The November 14, 2005 GOHJA Board Meeting was called to order at 7:41 pm., at Gleason's Grille with the following in attendance: Melissa Vander Vennet, Pam Capers, Wendy Trocano, Lynette Gray, Patty Maddox, Jennifer Medlock, Dondi Desvernine, Heather Bristol, Jacque Gellein, Laura Gurtis Guest: Mike Bristol Absent Board Members: Donna Pierce, Debbie Bjerkstrand

Corresponding Secretary: The October minutes were approved as distributed.

Treasurer Report: The Treasurer's Report was approved as distributed. The actual balance as of October 31, 2005 is $24,309.13. Much discussion was held on the amount of insurance each show pays. Lynette and Jacque are going to go over monies collected throughout the year and determine any refunds. Jacque will work with the head of the Steward Committee to inform Stewards as to the proper amount to collect at the end of each show. The breakdown of fees will be passed on to the 2006 Treasurer to eliminate any confusion. Lynette will present the final financial statement for the Benefit Show at the next meeting. The last bills have been paid.

Vice-President/Hearings Committee: No report.

Recording Secretary: Points are done and have been submitted to the Banquet Chairman. Much discussion was held on types of memberships and dates members join. A membership list and horse recording list will be posted at the shows for members to check on their membership status and to confirm that their horse is recorded. It is the members' responsibility to make sure they are on the lists.

Steward Committee: Patty presented to the Horse Show Committee at their meeting, held before the Board meeting, a rough draft of rule changes pertaining to the Steward selection process, their membership dues to GOHJA and USEF, fees for a Steward's service, and the process for levying fines. Final wording and numbering for the rule book will be finished up and presented to the Board for approval at the December meeting.

Membership Committee: Dondi reported 256 membership forms were mailed on October 18th at a cost of $164.23. There are already 8 family, 14 Senior, 22 Junior, 2 Organization, and 0 Life memberships received for the 2006 show year. The forms are also available on the website.

Exhibitor Committee: Laura reported all Special Award meetings have been concluded. It was decided to recognize the members with "special circumstances" by having them help at the Banquet. At the final Special Awards meeting, the idea of a GOHJA Scholarship was discussed. Further meetings will be held to determine an application process and criteria for the award, along with determining the selection committee. Lynette suggested a designation in the bank account for specific and separate monies for the scholarship. A motion was passed to present the Medal, Mini-Medal, and Pony Medal Finals participants with a beautiful wooden box with their Finals picture on the lid as a special recognition of their achievement. Ideas were discussed about ways to offset for the future some of the costs for the special gifts given to these riders. One idea was to raise the entry fee for this final class as does the USEF and other organizations.

Horse Show Committee: Jacque reported on the recalculation of the horse show insurance as noted above. The committee reviewed the November show with the consensus being that it went very smoothly. Jacque reported that there is now an active Steward's committee and they are working diligently on the rule changes noted above. The new Horse Show Manager's Guide is getting its final touches and will hopefully be finished by next month. Jacque presented to the Board the Horse Show Applications for the 2006 show year.

Publicity: No report.

Banquet Committee: The final trophies and ads are being collected. All else is going according to plan.

Rules and Regulations Committee: No report.

Fund Raising Committee: No report.

Nominating Committee: Mike reported that Senior members' marked ballots are to be postmarked by November 15th and results will be posted thereafter. A motion was passed to approve Dondi Desvernine as the 2006 Membership Chairman.

Old Business: None.

New Business: None.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:01 pm. The next meeting will be December 12, 2005 at Gleason's Grille at 7:30 pm.

The October 10, 2005 GOHJA Board Meeting was called to order at 7:31 pm., at Gleason's Grille with the following in attendance: Melissa Vander Vennet, Wendy Trocano, Pam Capers, Patty Maddox, Jacque Gellein, Laura Gurtis, Debbie Bjerkstrand, Jennifer Medlock, Dondi Desvernine, Heather Bristol, Donna Pierce Guest: Mike Bristol Absent Board Members: Lynette Gray

Corresponding Secretary: The September minutes were approved as distributed.

Treasurer Report: The Treasure's Report was approved as distributed. The actual balance as of 8/31/05 is $22,813.34. Last month's question on the Over The Hill's insurance has been answered.

Vice-President's/Hearings Committee: Pam is working on a distillation of "Robert's Rules of Order" for the Board to use at their meetings. The appeal filed by Wendy Trocano has been sent to the Hearing's Committee for review. The fine assessed has been paid. Charges filed from the Barrett September and Over The Hill August shows have been sent to the Hearing's Committee for review. Pam also requested GOHJA's rules regarding "Charges" be reviewed.

Recording Secretary: Points are up to date. Happy Birthday, Heather!

Steward Committee: Patty Maddox has agreed to take on this committee. The next two shows will have a committee serve while Patty is revamping the Steward's test and the rule changes that need to be enacted regarding Stewards, their selection and qualifications, and fees. Patty hopes to present her work at the November or December Board meeting.

