AMERICAN PAINT HORSE ASSOCIATION BOARD OF ... - Press

Board of Director Minutes
June, 2013
In attendance were the following: Chair Don Beard, Vice Chair Kevin Smith, Mary Ann Black, Fred Tabor,
Megan Brown, Pat Mullins, Brad Perkins, Dave Wiggin, and Dr. Travis Titlow. Visitors included Ronny
Stallings, President Gregg Reisinger, and Cheryl Newman. Staff present were Billy Smith and Laura Jesberg.
The committee discussed a variety of topics that resulted in four motions. First, they suggested creating an
appendix registry open to horses that comprised the foundation of Paint Horses—Quarter Horses and
Thoroughbreds—limited to geldings and spayed mares. The appendix horses would have the same rights and
privileges as solid Paint-breds.
Next, they suggested creating a complete animal welfare statement in concert with American Horse Council
policies, including an action plan to reduce and/or eliminate undesirable genetic conditions, such as HYPP and
HERDA, in time to include in the 2014 Rule Book.
The committee was in favor of a task force designated to develop a repatriation plan, which will include the
participation-licensing program; a presentation on the task force’s findings will be presented at the 2014
Convention. They also suggested APHA immediately remove the Youth World Show qualification requirement,
beginning with the 2014 show; however, they did not see the need to modify qualification requirements for the
Open & Amateur World Show. Furthermore, members also identified short- and long-term goals for the
committee.
Membership Services Committee
Committee members attending the meeting were: Chair Jackie Mellon, Vice Chair Paula Mullins, John Corbin,
Bob Drake, Colleen Dubsky, Gwen Melshaw, Cheryl Newman and EC liaison Scot Jackson. Staff Bruce
Anderson, Cristin Conner, Kalyn Sanders and Laura Jesberg also attended. The group opened with discussion
about the performance of the 50 th anniversary membership promotion that kicked off on October 1, 2012, and
ran through April 30, 2013. The promotion significantly slowed the decline in memberships, especially toward
the end of the promotion in March, which also coincided with the start of a new telemarketing campaign to
bring back lapsed members. The group strongly agreed that telemarketing needs to continue in an effort to not
only generate revenue but also to keep the membership number above 50,000.
Discussions moved to the next membership promotion, which kicked off June 1. This promotion is similar to
the 50 th anniversary offering without the 50 th anniversary theme. The committee was asked to generate ideas
about the next item that could be offered as a membership premium, and several were suggested.
The topic of sponsors and revenue-sharing partnerships was initiated and the group reviewed the current
sponsor list, which led to the topic of the new APHA Xtras program. The group strongly agreed this program
could work very well.
Discussions turned to membership retention by state—12 states were identified as having the most significant
losses. A task force will be assembled to research the cause for decline in each of these states.
Ombudsman Committee
Attending the meeting were: Chair Mike Short, Mary Anne Black, Cheryl Newman, Paula Mullins and John
Corbin. The committee had previously been provided with two documents that had been developed to outline
the purpose of the committee and the policies and procedures to be used in committee activity. The documents
were accepted as presented. It was felt that it was vital for this committee to be discreet, confidential and
neutral. Suggestions were made regarding methods of maintaining secure records. Further discussion was held
regarding when and how the committee would get involved in situations and potential issues that might arise.
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