Board of Directors

Denise Maher, President/Officer of the Board

Many of you already know me as a Board Member and the Communications/Marketing Director at SCPS for the last two years and the lucky owner of "Titus". It is has been incredible to be a part of such an amazing team which met in 2016 with a dream of preserving the noble Scottish Collie and which now is a reality. I have enjoyed meeting so many wonderful and passionate breeders, members and supporters of this breed and what we are accomplishing. While we have achieved so much in such a short time, there are still so many challenges we will face as we continue to grow.

I reside in the Black Hills of South Dakota, with my husband and three children. We own about 12 acres with horses, barn cats and three dogs. I have a background in Marketing/ Communications. I also have been a dog trainer for our local county 4-H chapter and have served as an agility judge for the county dog shows. Titus is my first Scottish Collie, although I have owned other herding breeds I am continually impressed with this breed. I have worked with Titus in a wide range of activities to include agility, hobby farming, herding, trick training, promotional visits to the local youth communities, etc. I have challenged him to test the versatility of this breed and he has performed well in every aspect. I am looking forward to a second Scottish Collie next year.

My knowledge of SCPS is extensive as a founding member. I look forward to continuing serving as President of SCPS as we continue to grow our preservation efforts globally.

Gary Lehman, Vice President /Officer of the Board

I live in a little town in West Tennessee of Oakland. My wife and I moved here 4 years ago from Memphis TN. During my working years my occupation was as a Software Developer. My wife was a school librarian for 40 years also. We are both retired and enjoying our grandchildren and of course Whiskey. I have had a collie in my life most of the time. I currently have my Whiskey that just turned 1 yr old in November. I very much want to see the Scottish Collie breed grow and be preserved.

Sarah Brown, Director of Communications/Officer of the Board

I grew up reading Albert Payson Terhune’s books, and I never imagined that someday I might be given the opportunity to play a small part in the preservation of Collies much like those that he wrote about a century ago.

My dream is a healthy, athletic, beautiful, old-fashioned Collie characterized by heart, courage, gentleness, and loyalty. I couldn’t be more thrilled to be a part of an organization in pursuit of those same goals, and as an added bonus, I’ve found the SCPS group to be a wonderful, friendly community of like-minded people who I truly enjoy interacting with. I am thrilled to help in any way, and it is a tremendous honor to serve on the Board.

Marie Minnich, Treasurer/Officer of the Board

Throughout most of my life, the dogs that I have owned (or been owned by) have been various mixed breeds, all of whom I loved. In 2008, my husband and I began to raise Romeldale CVMs, a heritage breed of wool sheep whose genetic potential needs preserving. We were introduced to the farm collies by a fellow sheep breeder. Her stories of her dog’s abilities piqued my interest enough to search out my first Scottish Collie, our Mac. It soon became apparent that we had found another breed worth restoring and preserving. Simply finding an appropriate mate and breeding them is insufficient effort. I look forward to working with fellow Board members of the SCPS to further the preservation of this wonderful breed.

Patricia Hoskins, Secretary/Officer of the Board

I grew up in a rural area of Nebraska raised with 3 sisters I am # 3 out of 4. I now live in the mountains of New Mexico on a small acreage with my husband of 18 years, two horses and several rescue dogs all of which are in their senior years. I am a Mortgage Loan Underwriter having been in the financial industry for 29 years. I have two grown children and two young grandchildren. Since my children are grown and developing their own families I decided to get back into collies, training and competing which is where Jax, my current collie came into the picture.

Growing up in a farming community I was surrounded by many farm animals. I participated in 4H as a child, showing dairy cows and chickens we also owned a horse which I rode everywhere. Although I am an animal lover my passion is for dogs, in fact, my first love of the Scottish collie was my grandmothers dog, named Ring, I will never forget him he was truly marvelous, and the very first dog that I had that was mine was a Scottish collie named Sparky. I have had at least one dog around me my entire life and cannot imagine not owning at least one.

In my 20’s I had other collies, AKC registered and would show them in obedience and conformation. All of the collies I have owned from the very first to my current collie Jax are what gave me my adoration for this breed. Their unconditional loyalty, their intelligence and the versatility of the Scottish collie are superb.

I continue to train my dog in many different disciplines, herding, agility, obedience and scent work. All around me are numerous lovely mountain trails which I take full advantage of as much as I can.

I was very excited to find the Scottish Collie Preservation Society and am an avid supporter of preserving the classic Scottish Collie.

