NH Arabian Horse Association Newsletter
Winter Update
February 2008
Hello Friends:
Thank you to all who participated in our Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet which was held on January 19th at the Makris Lobster and Steakhouse in Concord. We had a record turnout of 57 participants. It was great to see familiar faces and to make new friends. I enjoyed speaking with people and wish I had more time to chat with everyone. Everyone had a good laugh at the Yankee Swap.
For those who were unable to attend I’ll recap the highlights.
Your board members wanted to thank our very helpful volunteers for all their efforts in 2007. Although not all were there to receive the thanks in person, we want to make sure they are recognized and we hope to see them all again this year, as well as anyone who wants to join in the fun!
Linda Fish participated in every event the club had this year! She shared her talent of photography, contributed food and made up some cute gift baskets for the trail ride. Bill Fish from Bill Fish Photography was a gracious volunteer who took amazing photos at many of our events. Please check out Bill’s work on his Web Site: http://www.billfishphotography.com. Crystal Webster worked on printed materials for our clinics and horse shows. Nancy Schroth, Melody Maddison and Gale Grenier attended the beach ride and worked the gates at the horse show. Julia Webb and Trixie Lefebvre marked and unmarked the trail ride in Chester Laura Susmann was a constant source of support and help on planning trail rides and represented our club at the Region 16 meeting in Niagara Falls. Sara Whitcomb scribed for our judges at the Dressage Arena
After reviewing club business we held elections. Since no one from the floor was nominated a motion was accepted and passed to accept the nominees as written on the election form.
After the meeting and banquet, I was sorry to hear that Kathy Wilber is resigning from her position as Treasurer for the club. Luckily for us, June Barber has agreed to step up and finish Kathy's term this year.
I'd like to thank Kathy for taking over from Julie Dulac last year. She's done an excellent job managing our funds and running the web site. Fortunately, she's planning to continue her duties as Web Master.
June, Kathy and I will work out the transition details, this may take a few weeks or month depending on how easily files can be transferred from one software program to another.
A huge THANK YOU to June, we know that she'll do a fantastic job in 2008.
Board of Directors for 2008:
- Laurel Bissonnette, President
- Lurline “Skeeter” Combs, Vice President
- Judy Poirier, Secretary
- June Barber, Treasurer
- Linda Fish, Membership Chairperson
- Sue Levesque, Member Board of Directors, Youth Judging Team
- Christy Balch, Member Board of Directors
- Sarah Theroux, Year End Awards, Member Board of Directors
- Kathy Wilber, Webmaster, Member Board of Directors
- Cheryl Crawford and Laura Susmann, Alternate Board Members
Check the Contacts page for how to reach us.
We also had some great free raffles. Tess Perry was the lucky winner of the beautiful blanket donated by the Equine Journal. And we also gave away some nice white saddle pads and a gift basket donated by Sarah Theroux, RE/MAX Colonial.
Thank you to those who have already pledged or made a contribution to the 2008 Horse Show. Sponsorships make an important difference to the bottom line of the horse show which is the single biggest money making event that the club has.
If you haven’t had a chance to review our new sponsorship program please read below for details. Back by popular demand is the “free stall” being offered at Level 4. Also, if we receive your contribution on or before 3/31/08, you can take 20% off the total amount and still receive the same benefits.
Another incentive we’re offering to members is that you can personally receive 10% back on any sponsorship you acquire that is $200 or over. So, hit the streets and go get those sponsors!
Planned activities for 2008 include our ever-popular beach ride in April, the horse show in August and possibly another trail ride or clinic in the fall. We’ll need help getting the trail ride organized again this year. Please contact any of your board members if you want to help at any of our events.
Thanks again to everyone who has made this club so much fun to be a part of. I look forward to seeing you all again soon at our events. Even if you don’t ride, come out and socialize and be a part of this great little club!
- Laurel Bissonnette