1.      Identification of members present                              

Burt Shewfelt, Anna Middleton, Eunice Bosomworth, John Bosomworth, Brian Jensen, Barb Neufeld, Pat Wolfe, Allison Baaken, Dianne Manegre, Carol Boehm, Diana Brady, Gunner Rogstad, Russell Brenneman, Jane O’Brien

 

Guests present: NFHR, Dan Watanabe

 

 

2.      Adoption of agenda                             

Eunice moved to adopt agenda, Anna seconded, passed.

 

3.      Approval of 2008 Annual Meeting Minutes

Carol moved to adopt the minutes, seconded by John Bosomworth, passed.

 

4.      2008 Financial Statements                           

Barb moved to adopt financial statements, seconded by Anna Middleton, passed.

 

5.      Accountant for 2009                                         

Carol moved to ask Marie Plummer to review the financial statements again for 2009, Allison and Anna seconded, motion passed.

 

6.      Directors’ Report                                                         

1.      2009 Budget                                   

Dianne presented the budget, the major change being a drop in honorariums to compensate for lower revenues. Barb stated that she would waive her honorarium for the website.

2.      Website            

Barb reported that estimated income from the website are ~$1,000, the projected expenses for the website are $450. New header for the website cost $300, including new logo. Need to give credit to logo designer, Barb will do right away. Pat suggested adding a Junior page, Barb is trying to coordinate setting up, and welcomes input from members. Barb is also looking at putting the newsletter on the website, setting up a “members’ only” page. Carol asked why the newsletter would only be available to members.

3.      Newsletter                                                       

Eunice reported that in 2008, the newsletter cost $2000, with only $120 in revenue. There is a lot of repeated information in each newsletter. The thinking behind having access to the newsletter is that it would only be available to those who have paid to a membership. At the same time that the newsletter is put up on the website, CFHA will ask members if they want a copy mailed to them, then we could reduce the number of mailed copies. Also, we are looking at assigning two directors to try to get articles / news for each quarterly newsletter. Carol asked why we would even bother having a newsletter if all of the information is available on the website. Anna indicated that some people don’t have access to the internet, and that the CFHA raised membership fees recently to continue having the newsletter. Burt noted that if in the next membership renewal we asked who wanted a newsletter mailed to them, we could still provide service to those who don’t have access to the internet.

Pat stated that the internet gives people access to information all of the time, instead of just each quarter. Brian Jensen noted that the newsletter of the Pacific Northwest association just issued was 28 pages long…the newsletter and the website are both things that an association offers to members, it is why members join. They are both vehicles for education….the CFHA newsletter could be expanded to provide better service to members. Further discussion on the pros and cons of having the newsletter. Eunice suggested that by giving people the option to have it on the website, we could reduce the cost, as see what happens over time. Eunice moved to accept report, seconded by Carol, passed.

 

      4.  Microchip Distribution                                     

Dianne reported for Tyler the decision at the last directors meeting was to pass the sale of microchips to the CLRC, effective Jan 1, 2010.

 

5.      Secretary-Treasurer position                            

Burt noted that at the directors meeting that Dianne has tendered her resignation, effective Jan 1, 2010. Because no one has stepped forward to volunteer to replace her, Dianne inquired into the cost of having the CLRC perform our financial transactions - at a cost of $30/hour.Brian Jensen asked how many hours per week…Dianne guessed that it might be 10 to 15 hours per month on treasurer work, however may not be the same with the CLRC. Barb said it might be a good idea to split the two roles. Carol moved that Dianne request an estimate from the CLRC, seconded by Brian Jensen, passed.

 

7.       Report from committees

1.      Evaluation

o       Dan Watanabe said that while the evaluation was small, it was a good start, with lots of good education provided both to breeders, and to those interested in performance. Both of these help to improve the perception of the Fjord horse in the public, which helps to grow our markets. On behalf of the NFHR, extend congratulations on a successful event. Alison thanked Pat and all of the participants for their efforts, looking forward to building on this evaluation. Alison will have an article for the next newsletter. Pat noted that many people helped to bring this event together, he extended his thanks. Brian thanked Pat for doing the clinic in the spring. Brian indicated that he has always believed that there are very good horses in Canada, he noted that all three types of horses were well represented at the clinic, quality of animals presented was generally good, and at the top end there was some high marks given to very good quality mares. 

