November 12, 2017
Hayden Lakeside Grill, Tualatin
Meeting open to all members
Board Members Attending: Gay Adams, Dallas Bolen, Karen Breckenridge, Kathy DeFazio, Carol Dombrowsky, Nancy Eidam, Leanne Roth, & David Silver
Meeting called to order at 1:30pm by President, Gay Adams
·
Presidents Report
by Gay Adams
Gay announced that the Policy & Procedure Manual has been approved. There is still work to do on it, but the main part is done. She also said the Board has instituted a 3-5 year plan which was distributed. In the past we have only planned for the current year. With this change we will be able to take a longer term view at what we are doing and be able to hand it off from year to year to those that come on Board behind us.
·
Treasurer Report
given by Karen Breckenridge
Cash position improved from $33,688 at year end 2016 to $46,686 at year end 2017. The improvement is due to better Income centered in the OMC show & Stallion Service Auction. Membership dues dropped. The MHAO Board kept tight control of expenses. The result was a net income for the year of $13,069.
·
Show Committee
Report by Nancy Eidam
OMC will not be combined with Far West this year. The 2017 show was a very special show that cannot be repeated. We will be adding Saddlebreds to the show for 2018 and possibly some open to all breed classes, opportunity classes, and academy classes.
Show dates will be June 20-23, 2017 at the Oregon Horse Center in Eugene.
We need to be very focused on sponsorships. That is the only way we can break even or make a profit. We will do what we can to keep exhibitor costs down. While last year was profitable, it would not have been without sponsorship support including corporate sponsorships.
·
Youth Committee
Report by Gay Adams for Diane Pixlee
In 2018 one of our main focuses will be Youth. We want to expand our program to include activities throughout the year, not just at OMC. We will be looking at how we can better implement the AMHA Youth program. See new business for some additional funding we will have to work with.
We must grow the number of youth in our club – it is the future for us and for the Morgan breed in the State. We will also be looking at ways to add incentives for our youth.
·
Stallion Auction Committee Report
by Gay Adams
Gay has started working on getting stallion donations for the 2018 auction. Goal is to have 24 stallions this year, up from 20 the last two years. Gay made a call to those attending the Award Banquet to come to the Spring Clinic on March 17, 2018. She let people know she will need help on manning the phones for the auction.
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Futurity Report
by Gay Adams
We had over 52 horses enrolled in the futurity for 2017 with 18 participating in Futurity classes at OMC. This was a new record for us. We will have 8 horses maturing out of the futurity in 2018. Our hope is to stay at 50+ horses but it will depend on the number of 2018 foals that are born in our area and enrolled.
Due to lack of sales of the 2017-2018 Morgan Stallion calendar in 2017 and because of the change in how AMHA is handling their calendar this year (all AMHA members will receive a free calendar) we are not pursuing making a calendar for 2018 as a fundraiser for the futurity.
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Promotion & Membership Report
by Gay Adams for Kathy Christensen
Promotion & membership along with Youth will receive strong focus by your Board in 2018. On membership, in 2017 we have done a lot of work to get our club computer set up so that we can hand it off from one membership chair to a new one as the Board changes. This ensures that a new Membership Chair will have access to our membership software. We are putting a membership follow-up procedure in place so we are checking back with members who have not renewed their dues. Our goal is to retain our existing members. We will focus on ways to bring in new members thru our promotional efforts.
We held a very successful “Day of the Morgan” event (thank you Erin Silver & Shelley Bullard), and will likely look for ways to repeat that type of event. We will be developing our promotion plan for the year soon and again apply for an AMHA promotional grant.
·
Open Incentive Report
by Carol Dombrowsky.
Carol explained the program to those who attended. This is a reimbursement program for those who take their Morgan to open shows, dressage events, clinics, parades, poker rides, etc. any events other than Morgan shows where they pay a fee. Members can be reimbursed for the amount spent up to $25 per event to a maximum of $100 per year. Morgan shows do not count. Additional information and a reimbursement form can be found on our website. Not very many people are taking advantage of this program. We paid out a total of $200 in 2017.
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Website Report
by Dallas Bolen.
Website is mostly complete. Forms will be updated for 2018 soon. Although leaving the Board this year, Dallas has agreed to continue to be our Webmaster. If anyone has any ideas, please let her know. We are removing the credit card link thru the website and asking people to work thru the appropriate Chair person for their payment. People can still bill to credit cards, just not directly thru the website. This is so the Chair person is on top of things and can take the appropriate steps to be sure our members don’t miss out on the services that their payment covers.
·
Facebook Report
by Kathy DeFazio.
Please remember to post horse sales only between the 1
st
& 5
th
of each month on the clubs main Facebook page. Although Kathy DeFazio is leaving the Board of Directors, she will continue to be our Facebook Administrator for both the main Facebook page and the Stallion Service Auction Facebook page.
·
Stable Sheet Report
by Gay Adams.
Gay is the Acting Editor. We are still looking for an Editor. Gay will continue to do what she can, but does not have the time needed to do a complete job. The club went a full year in 2016 without a newsletter and Gay could just not let that continue. Only members who have an email address are receiving it. Member news is found on Facebook and put into the newsletter which Gay sees as a history for the club. She encourages members to send her information, and invites anyone interested in being an editor to give her a call.
·
Awards Report
by Gay Adams for Margaret Korver.
Due to life circumstances we are without Awards to present tonight. Gay apologized and said she does have the names of the winners which she will announce after the panelists have made their presentations. The awards will need to be ordered & sent to everyone.
New Business:
·
New Trail Program
presented by Leanne Roth. Leanne gave info on the new Ride & Drive program. This is a point program for time spent in a non-competitive setting or at an open to all breed event. She also explained how the point system will work. She handed out an enrollment form and log for people to review & use. We are still in the process of working out the awards.
·
Nancy Falk Trust Donation
was introduced to the membership by Kathy DeFazio. The Trust has donated $15,000 to MHAO to be used at $1,000 per year over 15 years. Half will be for a perpetual high point award for a colored horse at the OMC show and the other half will be used in support of the Youth of the Year program. An additional $200 was donated to cover the cost of the perpetual award and at least some of the engraving costs. Going forward, any annual expenses will come out of the $500 used each year for each purpose.
Election results were announced. Everyone on ballot was elected. Erin Silver was one of those written in, and accepted a Board position. Other write-in candidates declined. Kathy Christensen written in as our VP and accepted the position.
Thank you plaques were given to Dallas Bolen and to Kathy DeFazio as they leave the MHAO Board of Directors. Their service to the club is greatly appreciated.
The General Membership Meeting was adjourned at 2:15pm