Berta Lilienthal, Registrar/Officer of the Board

I grew up in central Minnesota. I cannot remember a day in my life I didn’t have a dog. My love for dogs comes from my Grandpa who had a collie at his side for most of his 90 years. My husband, Dennis, and I have always had a Scottish Collie here on the farm. Our 4 sons have been active in 4h animal science, showing dogs, horses and beef cattle. I am also a Childcare Provider and small business owner. I have a business degree in Marketing and Management. Most days I’m the Chaos Coordinator.

Several years ago we began breeding and raising AKC Rough Collies, continually striving for improvements in our program. Puppies just make me smile. I have met many wonderful people along the way. The puppy families become an extension of our family. I am a firm believer that every home needs a collie (or 2).

Dena Sorensen, Board Member at Large

I am an Arizona native who now lives in North Central Kansas. I met my husband John while in graduate school at Kansas State. We’ve been married 14 years and have three children who are age 10 and under.

We farm wheat, grain sorghum, and soybeans, along with various crops used for cattle feed. We also have a cattle operation that consists of a cow herd and backgrounding weaned calves. I worked as a commercial and agricultural loan officer until my first child was born and then decided to stay home. I homeschool my kids and also help on the farm by cooking meals for my husband and employees, giving rides when they’re moving between fields, or going on part runs. I own one Scottish Collie named Hank with plans to add another puppy later this year. Hank is an amazing farm and family dog and so beautiful! I am definitely hooked on the breed. I have helped with moderating the SCPS Facebook and MeWe pages and am continually impressed by the professionalism of the group and I am excited to serve on the Board.

Patty Ganey, Board Member at Large

I grew up in Fairfield County, Connecticut with a family of animal lovers and we currently reside on a small family farm in Southeastern Connecticut with 4 horses, 2 dogs and 2 cats. I am a registered Therapeutic Riding Instructor, and teach at my farm as well as at a local farm. I enjoy riding in the disciplines of Eventing and Dressage. I am also on the board of The Equus Effect, a non profit specializing in establishing meaningful relationships for returning veterans through purposeful engagement with horses. I have always had a dog in my life, usually more than one at a time! As a child I was an avid reader, and found the books of Alfred Payson Terhune and his wonderful stories of collies…that was it, I was smitten. The stories of how brave Lad, Gray Dawn and Wolf were, and their attachment to their families captivated my imagination. Of course, Lassie was a mainstay on TV; I loved how devoted she (he) was with young Timmy!
When looking for a collie to add to our family, I knew I wanted an old fashioned, family oriented farm collie that I remembered from my younger days, just like the legendary Sunnybank collies. I found Titus in my searching, and met many wonderful people involved in the Scottish Collie preservation movement along the way, and knew that would be my next canine addition to our family. Brendan/Aidan was born in April of 2017, and we made the drive from Connecticut up to Ontario to meet him and bring him home. He has exceeded our expectations on all levels — handsome, athletic, sensitive, playful, loyal, smart…I could go on and on! I am pleased to be a part of the preservation of this heritage breed of collies. Thank you for including me, I look forward to working with everyone to spread the good news!

Tracey Westbury, Board Member at Large

I am a lifelong resident of Washington State. I first fell in love with collies like so many others, sitting in front of the television watching Lassie. Although it took over 50 years to get there, I finally purchased my first collie, Shep, just this last year.

Together, Shep and I have logged hundreds of hiking miles in the Pacific Northwest. He also accompanies me when I travel to horse shows throughout Washington and Oregon. Everywhere we go, we find people who want to talk about their childhood collie, how you seldom see collies anymore, or how they'd also watched Lassie growing up. It opens the door to talk about the changes in the breed, and how the Scottish Collie Preservation Society is stepping up to fill the need to return collies to their original purpose of all-purpose farm and family dogs. One of the things I admire about SCPS is their commitment to a balanced, healthy dog and I look forward to promoting our breed through social media and personal contact through a variety of events.

Miriam Inglehart, Board Member at Large

I am a mother of 6 furkids and work at home in Texas. I started my love of dog sports in 1994 with my shelties in dog agility, taking them to the Cynosports finals twice. Four years ago, I went looking for a dog that would be more versatile without the craziness of my border collie or shelties. Tris has way surpassed my expectations and started my love affair with Scottish collies. She is a wonderful companion who has attended school and has been bombarded by kids and loved it. She loves everyone and yet defends the home against invading critters. She has introduced us to a variety of dog sports in the form of lure, tracking, nosework, barn hunt, and dock diving. She passed a temperament test that all my other dogs would fail. She also allows me to put on her Collie Elf hat to the enjoyment of everyone. Tris has been bred to further pass on these wonderful qualities and El is an up and coming star. I am so pleased to be able to assist in SPCS efforts to preserve this wonderful breed.