 

 

2.      Membership

o       Barb noted that there has been a lot of work for the membership committee….declining membership being the top issue. Membership committee sent out a survey, found out what the priorities of the membership are, in order of importance: Member Support, Registry, Marketing, see results. Also, membership committee has organized to get a new logo for the association. Barb moved that the designer be awarded one year free membership, seconded by Carol. Eunice suggested that choosing the logo, and recognizing her contribution, was reward enough. Motion passed. Membership roster cannot be posted without the permission of all members. Will continue to try to improve communication, by looking at posting committee reports, etc. Directors meeting passed that the bylaws of the association be reviewed. Barb needs volunteers to help work on re-writing the constitution. Burt noted that this is an election year, and that new directors may be willing to help on this work. Other work is to look at promotions, digitizing the newsletter, awards, CFHA to sponsor industry publications, Canada page in the Fjord herald, recognition for Fjords in various venues, training clinics…following up on survey results. Last item on report is that the CFHA to order thank you cards from Wal-Mart, Barb will pay for if she has to. Barb moved that the report be accepted, seconded by Allison.

o           Review of section six of CFHA constitution

o       Barb suggested that she is concerned with the director representation in our bylaws…only one director position for all of eastern Canada. Barb would like views of members at the meeting. It was noted that the minutes of the board of directors meeting in May 2009 need to be corrected to indicate that the review of the constitution motion actually was passed. Discussion ensued regarding the need for more directors in the east, more equitable geographic distribution of directors. Pat noted that the number of horses in the east is perhaps half of the total horses in Canada. Carol B. suggested that the country be split in the middle with 3 Directors representing the West and 3 Directors representing the East.   John noted that ten years ago, there were perhaps much fewer horses in the east than the west, at that time the director representation made sense. Brian noted that there is agreement that the constitution is out of date, and that one other thing that should be examined is the tenure of board members. Alison asked whether it would be possible to our membership renewal to include advertising. Allison will follow up with CLRC to try to get this put into place. Carol B. stated that members choosing to stand for Director positions be prepared to be active and involved contributors.

                

8.      Unfinished business

1.      Transfer of registrations between Canada and US

Burt noted that when a horse is sold between Canada and US, there is no follow-up on registration, when a horse is registered in a new country, the original registration is lost in the originating country. This issue arose two years ago, there have been some discussions on coordinating this, but nothing has happened recently. Dan noted that it would be beneficial to have dual registrations. Burt

2.      GST registration status of association                 

Dianne reported that $580 in GST rebate might be available. Carol noted that because we do not know what the situation is with our secretary treasurer that we do not change our registration status. Agreed to maintain current status, will carry this issue forward to next meeting.

 

9.      New business                                                                                                        

a)      Carol raised issue of non-resident members and voting rights needs to be looked at in constitution review.

b)      Eunice noted that the FHI does not have the Canadian flag on their website…this issue has been raised, Burt will pass reminders on to FHI.  

c)      Burt put out a reminder that elections will be held this year, looking for people to stand for directors, want to encourage everyone to vote.

 

10. Other business                                                                                                 

Diana Brady wanted to get to the evaluation, could not make it. Diana worked to get t-shirts made for the evaluation, they have the CFHA new logo on them, wants to sell them to help raise funds for the CFHA. Will work with Barb to put pictures up on the website. Cost was $7, hopes to sell for $15 plus shipping.

 

11. Next meeting – to be decided                                                                                                                    

12. Informal roundtable                                                                                                

Eunice noted that as we continue to work with the NFHR we will be able to make progress on a number of issues. Russell Brenneman enjoyed the evaluation. Jane OBrien is a new member, has enjoyed being able to participate. Brian Jensen noted that the CFHA is at an important crossroads, it is important that the CFHA continue to be a strong independent association, he thinks that the decisions made over the next year may make or break this association. Important that we have good leadership from our directors, re-iterate importance of revitalizing the newsletter. Allison agreed that we have a lot of work to do, looking forward to working with others to make progress. Dan Watanabe extended his congratulations for the first successful Canadian evaluation. We have a different size of organization in the US, but we share many of the same issues, especially in this troubled economic climate, anything we can do to work together to promote the Fjord horse. Pat noted that he is looking forward to welcoming the new directors for 2010, and that the new Canadian logo looks great. Barb extended her thanks to Burt for all of his contributions as Director, and as President of the CFHA. Burt indicated that he believed it may be time for him to step down, and allow others the opportunity to lead the organization. Gunner Rogstad and his wife, Kim, have recently renewed their membership in the CFHA, particularly as result of the evaluation work that is being done. John Bosomworth thanked Pat for hosting the 2009 AGM, and for organizing the evaluation. At the evaluation, noted that the Fjord horse is pound for pound the strongest horse there is, at the same time, at the evaluation one mare was discounted, as being the kind of Fjord horse that was prized 30 years ago. Anna thought it was a good meeting, she thanked Burt and commended him for his efforts. Dianne thanked the CFHA for the opportunity to serve, and extended her best wishes for the future.

 

Anna moved that the meeting be adjourned, passed.