Membership Committee: Dondi reported there are 117 Families, 78 Senior, 120 Junior, and 8 Organization memberships. 2006 membership applications will be in the mail shortly.

Exhibitor Committee: Laura reported that Margaret Corry will photograph the Medal, Mini-Medal, and Pony Medal Finals participants at the November show. Laura will be notifying trainers of the Special Awards' meeting times and dates. Also at that meeting, new awards and awards for members with "special circumstances" will be discussed.

Horse Show Committee: A committee meeting was held before the October Board meeting. The June and September shows were reviewed. It was decided that problems noted in the Steward's report would be referred to the head of the Steward's Committee. That Chairperson and the Steward of that show will discuss the report and decide on referring problems to the Hearing's Committee for further review. Jacque is continuing to update the Horse Show Package and members of this committee worked on creating a booklet for show managers to refer to on show days. Jacque reported that $750.00 was sent to the SOS Relief Fund for victims of Hurricane Katrina from the September show. Jacque began collecting Horse Show Application Forms for the 2006 show year.

Banquet Committee: All the preparations are going smoothly. Invitations will be in the mail soon. Jennifer asked trainers to remind members to bring their "clean and polished" trophies to the October show.

Rules and Regulations Committee: The following rule was amended and passed: Article II Dues 2.6 The dues for an Individual Lifetime Membership shall be $200.00. The rule regarding Steward membership dues was referred to the Steward's Committee for re-write. The rule regarding a GOHJA Scholarship, its definition, application procedure, and requirements was referred to the Special Award's Committee for creation and wording.

Fund Raising Committee: Donna is working with "Horsey Poor" to decide on items with the GOHJA logo to be sold to raise money for the organization. Donna and Jennifer will also review the items for possible presentation at the Banquet and the 2006 Benefit Show. They are also working on the advertising for the Banquet Program.

Publicity Committee: Problems and glitches with the website and e-mails reported last month have been discussed with the Service Provider and rectified. Pam suggested that when submitting a Horse Recording form on-line, to print a copy of the form for member's records.

Old Business: None.

New Business: Much discussion was held regarding the current definition of a "Member in Good Standing". A motion was passed to accept an "Extraordinary Rule Change" as follows, "Due to the newness and ambiguity of Rule 1.9, the current members that have levies sanctioned and/or charges pending are considered current members in good standing." The rule was referred to the Rules and Regulations Committee for review.

Mike Bristol, the Nominating Committee Chairman, presented a slate for approval of the 2006 Board of Directors. The slate was approved and will mailed to the General Membership for an approval vote. See attachment for the slate. A membership chair is needed.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:42 pm. The next meeting will be November 14, 2005 at Gleason's Grille at 7:30 pm.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:05 pm. The next meeting will be October 10, 2005 at Gleason's Grille at 7:30 pm.

The December minutes and January minutes were approved as distributed.

Treasurer Report: The December Treasurer's report was approved. The January report was approved with following amendment: Junior Board Account Balance of $610.50 was clarified to be Fund Raising Money from the February Show. Discussion was also held on the reimbursement of monies to each horse show manager for the Gleason's Grille ad run in last year's programs. Managers should send a statement to the Treasurer for reimbursement. The balance as of 2/28/05 is $15,194.46 plus the Fund Raising money of $610.50.

Vice-President/Hearings Committee: No Vice-President report. The Hearings Committee decided to reinstate the Short-Stirrup status of Rachel Lanham.

Recording Secretary: All points up to date.

Steward Committee: At this time this committee is falling under the Horse Show Committee. Jacque Gellein reported that a charge/protest has been delivered to her from the February show. She will be sending it to the Hearings Committee.

Membership Committee: Dondi reported that there are well over 200 members.

Exhibitor Committee: No report.

Horse Show Committee: At the committee meeting earlier this evening details were finalized for the Benefit Show. Everything seems to be going smoothly but we have no advertising at this point. Pam Capers is updating the Benefit Show Advertising form with the correct address to remit ads and checks. There will be a Horse Show committee meeting on March 14 at Jacque Gellein's home at 7 pm.

Banquet Committee: The banquet will be held at the Downtown Radisson on November 19, 2005. The theme this year is "A Night of Champions". Jennifer will be putting together a list of perpetual trophies and their condition.

Rules and Regulations: No report. Pam Capers did bring to the Board's attention that the USEF has passed two new rules that will affect our association. - Beginning in April "No electronic devices will be allowed on a rider in the show ring." - Beginning December 1, 2005 "All riders will be required to wear an ASTM approved helmet."

Fund Raising Committee: No report.

Publicity Committee: Pam Capers reported that she has posted mailing and membership lists on the website. The website is getting about 1400 hits per week. The Dotted Line will be published in March. Pam is still working on the pony list and should have it updated completely soon.

Old Business: none

New Business: There will be no March Board meeting. The next Board meeting will be April 11 at Gleason's Grille at 7:30 pm.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:40 pm.

There being no quorum the December minutes and the Treasurer's Report were not approved.

