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Minutes of the
2007 IMBA Annual Meeting of Members
Cream Ridge,
New Jersey
November 3, 2007
Chairperson Karen Petersen called the meeting to order at
9:21 AM. The following members were in attendance: Karen Petersen,
Karen Smith, Wendy Konichek, Linda Konichek, Jane Licht. The following
members participated for the entire conference call: Denise Schneider,
Michelle Feder, Ingrid Buchmeier. The following members participated by
conference call for part of the meeting: Jackie Briscoe, Anita
Messenger, Kathy Santos.
Treasurer’s Report. We have a balance of $1225.32 as of
November 2nd, 2007. Karen Smith
presented a “Profit and Loss by Class” report. She apologized for the
heading on this document stating that the figures were from January 1st
since they actually represent the financial activity beginning July 10,
2007 when she took over the office through November 2, 2007.
Karen Petersen said we may not need to have a Treasurer.
Jane likes the fact that the Treasurer provides supervision and a check
for the Executive Director’s financial activity. The members agreed
that it would be good to have the duties of the Treasurer better
defined. Motion by Jane, second by Denise to accept the Treasurer’s
report. Motion carried by consensus.
Registrar’s Report. Karen Smith summarized the
information she had prepared. Jackie Briscoe resigned as Registrar due
to health reasons and Karen became Registrar on July 10, 2007. Karen
said that 119 ballots were sent out and approximately 60 envelopes were
returned. Membership is around 130 including 8 to 10 associate
members. There were approximately 8 transfers of horse ownership and 2
new registrations during the time Karen has served as Registrar. There
are also 8 new members, approximately 5 pending registrations and many
inquiries. DNA reports for 5 new transfers are pending. The new phone
system is working out well. The total cost is $40 per month as compared
with the $75 we used to pay. IMBA’s phone system is used for messages
only and Karen Smith is donating her Internet service and return phone
calls. Karen will submit her Registrar’s Report to the BOD. Motion by
Wendy, second by Linda to accept the registrar’s report.
Webmaster’s Report. Wendy changed the headers on the
main page for easier navigation. Karen Smith has been referring people
to our website for more information.
Denise Schneider’s Timber Rose Ranch is now linked and so is Aerohill
Farm (Michael & Elizabeth Krenz). Two classified ads will be added.
Cost of these classified is $25 per year for both the website and MP.
Motion to accept the Webmaster’s report was made by Karen Petersen and
second by Karen Smith. Motion carried.
Committee Reports.
Nominating: Karen Smith reported that 5 candidates
submitted biographies and there was one write in candidate for 3
positions.
Futurity: Linda reported that there were some Morabs in
each class – weanling, yearling, and two/three year-olds. Winners
received nice prizes. She is still looking for corporate sponsors.
Karen Petersen asked how to expand the futurity and other Morab
classes. Linda said there were 12 IMBA owner-members attending the
Region 4 IMBA Show. You just have to keep working on it. You could
talk to open horse show managers, tell them you will sponsor a class and
provide ribbons and then you must make sure you get Morabs to fill the
classes. Karen Petersen talked to people from the Mason Dixon Show and
they wanted her to guarantee having Morabs show up if they add a class
for Morabs. Linda said that IMBA pays nothing towards the Region 4
Futurity. Karen Petersen said Ronna in Vermont should work with Linda
on how to get a futurity going in their region. Motion to accept the
Futurity Report was made by Ingrid, second by Karen Smith. Motion
carried.
Youth. Wendy said that extending the deadline from
October 1 to December 31 helped get more youth involved. She explained
that there are two different programs. One is horse activities for
youth using Morab, Morgan and Arab horses. The other is Creative Arts
entries that come from various regions and are judged at the Region 4
Show because of the crowds congregating at that show. About 15 youth
participated in the creative arts program. Karen Petersen suggested
putting the creative arts entries on the web for better exposure. There
was concern expressed about expenses but Karen Smith reminded us that we
are only discussing the report at this time.
Motion to accept the report with final figures sent to the board made by
Linda Konichek, second by Karen Smith. Motion carried.
Awards. Wendy was unable to reach Jenny Leistiko just
prior to the annual meeting but she has heard positive comments in
general. No one is close to winning in the new LAAP categories as yet.
Six horses are enrolled in the Breeder’s Trust Fund and 3 more will be
enrolled. The program more than pays for itself and needs to be
promoted more. The Trust Fund brochure was approved and mailed out in
June. Karen Petersen said the brochure was complicated. Wendy
explained that 20% of the funds invested for each horse stays in the
program and payouts are based on points earned. For sires enrolled, the
foals can get payouts. Wendy would like to combine all awards into one
booklet. She would like to send the awards booklet and the rule booklet
to 2008 members. Money from the awards and trust fund is sent to the
IMBA office. Karen Smith said her bank offers separate accounts at no
extra cost. Motion to accept the Awards Report pending a report for the
chair made by Karen Smith, second by Linda.
