2010 Region 5 Youth Leaders Conference * Feb. 27
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Region Five summit meeting

A Region Five Summit meeting was held on Nov. 1^st. in Grantville PA. Invited to the meeting were all Region Five affiliate presidents and members of the 2009 Region Five show committee.

NY. Tom Hatch, president (absent), Patti hole (present), Karen Kula (present)

NJ. Gary Weeks, president (absent), Peter Cofrancesco, Director (absent) Bronwyn Pait (present)

DE. Buddy Mobry, president (absent), Gary Collins (present)

PA. Rita Mcmullen, President (absent), Jerry Yohn (present), Sue Yohn (present)

MD. Joe Smith, president (present), Walter Hughes (present), Eileen Simpson (absent)

VA. Gene Montgomery, president (absent), Cathette Plumer (present) Mike Jennings (absent)

Rick Shiffler, Region Five Chairman (present), Angelo Bizzarro Region Five Treasurer (present)

After welcome and introductions we held a discussion and review of the 2009 show held in Syracuse NY, July 23-26. AQHA entries at the 2009 show were approximately 950 and total entries approximately 1300. The non AQHA entries were from open jumping classes, team penning, & Cattle sorting classes. The show made a profit but final figures are not available as there are still some outstanding bills that have not been resolved. Angelo will provide a statement at a later date. In comparison to the other nine Regional shows Region Five came in approximately third in entries. Most of the other regions reported a break even or a small profit with one region reported a loss. We did a short review of expenses for the show and reviewed that other than the facility cost, our expenses are to pay the following positions.

·        AQHA Judges, their travel and hotel expenses

·        Show secretary and expenses

·        Show announcer, travel, and hotel

·        Camper hookups and hotel rooms for volunteers

·        Lunch for show staff

·        Exhibitors party

Emphasis was put on the fact that other than the six judges, announcer and show secretary all others are volunteers and receive no compensation for their commitments to the show. Without the help of these great people the show would not be feasible. It was also noted that the low facility cost of the New York State Fair Grounds was instrumental in making this years show a financial success.

 We then reviewed notes from the AQHA regional summit meeting held in Dallas on Oct. 1 & 2. Angelo Bizzarro and Rick Shiffler represented Region Five at this meeting. At that meeting  all regions gave a recap and overview of their 2009 Regional Show. We then went into discussion about the future of the Regional program. We were assured that AQHA is 100% behind the continuation of the Regional program and the support of the regional committees. We then discussed the challenges for 2010 and brainstormed ideas to make the program better. One of the biggest challenges for 2010 will be the cut back in funding of cooperate sponsors. It was noted that some of the sponsorship comes in the form of donated products and some comes in monetary funds. We discussed ways to cover as many classes as possible with the limited funding available. There was a consensus that we need to focus on the original intent of the show being a Championship show. The outcome was to change the name to Regional Championships. There were several suggestions that came out of the meeting that needed to be approved by the AQHA Executive committee. The highlights of the approved suggestions are,

·        Allow each region to submit a business plan for their show outlining what works best for their region.

·        Approved a moratorium on any new shows or special events that might conflict with a Regional show and not allow an existing show to change their date to a date that conflicts with a Regional show

·        Approved requiring an exhibitor to be a member of one of the state affiliate association within the region.

·        Change the minimum number of judges from 3 to 2

Also discussed was the lack of AQHA staff and Executive Committee members at the shows and the lack of recognition of exhibitors. Don Treadway made a commitment to address these problems and assured us there will be more of an AQHA presence at future shows. As well as more coverage of pictures and results on the AQHA web site.

 Our discussion then moved on to what direction Region Five should take for 2010 and commitment of the Affiliate organizations in Region Five to support a 2010 show. The outcome was unanimous from all affiliates organizations to hold and support a 2010 Regional Championship show. Discussion then led to brainstorming ideas to better promote affiliate involvement and professional horseman involvement by promoting both through the regional program. We discussed the possibilities of promoting each of the affiliates All Novice shows with some type of incentive to show at the Regional Championship.

              From there we brainstormed ideas for our 2010 show and came up with the following actions.

·        Hold the 2010 show at the Virginia Horse Center in Lexington VA.

·        Solicited more help from the Virginia Affiliate and add Chris Ringer, Becky Meadows, & Eloise Jones to our committee

·        Sell promotional hooded sweat shirts advertising the Regional Championship with 50% of the sponsorship proceeds and all of the profits going to the affiliate organizations, Bronwyn Pait to chair the effort.

·        Minimum number of three horses entered in a class to award a belt buckle

·        Youth division to be 18 and under

·        Use 3 judges per class

·        Require each affiliate to supply items for a live auction at the exhibitor’s party.

·        Each affiliate to have 2 active members on the regional planning committee.

We wrapped up the meeting discussing the need to compile data from class entries from previous shows so we can determine what classes will be included in the 2010 show. When the necessary data is compiled we will call a telephone conference call for our next meeting.

Submitted

Rick Shiffler

Region Five Chairman

REGION FIVE THANK YOU

On Behalf of the Region Five Show committee Thank You to all that helped to make the 2009 Region Five Experience a success. Without the supports of the Region Five affiliate organizations and the countless efforts of the committee people this show would not be possible. Although preliminary planning and advertising are organized by AQHA the remainder of the work rests entirely on the countless numbers of volunteers from Region Five affiliate organizations. These volunteers are not only responsible for the organization and production of the show they are also responsible for the financial outcome of the show.

The next time you see one of these people please extend a thank you for a job well done!

EMPIRE STATE QUARTER HORSE ASSOCIATION
Patty Hole, committee member, jumping coordinator
Karen Kulha, committee member, jumping coordinator                                              
Lee Davidson, show helper
Larry Jaynes, show helper
Robin Petix, vendor coordinator
|Bonnie Miller, cattle class judge
Tyson Furlong, clinician
Jeff Steer, clinician
Regina Kernin, ring stweard

PENNSYLVANIA QUARTER HORSE ASSOCIATION
John & Pat Comerford wine & cheese party coordinators and ring steward
Jerry Yohn, ring crew & ring maintenance
Cynthia Dobson, show manager
Rita Mcmullen, committee member

NEW JERSEY QUARTER HORSE ASSOCIATION
Bronwyn Pait, awards coordinator, committee member

DELAWARE QUARTER HORSE ASSOCIATION
Gary Collins, committee member, show helper
Pam Collins, show helper

MARYLAND QUARTER HORSE ASSOCIATION
Joe Smith, committee member, ring steward coordinator
Brenda Smith, awards distribution
Walter Hughes, committee member
Angelo Bizzarro, Region Five treasurer
Suzette Bizzarro, awards distribution
Eileen Simpson, ring steward

VIRGINIA QUARTER HORSE ASSOCIATION
Cathette Plumer, committee member, announcer, show helper
Jeff Ringer, web site administration