Approved Meeting Minutes
Iowa Horse Council Meeting
Held at Buford’s Restaurant at the Quality Inn and Suites
Ames, Iowa
April 16, 2008
Approved at May 21, 2008 meeting
The April 16, 2008 meeting of the Iowa Horse Council (IHC) was called to order at 7:18 p.m. by President Paynter.
Board members present:
Harold Ault Bill Paynter Steve Goretska
Rebecca Cordray Jayne Holste Carolyn Hasbrook
John Vriezelaar Dora Guffey Dennis Crowley
Associate Directors Present:
none
Guests present:
Twila Vriezelaar Samantha Holste Denise Goretska
Shelly Paynter Jill Paxton
Minutes of the Previous Meeting - Motion by Cordray, seconded by Vriezelaar to accept the minutes as mailed/e-mailed. All ayes, motion carried.
Treasurer’s report – There was no treasurer’s report presented. Discussion held regarding the March treasurer’s report and why the Horse Fair deposits were not showing up. Checks were hand delivered to Telleen at the March board meeting, so they would not show up in that month’s report. It was brought up that we need to be careful, because if you wait too long to cash checks, some checks may not clear. It was also mentioned that a large sum was wire transferred to the IHC account after Horse Fair.
Old Business:
* Cordray mentioned that the IHC brochure that is being worked on is close to being completed, and the target is to have it completed by State Fair time.
Committee Reports:
Administration:
* Website – nothing to report at this time.
* Membership – Holste reported that there have been several new memberships received.
Promotion:
* Awards & Scholarships – The presentation of the Awards, Scholarships, and Grant winners was done at the speaker’s area on Saturday afternoon in the Varied Industries Building during the Horse Fair, and a reception with cake, coffee, punch, etc. was held in one of the conference rooms. Discussion held that this seemed to work well, but it did seem hard to get some of the winners from the speaker’s area to the conference room for the reception. We may discuss holding the presentations in the same room as the reception next year, will need to work it all out with Barb Z and those involved. It was noted that there was a picture of Cami in the Sunday paper depicting that she was Horsewoman of the Year.
* Grants – winners were also presented with the awards, etc., as above. The grant winners were very pleased to receive the assistance with their projects.
* Publications – Cordray reported that June 1 is the next deadline for the newsletter. Paynter will get a list of all of the Horse Fair volunteers to Cordray for recognition in the next newsletter.
* Directory – Cordray also reported that she has not heard from Carol Eilers yet about wanting to do the directory again. Discussion held. Fall would be the best time to work on it. Paxton updated everyone on her being able to utilize the directory with legislators and at various presentations. She was a speaker at a dinner in Lucas, Iowa, with 200 people present, and also at a meeting in Kirkwood with over 50 people present, and was able to have plenty of directories available. Paxton also commented that there are a lot of people out there that don’t know about our grant, sponsorship, scholarship programs.
* State Fair Booth – Hasbrook requested to buy new chairs for the booth. Hasbrook also updated everyone on the Learning Center activities this year. We have 6 time slots; 2 spots at noon and 4 spots at 6 p.m. – all sponsored by the IHC. Topics will include: Equine Dentistry, Baby Foal, Horses in History, Riding Your Horse on Iowa Trails, Riding for the First Time, and one other topic that could not be remembered at this time. Topics had to be submitted quite a while ago, so they tried to make them fairly general. We will need to line up speakers. This will not cost us anything to participate in the Learning Center area. Blount has offered to help with this.
Educational Issues:
* Equine Health & Welfare – Paynter reported that the Horse Cruelty Investigation Short Course went very well. IHC did use some of our reserve funds for this purpose, and it was money well spent. There were 25 law enforcement folks, some IHC members, and about 6 from rescue organizations, including one from Kansas. There was good exchange with all of the participants, and it was very well received.
* Governmental Affairs – Paxton updated everyone on the fact that there were two bills related to horses this year in the Iowa Legislative session. One was a referendum bill that was racing related, and the Equine Commission. Both bills passed one side and passed committees, but both were waiting for the final vote. According to Paxton, she has been able to glean that the legislator’s impression of the equine industry is very fragmented and they cannot agree on anything. There is still time to make a difference. Contact your senator or representative, as there are two weeks left in the session. Also, the increased fees for pick-ups passed this legislative session. Discussion held.
* Breed & Organization Liaison – nothing to report at this time.
Horse Fair – There was much discussion on various topics, as referenced below:
* Ault reported that there were 104 booths last year, we had at least 120 this year.
* There were bales of bedding left over – approximately 65 – but they have been sold.
* Discussion held regarding the musicians – may not want to have them until noon or so – also may want to bring other people in as well, to expand and grow it.
* Need sponsors to help defray the cost on the speaker’s area.
* Future sponsors may include Fort Dodge Labs.
* Not much traffic at the speaker’s area on Sunday – may want to take a hard look at things for next year.
* Draft Harness – 6 Horse Hitch was good.
* Barrels and Bulls went over fairly well.
* The kids area went over well – put in a more visible location next year.
* The poster boards were good and helped direct people correctly.
* Need diversity with clinicians – English or other
* FFA possibly practice speaking at Horse Fair
* Possible fashion show next year.
* DOT guy did a good job with his presentation and answering questions.
* People wanting to pack out early on Sunday – maybe open later on Sunday like 10:00
* Get the schedule up sooner on the website – even if it is tentative – and get the schedule in the tri-fold brochure.
* On the website, use the word schedule.
* Discussion held regarding finding Horse Fair information on our website. Some people could find the info, some could not. It was determined that this may be some sort of a connection issue.
* Discussion also held to possibly separate out the Horse Fair info to its own website – could explore a link or other options.
* Cordray collected comments on a tablet at the booth. Some comments ranged from: * People would like a Horse Fair poster next year. * More time for queens. * They liked the people haulers.
Trails – National Trails Day is June 3rd. It was mentioned that upcoming work days are:
Story County – April 20th at 1:30 p.m.
Volga River – April 26th
Brushy Creek – Early May – contact the Park Manager for more information.
New Business – Cordray mentioned an idea of possibly holding fewer board meetings, as committees seem to be functioning, and we could even possibly hold conference calls, or the executive committee could meet, if there were items needing addressed right away. This was brought forward as something to consider.
It was also brought up about the person who e-mailed several IHC board members, looking to move to Iowa and wanting a place to purchase and board their horses, etc. Holste stated that she had talked with the person recently.
The next meeting will be held Wednesday, May 21, 2008. We will target the Country Kitchen on NE 14th Street, Des Moines, Iowa, yet to be confirmed.
Motion by Vriezelaar to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Goretska. All ayes, the meeting adjourned at 8:55 p.m.
Submitted by:
Dora Guffey
Vice President
Note taker for the meeting