Bylaws and Rules Report was mailed out earlier. Jane
said that the explanations for the 2006 Bylaw changes were printed in
the Spring MP, and the May 20, 2007 Rules adopted by the BOD were
published on the website. Motion to approve the Bylaws and Rules Report
made by Wendy Konichek, second by Linda Konichek. Motion carried.
Marketing
Calendar: Karen Smith sent out 100 letters for
sponsorships but received no replies. Karen asked to end the 12-month
Calendar Committee. Motion by Ingrid and second by Denise: Each
region may design and finance its own “Calendar at a Glance.” If the
IMBA name and/or logo is on the calendar, BOD approval is required.
Motion carried.
Region Activities: Karen Petersen said that Regions 6
and 10 do not have leaders. She said we need more development of the
regions and periodic conference calls might help. Developing the
regions is the way to developing the breed. Jane said that regions who
have horse magazines should submit stories every time there is a Morab
activity or every time a Morab horse is used for some event or
activity. Karen Smith said that Ronna Messier did very well in the
Canadian Nationals and it is likely that she will host a show next
year. Linda said the Region 4 show had 21 Morabs, 21 Morgans, and other
breeds. A Morab won Supreme Halter Champion of Show.
Discover the Morab: Wendy said that others had already
given info about this topic. She was pleased with Ronna’s event in
Region 1. Karen Petersen (Region 2) said she could not get judges for
the show she planned.
Motion to establish a “Discover the Morabs” for the month
of September. Motion by Wendy, second by Jane. Motion carried.
Print Media: Michelle said she sent 62 brochures to
horse publications and contacted 114 websites. She said that Horse and
Rider wants 40 to 50 photos of different Morab horses to critique in
their conformation clinic segment of their magazine. They want
conformation shots with no ribbons or banners. Michelle said it is
difficult to get photos from members. She still needs more photos for
Horse and Rider. Karen Petersen said that perhaps Michelle could work on
this through the Region leaders. Motion to accept the Print Media
Report by Linda Konichek, second by Karen Petersen.
Membership. Karen Petersen said there was no report.
Karen P. would like to establish Region contests for the month of
January as a membership drive. Linda suggested that Regions should get
photos to Wendy for the website.
Merchandise. Linda said that merchandise is on the
website and in the MP. Wendy said it included brochures, the banner,
hats, jackets and a few older items. Wendy needs to get the logo
cleaned up since she could not find the original in the files.
National Promotions: Linda said she was able to get
Morab information in the book, Breeds of
Distinction. Two publications in Canada have reviewed the book and
given it favorable reviews.
MP: Wendy said we missed the 2006 fall MP. [Note:
editor Kathy Santos had computer problems.] Jackie Briscoe was editor
for the 2007 winter Breeders’ edition and the 2007 spring MP. Wendy was
editor for the 2007 summer MP. The fall MP for 2007 was delayed to
November 15. The 2007 summer MP was 50 pages, contained some colored
pages and cost about $9 each
to print and mail. Motion by Michelle Feder, second by Jane
Licht to accept the report.
Motion made to reduce the number of issues of the MP to 3
per year. The new deadlines to accomplish this are: Nov 15th
2007 for a Fall Newsletter; Dec 30th 2007 for the 2008
Breeders Issue. The 2008 deadlines are March 30 Spring issue with an
April 15 estimated mail date; July 30 Summer issue with an estimated
mail date of August 15; November 30 Breeders Guide issue with an
estimated mail date of December 15th. The theme of the Spring
edition would be events and youth; the theme of the Summer issue would
be foals. Motion made by Wendy Seconded by Jane. Motion carried.
Historic Morab: Ingrid reported that there was no
activity and she recommended that it be discontinued. Others suggested
this topic could be part of an FAQ and placed on the website, or as a
separate history. There could be a section on the history of the Morab
breed and also of IMBA. Motion to approve the Historic Morab report
made by Denise and second by Wendy Konichek. Motion carried.
Old Business
Shagya: Michelle would like to see Shagya accepted as a
separate division. Karen Petersen did not wish to add another breed
registry to the mix of IMR Morabs and IMR Half Morabs. There was a
motion to not accept Shagya in IMR at this time. Motion made by Jane,
second by Wendy. There were 6 yes and 3 no votes. Motion carried.
