’t have to have deep pockets to
build a successful alpaca farm.
Candidate Statement For
AOBA BOD 2003
I
am passionate about the U.S. alpaca industry and the collective future success
of U.S. alpaca breeders. The AOBA
BOD has a responsibility to the membership to avoid ideological gridlock and
should continually move forward with growth and development. My commitment to mutual respect and collaborative solutions
would be beneficial in leading an industry with the size and diversity of AOBA.
As
the primary leadership organization, AOBA should facilitate strategic long-range
planning for all aspects of the U.S. alpaca industry. With regards to AOBA Affiliates, I would like to see the
grant program grow and would support efforts to secure federal grants and
increased AOBA funding to affiliates. The
AOBA Show System is critical to the future of our industry, and we need more
people going through judges training to meet the demand of a growing show
circuit. With regards to alpaca
fiber, U.S. breeders should reap the maximum profits by
completing the process through the end sale to the consumer. As a shareholder and board member of AFCNA, I support the development of a
centralized national fiber co-op. While
there is a need for smaller member mills and they should also receive AOBA
support, in order to achieve economies of scale and develop a profitable and
sustainable business model, a strong centralized fiber co-op is integral.
As
the current Assistant Chairperson of the AOBA Marketing Committee, I am proud to
have been instrumental in the growth and deployment of the marketing budget for
a record year in 2002. We have
instituted several changes that support the small farmer by offering more Farm
& Ranch Guide pricing options and educational opportunities including
marketing seminars and the AOBA Winter Nationals. My areas of responsibility have been the re-design of the www.alpacainfo.com
website, the market research surveys, support for the Winter Nationals, and
assisting with member communications. We
should develop more educational materials that set business expectations
appropriately for new breeders. I
will continue to promote aggressive growth for our industry.
As a BOD member, I would work hard to develop stronger relations across all U.S. alpaca organizations and would be focused on developing and executing on long-range goals and planning. U.S. alpaca breeders are uniquely positioned to preserve or re-invent an integral part of the American Dream if we stay unified, get our act together, and plan for our future. We can create a viable agricultural lifestyle and a new breed of American farmer running profitable family farms. |
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