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Victims Of Our Own Success….
NEECA began about 25 years ago as an undeveloped parcel of land on New Sherborn Road in Athol, and a dream. Over the years, thanks entirely to the hard work and vision of some very dedicated people who realized how special NEECA was, that dream has evolved into an organization that currently manages a 250+ acre parcel of property that includes: two riding arenas, a driving arena, confidence course, round pen, and approximately 4+ miles of marked trails. In addition, NEECA now organizes over 30 events annually for local horse enthusiasts to participate in.
That’s the GOOD news. The not so good news is that while the responsibilities of maintaining the actual park, in addition to its calendar of events, has increased every year…. the number of people responsible for doing the work to make these things happen, unfortunately, has not. At present, the NEECA Board consists of 9 volunteers who, other than Tina Dixson who runs the gymkhana series every year, are entirely responsible for everything that happens at NEECA. Unfortunately, the ever-increasing responsibilities due to NEECA’s growth and expansion are starting to take their toll. As a result, we just don’t have enough “pep in our step” left this year to host the NEECA Fall Social, which takes up a LOT of time and effort to run successfully.
We truly regret having to cancel this longstanding NEECA tradition, and hope that we can get it back on the schedule for next year. But the need to cancel the Fall Social represents a growing challenge for NEECA. For us to continue NEECA’s impressive development, simply put, we need more help.
Please know that we are aware, and so very appreciative, of the volunteers who show up to help at the workday each spring, and at some of the other events held throughout the year (Triathlon, Hunter Pace, etc.) But for NEECA to continue to be able to offer the wide variety of events it is known for, we must have more people willing to step up to help organize some of our events. We currently have about 275 members, if even 10% of them could commit to helping with a specific event, the problem would be solved. No experience? We’ll be glad to train you. No time? That’s a challenge we all have, but whatever time you could give would be a big help. If everyone just committed to one event per year, we’d have more than enough help.
The big fear is that instead of continuing to grow and expand, as it has since its beginning, NEECA will start to stagnate and contract as people start to either burn and/or age out and are no longer able to do as much as they have. The Fall Social is our first red flag and has brought home the fact that changes need to happen soon in order for NEECA to continue to thrive and remain the incredible asset it has become to our regional horse community.
For more details as to what is involved in helping to coordinate an event, please follow this link. And remember, we will be MORE than happy to help mentor new coordinators as they "learn the ropes" but we really need to get some new people involved with helping out. Many thanks for taking the time to read this, and we hope you will be able to find the time to help out next year. :)
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