History of the New Hampshire Lama Association

This Section Written By:

Sharon E. DaDalt
Llama Lledge Farm
Email: website AT nhlama.org
(copy email into mail program, change AT to @, and remove all spaces)

The New Hampshire Lama Association was formally established on February 2, 1991 at a meeting at the home of Betsy Booth in Madbury, NH. The people attending this meeting were: Betsy Booth, Sharon E. DaDalt, Caroline Boeckman-Dunne, Bob and Carolee Jones, Heidi Moran, John Rice, Fred Rothe, and Gail Sanborn. Everyone put in their ten bucks and the association was formed.

The following positions were established:

Membership/Treasurer

Betsy Booth

Secretary

Heidi Moran

Heath & Education

Caroline Boeckman-Dunne
Sharon E. DaDalt
Fred Rothe

Calendar of Events

Carolee Jones

Llama Store

Caroline Boeckman-Dunne

Newsletter Editor

Sharon E. DaDalt

Fiber

Jody Nolin

Packing and Trails

Deborah H. Frock
Joanna Fyon

Public Relations

Gail Sanborn

Photo By: J. Rice
NHLA Members 1999

The first newsletter was issued March 1991 and people started to join! From an initial membership of about 12 people, we have since grown to over 80+ members in 1999!

We hold 4 regular meetings each year, one in the spring and one in the fall. These are social events as well as business meetings, held at a member’s farm with each person bringing something to eat. A great way to meet the members! The meetings are well attended, between 30-40 people showing up for each one.

Since this initial start up, positions and people holding them have changed to meet the expanding requirements of the association. We hold an annual Llama & Alpaca Fall Fest each year, a sales event with lectures and demonstrations to inform people about the care and joy of owning llamas and alpacas. In 1995, over 30 farms attended this event. And over 2,000 people came to see these great animals.

With the increasing presence of alpacas and guanacos in New Hampshire, the association voted to change the name of the association from The New Hampshire Llama Association to the more generic The New Hampshire Lama Association (the 1-L lama). The 1-L in the name " lama " is the genus name for all South American Camelids: llamas, alpacas, guanacos, and vicuñas. The name change was formally accomplished in March 1995.

The organization was registered with the State of New Hampshire as a non-profit organization in May 1995. Five people signed the corporation papers:

Betsy Booth

Hilltop Llamas, Madbury, NH

Jan Brown

Weeping Willow Farm, Wilton, NH

Sharon E. DaDalt

Llama Lledge Farm, Auburn, NH

Deborah H. Frock

Fairfield Llama Farm, Freedom, NH

Gail Sanborn

A-Llama-Dam-A Farm, Lee, NH

The New Hampshire Lama Association continues to be a strong force in the State of New Hampshire. We welcome members from other states, as well as people who don’t own lamas but want to learn more about them and be around these magnificent creatures!