Board of Directors Meeting
Black Stallion
March 10, 2008
Attending Officers and Board Members
Brian Feuling, Laura Mickelson, Roberta Lembke, Jill Frieders, Ann
Benson, , Lori Conway, Anita Grant, Hillary Hoffman, Teresa LeFever, Toni
Marie O’Daniel, Kevin Price,
Attending Delegates and Committee Chairpersons:
Excused Absence: Georgine Holasek
Members and Guests: Christina Mattson
President Brian Feuling called the meeting to order at 7:00PM.
Secretary Report
The minutes from the January 5, 2007 meeting were presented for approval. Laura Mickelson motioned to approve the minutes as corrected. Ann Benson seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Roberta Lembke, Secretary, announced that she had sent e-mail messages to nearly 300 Minnesota and Wisconsin border town AHA members who are not members of a local club. MAHA has gained one new member from the mailing. Approximately 10 individuals wrote to explain why they aren’t interested in joining. The most common reason was the fact that they had no interest in showing and that MAHA didn’t offer them anything.
Treasurer’s Report
Jill Frieders, Treasurer, presented the Balance Sheet, the Profit and Loss Statement, as well as the Spring Fling income and expense statement. The Net Income to-date is $254.36, with Income at $2525, with the total expenses to-date at $2170.64. The Total Liabilities and Equity is at $74,812.38.
Jill reported that she is working on revising the chart of accounts. She hopes to simplify the chart to reduce the number of accounts while at the same time not diminishing the information available. At present there are over 1000 categories in the budget. Jill will present a first pass at the new structure to the board at a future meeting.
Toni Marie O’Daniel motioned to approve the report. Hillary Hoffman seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Delegate Election
Four individuals ran for election to serve as a MAHA Region 10 Delegate. Jill Frieders, Ann Benson, Anita Grant, and Lori Conway will join Laura Mickelson, and Toni Marie O’Daniel as delegates.
Website and Express
Roberta Lembke reported that the MAHA Express was published and the website updated. Board members were encouraged to submit both website and Express articles and updates.
Insurance
Laura Mickelson reported that the insurance quote for this year is $860.05 ($1 Million aggregate). MAHA will add a non member participant liability policy for $239.48 raising the total cost of the insurance to $1099.53.
Expo
Brian Feuling reported on behalf of Diana Pierce. MAHA has been overcharged for the stalling the past few years. The Expo has agreed to send MAHA a check for $550. Diana is working on the Expo ad and expects to use the same graphic used last year.
The Board discussed the need to find someone to assume the vice chair position for managing the Expo. Brian will contact Diana and give her the name of a possible candidate for the position.
Ann Benson made the recommendation that we discuss the types of volunteers we need and the tasks that we need to get accomplished. Ann stated that individuals never step up if the tasks aren’t clearly defined. The Board agreed that we should discuss the topic at one of the next meetings.
MN Horse Council
The club volunteer who served as the liaison to the MN Horse Council has resigned from this position. The board discussed how we might find someone to serve in this role. The Board also recognized the importance of our annual membership in the MN Horse Council.
Spring Show 2008
Ann Benson, Co-Chair of the Spring Fling reported the staffing, contracts, hotel accommodations, etc. are all in place. 185 stalls are reserved through pre-entry and we have 8 patrons. Teresa LeFever, Co-Chair, expects to sell more stalls as the show gets closer. Teresa reported that they need gate volunteers, ribbon volunteers, and items for the silent auction donations. Brian Feuling will serve as the ringmaster for all three days. Roberta Lembke will do a targeted mailing for volunteers and will do an entire member mailing for the auction.
The Board discussed the variety of items the announcer needs to announce between sessions and during the show. The board agreed that we need to write a script that the announcer can follow. No decision was made on who should write the script.
Arabian Open Shows Championship
The Open Show is scheduled for August 31 and will be held at the Lake Elmo Fairground. David Boggs agreed to donate Buckeye garlands that we can use for the champions. MAHA purchased the August cover of the Spotlight to advertise the upcoming show.
WSCA Delegate Report
No report.
MAHA Youth
Teresa would like to volunteer to have a clinic at her farm for the youth. She would also like to have a pizza party. Brian Feuling reported on behalf of Irene Simonson regarding the Youth High Point Awards. Kristin O’Daniel is the High Point Youth rider, High Point Arabian was awarded to KB Elite Storm shown by Katelyn Knoploh, and Open Show High Point exhibitor was awarded to Tamsen Hutton. Full results will be posted on the MAHA website.
Fall Show
No report.
Banquet
Hillary Hoffman provided the Board with possible location options for the banquet. Roberta Lembke will send Hillary the list of the past meeting locations so that we can make sure to rotate the locations. The Fall Annual Meeting and Banquet will be November 8th. The Spring Meeting is scheduled for April 12th. The post card will be mailed on Wednesday.
Memberships
Brian Feuling reported that 248 members have renewed their memberships. We have 1, 3 year membership, 7 lifetime, and 61 youth.
Black Stallion
Kaara LaVenture has a number of schools lined up to participate in the Black Stallion Literacy program. She is having difficulty getting in touch with the Black Stallion organization. Anita Grant will investigate how she can get the process going by contacting a person from Arkansas who was involved in the program.
Gamaar Fynal Edition
Jill will update the materials for the program and will post them at the Spring Fling.
Delegate Report
The Region 10 delegate attendance policy requires that all delegates attend. The Board discussed the importance of having all delegates attend the meeting. If delegates cannot attend they are to contact Brian Feuling. Brian will attend in their place, and if he can’t attend, then he will work with the delegate to find another alternate.
New Business
Bylaw Changes
The Board discussed the possibility of making some changes to the Bylaws to make it possible for the Board to change the Bylaws without a general membership vote. This change is necessitated by the fact that it is difficult to get enough MAHA members to attend a meeting where the voting will take place. Laura Mickelson agreed to draft the possible Bylaw changes and present to the Board.
2008 Budget
The Board discussed the 2008 budget. Jill Frieders, Treasurer, will develop a draft of the budget and present to the Board for approval. Some (but not all) of the items presented for inclusion include:
Spring Meeting: $500
Fall Meeting and Banquet: $2000 (including the cost of paying for ½ of
the cost of the meal; youth will need free)
Open Shows: $0
Spotlight: $129
Promotions: $1500 (will include promotions for Expo)
Promotion $1500
Office Expenses: $475
MAHA Express: $158
Spring Fling: $4795.
Presidents Awards $450
Delegate Awards $150
Taxes 200
WSCA Membership: $60
Judging Team $500; the board is open to considering additional funding
at a later date.
The Board agreed that the former Welcome Committee Expenses should be included in the show costs.
2008 Spring Meeting
Hillary Hoffman will help coordinate the general membership meeting on April 12th at the Leatherdale Equine Center at the University of Minnesota. MAHA will provide light refreshments and snacks.
2008 Meeting Dates
April 12, 1:00, tours at 2:00
May 12, 7:00PM Black Stallion, Hampton
August 11, 7:00PM Black Stallion, Hampton
October 6, 7:00PM Black Stallion, Hampton
November 8th, TBD
Topics for Future meetings
May – talk about possible resolutions.
August– Directors awards
Laura Mickelson made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Anita Grant seconded the motion. Motion passed. The meeting adjourned at 9:00PM.