New Business
Meritorious Service Award: Wendy nominated Ronna and Jim
Messier. Karen Smith said they have been showing their Morabs in
Canadian shows against lots of tough competition and they do well. They
support the MP with ads and they hand out IMBA literature. They hosted
an outstanding Discover the Morab event with numerous demonstrations.
They are wonderful people and set a good example for other breeders.
Morab Horse of the Year Award: Wendy nominated Matinee
Idol owned by Alicia Sprecher. “Rudy” is a
dressage horse who won the Half- Arabian Show Hack ATR class at the
Arabian Sport Horse Nationals. Rudy won Top Ten in Prix St. Georges and
Intermediate and he competes on the Open Dressage circuit. Alicia and
her parents attend the Midwest Horse Fair every year where they stall
Rudy with the IMBA Morabs and participate in the IMBA demonstration.
Rudy is a striking figure and a great ambassador for the breed.
Motion to award the Meritorious Service Award to Ronna
and Jim Messier and the Horse of the Year Award to Matinee Idol carried
unanimously. Karen Petersen said we should remind people of these awards
ahead of time. Deadline is October 1st.
MP Proposal: Graphic artist Kristen Muir said she could
layout and publish the MP but would not do the editing. Her large
computer printer is less expensive than ours as far as per copy cost.
Kristen passed out examples of her work. Breeders and owners could
elect to have Kristen do the design of their ads. We need proposals
from Kristen as to the cost for (1) designing ads, (2) for printing and
binding, and (3) for labeling and mailing. Kristin said she would get
the costs to us of these items.
Actions to amend the bylaws:
Proposal #1: (add to Article II Section 4) “The
Secretary shall extract a list of all policy statements voted for at the
Annual Meeting of Members, promptly provide copies to the Executive
Director and BOD, keep them in an organized fashion and make note of
subsequent policy changes.” Moved by Wendy and second by Ingrid; motion
carried.
Proposal #2: (add to Article VII, Section 1) “Any
statement of policy approved at the (Annual) meeting may be sent to the
Bylaws and Rules Committee for review and possible action as a proposed
Rule change or Bylaws Amendment.” (See Article IX on procedure for
Amendments.) Moved by Ingrid and second by Wendy; motion carried.
Proposal #3: (add to Article IX, Section 1): “The agenda
item identifying the proposed (bylaw) change must be published for the
membership at least 30 days prior to the Annual Meeting and/or special
meeting. Bylaw changes voted for but not previously published must be
carried over to the agenda of the next Annual or special meeting.”
Moved by Denise and second by Michelle; motion carried.
Proposal #4: (add to Article I, Section 1) (Candidate qualifications)
“...and not the parent, spouse, child or sibling of a current board
member whose term does not expire at the end of the current year and is
not running for re-election.” Final language will be sent to the board
for approval and this provision will be voted on by the membership prior
to the 2008 annual meeting and if implemented, would occur for the 2009
elections.
Proposal #5 Jane proposed this provision initially and
recommended that it be dropped.
Proposal #6 (Bylaws, Article IV, Section 1) (Item added
so that our Bylaws agree with Rules) Individual owner membership has one
vote for each election held. Family owner membership has two votes for
each election held. Voting privileges are limited to 2 adults living in
the household and listed on the membership application form. Those
under 18 living in the household may not vote in IMBA. Motion to approve
proposal #4 and #6 made by Karen Smith and second by Linda Konichek.
Motion carried.
Other New Business
Motion to print and distribute a small Fall newsletter
that includes information on the changes for the MP, other items of
interest from the annual meeting, and the photo classified and no other
ads. Full page advertisers will have their ads in the next issue of the
MP. Moved by Wendy and second by Jane. Motion carried.
Discussion regarding action to waive DNA requirement for
geldings and yelds. This item is a rule change and should be voted on
at the BOD meeting that follows the Annual Meeting.
Karen Smith and Jane will work on a possible bylaws
change regarding updates on lifetime members. Karen said she would like
to have them check a box and mail back a postcard informing us of their
continued interest in voting and receiving the MP.
Ingrid proposed that we establish term limits for the BOD.
A BOD member could serve 2 three year terms and then would not be
eligible to run again for one year. By consensus, the members agreed to
put this issue to a vote of the full membership along with the 2008
ballots.
Karen Smith raised the issue of a pedigree database.
Most felt we should keep our database separate from MHA to start with.
The MHA does not have the numbers of horses that we do.
We
should invite MHA to our horse shows but our resources should be used
for IMBA.
The database idea is good but it must be controlled. Motion that
Karen Smith and Wendy will come up with a plan for a full pedigree
database (pedigree only) that is free to our members, requires fees for
non-members, and includes a system of assigning passwords annually.
