New England Dressage Association Board of Directors Summary of Meeting April 17, 2103

Transcription

1 New England Dressage Association Board of Directors Summary of Meeting April 17, 2103 Participating in person: Kathy McHugh, Paul Cormier, Diane Holsten, Karin Swanfelt, Phyllis LeBlanc, Jane Sheehan, Debbie Carr-Kirk, Beth Jenkins, Christine Shea, Linda Mendenhall Participating via conference call: Kathleen Gilroy, Angela Prenosil, Alexandra Dane, Jen Dillon, Kris Conquest, Kathy Hickerson Jane Sheehan acted as Secretary for the meeting. Secretary It was VOTED to approve the minutes for the March meeting, with the changes discussed at the meeting. The board asked Heather Stone to prepare a summary of the March meeting for posting on the website. Treasurer Leah Jamieson circulated the financials in advance of the meeting. President The following written report was submitted by Kathy McHugh in advance of the meeting: President's Report - contained in the discussion items below. The only other report is the boutique launch. I authorized the expenditure of about $1,500 to buy samples for display and sizing at the spring events, figuring we could sell them at the end of the spring show. Artie gave us a discount on the bulk order, so total was around $1,200. Kate Brassel is excited to show them at these events, and she and Tammy have been working well together to select items for sale and to select samples as well. Personnel - Lee Cullen will cease doing layout for us at the end of May. Plans for replacement to be discussed. At the meeting, the board discussed Tracie s great job description for this role, and possible replacements. Retreat - November works for everyone but Sally, Angela and Kate, who will be at Sally s L program that same weekend. Important to have them with us, especially as education will be a prime discussion topic, but recognize that we probably won't get everyone ever. Alternative seems to be to try to plan a winter weekend (January-March) which carries with it its own travel-related risks. Board to decide. At the meeting, the board decided to have a January or February retreat at Pinelands if possible. Dressage Foundation Phyllis is the MA representative of The Dressage Foundation. She distributed a flyer about their grants and programs. Beth mentioned that the Fall Show Program has a full page ad summarizing the grants TDF gives out.

2 Website Shawn reminded all coordinators to make any changes to materials on the new website ASAP. Shawn will have a mock up of the site before going live. Coordinator Reports Scholarship - The following written report was submitted by Sue Edelen in advance of the meeting: The Scholarship Committee met last night via conference call. We had 5 applications to consider, and awarded 3 scholarships: Joy Congdon (Pro) - $3000 scholarship to ride with Kathy Connelly and Anne Gribbons Nora Batchelder (Pro) - $3000 scholarship to ride with Shelly Francis Regina Cristo (AA) - $1085 scholarship to ride with Tom Noone and Judy Noone to develop Freestyle Sponsorship - The following written report was submitted by Alexandra Dane in advance of the meeting: There is no further sponsorship information to pass on. We are working on having the product etc. from sponsors come in time for the spring events. There will probably be a fuller report for the May meeting, with an increase in sponsorship, we hope. At the meeting, the board discussed the increasing desire among sponsors to access NEDA s membership and list. Sponsorship people will explore these options and get back to board at May meeting. Media Relations The following written report was submitted by Katie O Neil in advance of the meeting: As requested, find attached a powerpoint presentation that (hopefully) gives very clear instructions on how you can like NEDA on Facebook and control how you see NEDA updates. If you need anything clarified or need further help please let me know! Also find attached a PDF of the statistics regarding all communication through Constant Contact over the past year. You can clearly see the percentage of open s we get on each, the percentage of click-throughs (if someone clicks on a link within the ), and the percentage of opt-outs. It may seem low, but as far as marketing goes, our opening percentages are higher than average. We have around 2000 total opted-out contacts. Again, aside from those of you who have already provided me with great info, if you have anything you'd like included in the e-newsletter please have it to me by the 20th. 2

