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 History & Milestones
2007
- First Annual National Alpaca Farm Day open house held throught the country on September 29 and 30.
- AOBA creates a wholly owned subsidiary Alpaca Livestock Company, Inc.
- 4,000 members
2006
- 100,000th alpaca registered in North America
- AOBA office fully open for business in Nashville, Tennessee January 1
- AOBA National Conference the largest in history, May 17 – May 21, Louisville, KY
2005
- AOBA begins the transition to its own office with employees in Nashville, TN during the fourth quarter.
2004
- AOBA commemorates the 20th anniversary of the first commercial importation of alpacas into North America
- OneVoice, alpaca industry newsletter, receives first Crystal Jade Communicator Award of Excellence
2003
- Alpacas Magazine®, receives a fourth Crystal Communicator's Award
The inaugural AOBA "Fiber to Fashion Winter Nationals" exceeds all expectations (Jan 30th - Feb 1st, Las Vegas, NV)
AOBA National Conference breaks all past attendance records (May 28th - June 1st, Louisville, KY)
- AOBA moves office management to Association Headquarters, Inc., Mount Laurel, NJ
2002
- AOBA Establishes a "fiber initiative" to integrate the promotion of fiber products into the AOBA national marketing program and created the first ever Winter National Conference
"Fiber to Fashion."
- 3,000 members
2001
- Alpaca Registry, Inc. (ARI) and AOBA propose to consolidate. Each organization's membership voted. The proposal was denied. ARI & AOBA remain as separate organizations.
2000
- In the fall of 2002, AOBA formally adopted it own Alpaca Certified Show system, independent of the Alpaca & Llama Show Association. It created its own Show Division, effective January 1, 2001.
- 2,000 members
1999
- Alpaca awareness targets larger audience with television advertising. Advertisements increase steadily. TV spots run nearly every day of the year.
1996
- National marketing and awareness of alpacas becomes increasingly important. First advertising efforts appear in a nationally recognized magazine. Grows to include advertising in national publications, nearly every month.
Hummer publication increases from 4 to 6 issues a year
- 1,000 members
1995
- AOBA formally adopts an "affiliate program", increasing communication among breeders. Facilitates more national alpaca awareness, through regional affiliates.
1994
- (November) AOBA introduces its quarterly newsletter, "The Hummer", to supplement the growing need for information, in addition to Alpacas Magazine.
1993
- AOBA develops an Alpaca Library. Public libraries have scarce, if any, information about alpacas. Members can borrow books, videos, magazines, and articles, through the mail. Subjects include: medical/health, nutrition/feed, fiber, business management, behavior/breeding, showing/training and much more.
1992
- AOBA holds its own first Annual Conference in Estes Park, CO. Grows in size and scope, to include shows, educational seminars, vendors, exhibitors, an auction and private treaty sales over a five-day period. The Alpaca Conference had been previously held in conjunction with the annual International Llama Association's (ILA) conference.
1991
- AOBA establishes permanent business office in Estes Park, CO. Office administers AOBA's activities.
1990
- First issue Alpacas Magazine®, a quarterly publication, appears. All members receive a copy.
- First Alpaca show rules develop, with the cooperation of the American Llama Show Association (ALSA), that becomes the Alpaca Llama Show Association (ALSA).
- AOBA hired Bostrom Corporation, Monterey, CA hired to manage office.
1989
- AOBA committee (ARSC) begins screening of imported alpaca
1988
- AOBA begins work on an Alpaca Registry where it was housed until it was subsequently moved to the International Llama Registry (ILR) and operated as a separate branch.
- First AOBA meeting held during and ILA conference Bellaire, MI, began official formation with development of bylaws and articles of incorporation
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