Treasurer Report: The balance as of 12/31/04 was $15,797.41. The one large outstanding bill from the banquet is the Stockman's bill.
Lynette has created a Show Remittance Form to be filled out at the end of each show detailing the funds remitted by each show. Fox Cry will be the first show to give the form a try.

Vice-President/Hearings Committee: Pam had no Vice-President report. A request has been made of the Hearing Committee to reinstate the short stirrup status of a child. Pam is gathering information to present to the Hearing Committee to review the matter.
The one outstanding hearing regarding "Uptown Girl" has been cancelled. The request for the hearing has been withdrawn.

Recording Secretary: Heather will be entering the January points shortly. All else is running smoothly.

Steward Committee: No report.

Membership Committee: Dondi reported that there are 210 members.

Exhibitor Committee: No report.

Horse Show Committee: Melissa reported that at the meeting before the Board meeting, committees were formed to begin working on the Benefit show.
The horse show committee is working on re-organizing the Steward's Committee and preparing a new test for applying stewards to take.
Much discussion was held on helping to resolve rider conflicts. It was suggested to start the Hunter ring at 7:30 am. with the Regular division, thus ending conflicts with the Walk-Trot division.
The next meeting will be at 6:15 pm before the Board meeting in February.

Banquet Committee: No report.

Rules and Regulations Committee: No report.

Fund Raising Committee: Donna Pierce reported that she will be convening a committee meeting shortly to prepare obtaining ads for the Benefit show.
This committee will be holding a GOHJA fund-raising raffle at the February show for a pair of Ariat boots donated by Horses, Etc.

Publicity Committee: Pam reported that she is working on updating and posting on the website the pony list. She is updating Barn News. Pam is also beginning to gather info for a publication of the Dotted Line.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:10 pm. The next meeting will be February 14, 2005 at Gleason's Grille at 7:30 pm.

The November minutes were approved as distributed.

Melissa Vander Vennet addressed the Board welcoming all to the first meeting of the 2005 show year. She expressed her continuing interest in clarifying all of the gray areas in the GOHJA rules and her desire to promote the association and help it grow.

Treasurer Report: The report was approved as distributed. The current balance is $16,069.74. Outstanding invoices for the banquet include the Photographer, Stockman's, and Creative Printing.
Lynette also reported on horse show insurance, how it is collected, and GOHJA's need to find another carrier since this year's company will no longer provide this insurance. These questions were referred to the Horse Show Committee meeting that will be held Wednesday night.

Vice-President/Hearings Committee: Pam Capers had no vice-president report but deferred to Judy Bangs to report on the Hearing carried over from the 2004 show season. Judy reported that she is gathering information regarding the horse "Uptown Girl" and its eligibility for reinstatement of its First Year Green status. The committee will have a decision by the next meeting.

Recording Secretary: Heather Bristol has the December points entered. Heather, Pam, and Melissa are fine tuning the point sheets for ease and accuracy.

Steward Committee: No report.

Membership Committee: Pam Capers reported for Dondi Desvernine that there are 170 members.

Exhibitor Committee: No report. 

Horse Show Committee: There will be a horse show committee meeting at Jacque Gellein's home on Wednesday, December 15 at 7 pm.

Banquet Committee: Discussion was held on the 2004 banquet and ideas for 2005. Jennifer Medlock reported that she will be looking at downtown venues for this year's banquet. The unclaimed ribbons from the banquet will be at the January show.

Rules and Regulations Committee: The following two rules were approved.
The Margaret Crane description will be deleted from the rules since the award has been retired.
Add Rule 5.9.3 The Finals of the Medal/Mini-Medal/Pony Medal divisions (the November show) are exempted from the points to be accumulated toward this award.  
Print copies of the 2005 rule book were distributed to the Board, active stewards, and the show secretaries. It was decided to have 15-20 copies at the shows for members who request paper copies of the rule book. The entire rule book is on the GOHJA website.

Fund Raising Committee: Donna Pierce reported that she has developed an active committee whom are brainstorming ideas to raise monies. They are looking at having a raffle at each of the shows for all sorts of items. Also, they are looking into selling embroidered jackets, vests, and shirts with the GOHJA logo.

Publicity Committee: Pam Capers reported that she has updated all of the board members e-mail addresses. She will be posting on the website a list of members as well as the list of recorded horses.
The Barn News section of the website has not been generating much interest. Pam asked that trainers, parents, and students contribute items to share. Should interest continue to dwindle this section may be removed from the website.

Old Business: Lynette Gray presented the agreement with Gleason's Grille. The room is rented to GOHJA for $150 minus the meals members purchase. Gleason's also receives one half page ad in each GOHJA monthly horse show program at a value of $60. GOHJA is to pay each show manager $60 for this ad.

New Business: Bonnie Kollar volunteered her time to help GOHJA and become a Steward. This brought about discussion on a solution to the vacant Steward's Committee Chair and it was decided to discuss ideas at the Horse Show Committee meeting Wednesday.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:35 pm. The next meeting will be January 10, 2005 at Gleason's Grille at 7:30 pm.