Minnesota Horse Council

MN Horse Council April 12, th 2016

MINNESOTA HORSE COUNCIL BOARD MINUTES April 12th, 2016

Meeting Location: Nutrena Conference Room – Leatherdale Center U of MN St Paul

Board Members Present: Darrell Mead, Glen Eaton, Kari Newman, Meg Sax, Tim Bonham, Doug Persian, Barb Anderson-Whiteis, Tom Tweeten, Sue McDonough, Kris Kelly, Dawn Moore, Missie Schwartz, Kim Otterson, Tracy Turner, Marian Robinson, Trina Joyce, Dave Fleischhaker

Absent:

Members/Visitors: Barbara Fleischhaker, Allison Eklund

I. Meeting called to order: 6:31 P.M. by President Tracy Turner.

II. Introduction of Board Members/Visitors.

III. Call for Additions/Changes to Agenda A. Meg Sax added MHC Booth at MN Horse Expo to New Business.

IV. Treasurer’s Report for March (revised) was presented by Tom Tweeten in electronic format prior to the meeting. Revised March treasurer’s report presented for approval. Kim Otterson motioned to approve the treasurer’s report as presented. Doug Persian seconded, motion carries. Tom Tweeten presented the new format for the Treasurer’s report which will consist of two parts. Part one shall be the Management Report/Statement of Activity. Part two shall be the

V. Approval of Minutes – Minutes from the March meeting were presented to the board electronically prior to the meeting, as well as in hard copy at the meeting. Glen Eaton motioned to approve the March minutes as presented. Kim Otterson seconded, motion carries.

VI. Secretary’s Report – Missie Schwartz advised she and the administrative assistant will be meeting in the near future.

VII. OLD BUSINESS A. Teleconference Update- Tom Tweeten and Kim Otterson presented a hard copy proposal of the MHC Board meeting attendance policy. Kris Kelly motioned to approval the proposal of the MHC Board meeting attendance policy. Meg Sax seconded, discussion followed. Motion carries.

B. MHC Vision- Tracy Turner would like to create a strategic plan for the future of the MHC. Discussion followed on how to better the committees the MHC promotes currently as well as how to encourage more interaction with the general horse populace in the state of MN. Tracy Turner charged each committee with presenting their committees vision for the future during their monthly reports.

C. MHSEA Update- Dawn Moore advised the entire committee has met once thus far. Both the MHC and MHSEA websites have been updated to reflect the change. Dawn Moore and Laura Moran have met weekly to review the process of administering the program. Dawn Moore advised the MHSEA will have a presence in the MN Horse Council booth at the MN Horse Expo. The MHSEA is also a Certifying Organization for the Presidential Volunteer Service Award. Barb Anderson-Whiteis has assumed the role of secretary of the MHSEA committee. Donations are on track for the committee to be self funding in 2016.

VIII. COMMITTEE REPORTS

1 MN Horse Council April 12, th 2016

A. Expo-Glen Eaton reported the MN Horse Expo is ready to go. A few vendor spots are open as are some stalls. Speakers are all set as well as any demonstrations. Please note to all concerned we will pull the trailer from the locker t o Fair Grounds on April 18. Those that have merchandise in the locker may want to make sure everything is taken from the locker. The next meeting is March 29 at Lunds & Byerly’s in St Louis Park.

B. Direct Funding- Mark Ward absent, no report.

C. Certified Stables- Sue McDonough, no report.

D. Aisle of Breeds- Glen Eaton, no report.

E. Coalition of State Horse Councils- Glen Eaton reported as many of you have heard that Jay Hickey (President of AHC) will retire June 30 of this year. We should get a nice card for his retirement. Tracy and I will be going to the Spring meeting in June.

F. Trail Blazers- Darrell Mead, no report.

G. Show Facilities- Tom Tweeten presented an update from Samantha Fischer (MN State Fair representative). We are currently waiting on a few things, our original idea of not having Saddlebred/Morgan classes governed by USEF did not work out, as they have the monopoly on horse shows. If one breed is governed by USEF, then the whole show must be governed by USEF, and it has caused an unforeseen roadblock regarding getting an extra judge to come in; but Judy is diligently working with USEF to try and clear that up! Mark will be meeting with Marty Barnes today to figure out if we will have a bull riders only or a bulls and barrels rodeo at this year’s fair; with the first weekend wrapping up on Monday, we are hoping to meet with Minnesota Polo to expand their role here at the fair, last year they had an exhibition game on Tuesday and we hope we can build on that for 2016! We have received proposed class and schedule changes from our breed delegates/committee members; I am in the midst of compiling and putting together the schedule and book, a tedious task but well worth all of the work with the energy from everyone involved this has been such a great process- that will hopefully be available beginning of April. As for meeting with the Hunter/jumper folks- that timing issue was mainly due to the end-gate and jump crew staff; not the exhibitors. We will have a new jump crew for this coming year and we hope that will eliminate the problem, as well as offering some of their classes in the AgStar Arena on Wednesday. Kris Kelly asked all directors to submit via email any names of indoor or outdoor equine facilities for rent in the state of Minnesota.

H. Legislative- Tracy Turner, no report.

I. Expo Budget Review- Darrell Mead presented a brief overview of the committee’s responsibilities.

J. Disaster- Marian Robinson, no report.

K. Communications- Missie Schwartz thanked Kris Kelly for an article submission. Deadline for the next newsletter is Friday.

IX. NEW BUSINESS

A. Treasurer’s Position- Tom Tweeten shared the procedures for reimbursement of expenses from the MHC. Tracy Turner advised there is a desire to create a financial committee out of what is currently the budget committee. The committee will consist of the executive board, the past treasurer, and the accounting assistant. Tom Tweeten will chair the committee. Tracy Turner updated the board on the mileage policy. The MHC follows the IRS guidelines and changes the rate in tandem with their changes. Tom Tweeten presented an idea to cover the costs of printing for directors on their personal computers. The deadline to have the administrative assistant print items for the meeting is the Sunday immediately before the date of the meeting.

2 MN Horse Council April 12, th 2016

B. Committee List- Trina Joyce shared some communications from people regarding their intentions for committee involvement in 2016. The administrative assistant will update the website and the committee list. C. National Equine Disease Communication Center- Tracy Turner advised the center is active and available to everyone. Tracy Turner would like to see a link on the website to the center for members to utilize. Sue McDonough offered to carry provided information to all the Certified Stables she visits.

Announcements:  March 11th is the deadline for submissions for the next newsletter.

X. Tracy Turner adjourned the meeting at 8:37 PM.

NEXT MEETING April 12th, 2016 6:30 p.m. Leatherdale Equine Building 1801 Dudley Ave. St. Paul, MN University of MN Campus