Big Sky Fox Trotter Association

Minutes for the May 11, 2007 meeting,

Rea’s Arena, Helena, MT

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President Bob Womack called the meeting to order at 8:20 p.m., following the after-show barbecue. Officers and board members attending the meeting were President Bob Womack, Vice-president Mary Auger, Treasurer Donna Goss, Secretary Karen Philips, and directors-at-large Bill Free and Rick Padgett.  Many other members and guests were in attendance, but a sign-in sheet was not circulated by the secretary (I apologize for that error!).

It was moved and seconded to approve the February 17, 2007 minutes as printed in the March-April 2007 newsletter.  Motion passed.

Donna Goss reported that the current balance is $7,825.77.  The Helena show brought in $1,500 in sponsorship money, which was very good news.  Many thanks to Jerry Christison, Mary Greene and all others who worked so hard to get those sponsorships.  Donna reported that the 13th annual point show at Sapphire Event Center (July 5-7) has brought in $2,980 in sponsorship money so far.  Donna has National Finals Rodeo tickets to sell and Candace Erickson is the contact person for more tickets.  We also have denim and polo-style shirts with the club emblem to sell for $26.  It was moved and seconded to approve the treasurer’s report.  Motion passed.

Co-chair Mark Goss thanked all the folks who worked so hard today at the show: Daniel Brassard, Vonnie Campbell, Gen Christison, Jerry Christison, Cathy Olson, Wilma Brassard, and Sam Brassard.

Sapphire Event Center

Rick Padgett, show chair, reported that show registration information was sent to all members with e-mail and is also on the web site (bigskyfta.org).  Our judge, Elmer Scott, will provide a performance clinic after the show, and Suzanne Scott will serve as ring steward. 

2008 Annual Point Show: The 2008 show will be held July 10-12 at Sapphire Event Center, and the facility is already booked for that date.

Mary Auger suggested we change the date of the club calendar from an 18 month one starting in July to a 12 month calendar (Jan.-Dec. 2008).  Members agreed to that change.

Letter to MFTHBA Regarding Canter Rule: Regarding the letter Ross sent to MFTHBA requesting that the Board of Directors enforce the rule which prevents excessive pumping of horses in the canter, Bob Womack reported that he sent a second copy of the letter and followed that with a third letter.  He has also called four or five times, and he still has not received a response.  He will send a fourth copy of the letter to the officers and board members.

2006 Affiliate of the Year Scrapbook: Annette said she was overloaded helping with this year’s show and did not have time to pull the scrapbook together.  Members agreed that she should wait until she does not have so many other responsibilities before trying to to do this again.  It is a lot of work!

By-laws: Pete Peterson is head of the by-laws committee, and he will start work on revising them when Penny recuperates from her back surgery.  Karen updated the by-laws by putting the document into a word processing format and including all amendments passed so far.  She emailed this version to Pete.

MFTHBA web site: Bob reported that the national organization wants us to kick in $500 or more towards a new $20,000 web site they are developing.  Members were against doing this because MFTHBA still has not responded to our letter regarding excessive pumping of the canter, and they have cut the Promotions budget, which is the one area where we receive a direct benefit.  We also don’t have regional representation yet.  These are just a few of our concerns regarding giving more money to the national organization.

Newsletter Software: Annette will inform members that the newsletter is now available on the web site at bigskyfta.org for those with high speed Internet access.  The club purchased Adobe Acrobat Professional software which allows us to store our newsletter in a pdf format on the web site.  Members can download the newsletter from the web site, and all computers can read the pdf format and print it. Pictures will be clearer and in color, which is an advantage for some members.  It will also save postage costs.  For members with dial-up Internet connections, however, the download time may be long.

NFR Tickets & Partnerships: Mark Goss will explore partnerships with other equine organizations in regards to selling the NFR raffle tickets.

Next Meeting: TBA

Meeting was adjourned at 8:45.

Karen Philips, Secretary