3 At the meeting, the board discussed the contact contact list, and the fact that it may not be updated for the latest membership list. Also, board members should be aware that some people have opted out. Karin Swanfeldt Matters - Karin reported that although we have a wonderful relationship with Sharon Gladke of mountain Horse, we have not been able to make the decision as to what we will get. To accommodate the different sizes, Sharon sent three different jackets last year. She has sent us 52 jackets for this year. Phyllis said we can get the type and size we want if we order six months in advance. Linda may need to work this out with Sharon. Maybe Linda, Alexandra and Phyllis could ge together with Sharon to decide on a better way to order the jackets. In regard to the Gathering dinner, Board Members must sign up with Sue and pay for tickets. Fall Show - The following written report was submitted by Beth Jenkins in advance of the meeting: Fall Festival is starting to roar along. I am updating the Volunteer database. Within this database I have a table of 10,000 names of people who have been involved one way or another with NEDA since Once I get the Volunteer database updated we will start putting people in. I will create a Constant Contact list of all volunteers for the past three or four years and we will send that out. We also have a nice banner for NEDA monthly s. And for the Tip. We are working on a list of things volunteers can do, to go out with the next NEDA . Like print name tags for all the volunteers. Like be a Shuttle Chair to be sure we get all 24 officials and others needing transportation back and forth from hotel to grounds. The Volunteer team is working well, in communication about a variety of things. I spent yesterday coping with Premiere Limo for shuttle service to get officials to and from Hotel and showgrounds. Find that we can have a passenger van for the day for less money than scheduling individual trips. Part of the problem is that the limo service is in Albany, which pushes the multiple trips price sky high. We have used them for years to pick up people at the airport and get them to the Holiday Inn. It is a polished and professional operation. I just cannot seem to find similar quality in Kingston or Saugerties. Last year I lost my local shuttle person at the last minute and Premiere managed to cover our needs. This year I am looking into various options with them. Having a driver / vehicle on hand for trips back to hotel, or wherever, at our beck and call is enticing. We seem to always need trips on the spur of the moment. And golf carts are all set. Now working on an FEI vet, as FEI has instilled 3 year limit on using same vet. So, Heather Hoyns has to skip a year. And we have to find another vet for this year. 3

4 Kristen DeLucca is ready to go to give the Fall Show some internet presence. Katie convinced us that our best route is to incorporate Fall Show into the NEDA Facebook page. So we will go that route. Education The following written report was submitted by Angela Prenosil in advance of the meeting: Spring symposium: From Kris Conquest-All of the riders (15) have been chosen (by the clinicians using online application and youtube video links) and notified. There were 26 applicants, almost all adult amateurs. -Volunteers are starting to turn up; we could use a couple more for Sunday but a couple of the rider applicants who weren't chosen have expressed interest in volunteering, so we should have most things covered very soon. -Auditor count is still low and online early bird pricing ends Friday, April19. I am still not freaked out by this (yet) as we have only once had more than 50 +/- auditors sign up ahead of time. Most will be walk-ins, and now that the riders have been selected, the push is on for auditors. At the meeting, the board discussed ways to make sure the sponsor banners are hung for the event. Angela : Mt Holyoke is lending us their solid arena and we have two volunteers to pick up and drop off. Now we need a competent person or two to man the set up.kate, Diane? Please let Kris know if you could do it on Friday afternoon and what we will need for tapes, stakes, etc. and extra peeps. USDF Young Horse Program: Still set for Sept with Scott Hassler and Ingo Pape. They found a title sponsor, so NEDA will not sponsor this, we will HOST. Also, we will do the reception on Saturday nite (in budget). The press release came out with absolutely no mention of NEDA anywhere, after a few very direct s from Elizabeth Preston (organizer) and Kathy Hickerson, the ad was reworked and edited to include NEDA and our logo. Fall Symposium: Will be at Pineland Farms in Maine on Sept 28-29th with Christoph Hess, along with a professionals seminar on Friday before. Announcements are going out, so people should be aware of the date. Jen also did a nice ad to put in the Spring Symposium program and I will post on Facebook and website. Spring Show The following written report was submitted by Paul Cormier in advance of the meeting: Entry info was forwarded yesterday. In order to make 4 rings a good number of entries will be needed by closing day. If we don't have 4 rings the "r" judges will notified that there services regretfully not be needed. Our contract with them states if services are not required with notification from 29 to 15 days before show they will receive half payment. We will have to cut back on some volunteers (scribes & ring steward). We have 5 vendors and waiting to hear from a couple more. 4

5 At the meeting, the board discussed the light entries for the show. Show might be only 3 rings, and may have to excuse some r judges and volunteers. Also, NEDA may not be able to use the Heritage rings in the future. Advertising - Shawn reported that she has taken care of most of the adds for the Fall Show. Sport Horse - Kathy reported that they are finishing up the stallion auction, and getting publicity for NEDA Fall from the auction. She reported that one of the local breed shows may not be a recognized show, but that an unsanctioned show could be held the day after a USEF show. Membership At the meeting, Debbie reported that membership was going well. 5