Moved by Jane and second by Ingrid. Motion carried.
Karen Smith would like to see a policy for qualifications
for write-in candidates. Motion that a write in candidate may be
elected but must have the same qualifications as a nominated candidate
to hold a seat on the BOD. Moved by Ingrid and second by Denise.
Motion carried.
Motion that the biographies of candidates must be
presented to the Nominating Chair. The biographies may not include
references to another candidate running for the IMBA Board of Directors,
either to encourage or discourage members from voting for that
candidate. The Nominating Committee shall review each biography to
assure that this guideline is met and shall promptly return biographies
to candidates with an explanation if this guideline is not met. The
Nominating Committee shall accept a valid biography regardless of any
spelling errors or grammatical errors and shall not edit the biography
but print as presented. There is a maximum of 550 words and a form
shall be available for candidates on the website. Moved by Jane and
second by Linda. Motion carried.
Motion that the Bylaws and Rules Committee establish
guidelines for use of IMBA’s name and logo. Moved by Jane and second by
Karen Smith. Motion carried.
Ingrid said that the Unification Committee (not an IMBA
committee) is not ready to present a proposal at this time. Eventually,
they may have a proposal for PMHA, MHA and IMBA. Karen P. said we will
remain silent on our board list regarding this topic until there is a
concrete proposal.
Wendy recommended a plan to provide incentives for
members to pay their dues early. Members discussed various provisions
and agreed that the BOD should vote on these changes because they are
rule changes.
Karen Smith said fees for nonmembers are confusing and
people often send in the wrong fees. She suggested dropping non-member
fees from our list of fees for horse registrations. Motion to adjust
fees to include rates for horse registrations that they would be paying
for a membership. Moved by Wendy and second by Linda. Motion carried.
[NOTE: This is a rule change and was
voted for by the BOD on November 18, 2007.]
A motion was made to place “transfer of ownership of
eligible but unregistered foal” on the application form. Moved by Ingrid
and second by Karen Smith. Motion carried.
Jane moved to table an agenda item to allow a voting
membership for people who lease a Morab and have their lease on file
with IMBA. Second by Karen Petersen. Motion carried.
The Rules and Bylaws Committee should study the oath of
office given to new board
members and compare it to the one in the bylaws regarding the
confidentiality section.
Wendy recommended regular conference call meetings for
the BOD. Other members agreed and Karen Smith said our phone system
service includes this feature. Moved by Wendy, second by Jane to
require 3 conference calls per year for the BOD. Motion carried.
Motion to set up a committee to research incentives to
encourage Morab to Morab breedings. Moved by Jane and second by Karen
Petersen. Motion carried.
By consensus, the members agreed to invite Anita and
Karen Smith to write an article on NAIS for the next MP.
Motion that the chair person shall determine a method of
committee reporting and may call for reports on a quarterly, bi-monthly
or monthly basis. The chair shall give notice to all committee chairs
prior to the deadline for reports. If a committee chair fails to report
for two consecutive reporting periods, the BOD may vote to remove the
committee chair and/or disband the committee if it has not been
established in the bylaws. Moved by Jane and second by Wendy. Motion
carried.
Motion that a board member may resign by submitting a
written resignation to the chair person. The resignation is effective
as soon as it is received. If a board member resigns mid-term, he/she
must be re-elected to serve again on the board. Moved by Jane and
second by Wendy. Motion carried.
Motion that any unexpired term of a director shall be
completed by a member nominated by the chair and approved by the BOD.
The chair shall first nominate the candidate who was the next highest
vote-getter at the last election. If that person declines, the chair
shall nominate from the membership. Moved by Jane and second by Linda
Konichek. Motion carried.
Motion that a director must be a member in good standing
throughout his/her entire term of office. If a director allows his/her
membership to lapse for 2 months, the chair shall immediately call for
the director’s membership or resignation. If the director fails to
renew his/her membership within a month after the chair person’s notice,
that director is effectively removed from office. A director convicted
in a court of law of a felony is effectively removed from office unless
as otherwise determined by the board. Moved by Wendy, second by Karen
Smith. Motion carried.
Michelle said that LAAP participants were getting double
points for participation in a Morab class at a horse show. Motion by
Jane and second by Karen Petersen to offer 10 additional points per
class when showing in a Morab class and the class must state the word
“Morab” in the title. (This would replace the double points.) Motion
carried.
Counting of ballots. Ballots were counted by all in
attendance and ballots were preserved by the Executive Director, Karen
Smith. The results were: Ingrid Buchmeier , Karen Petersen , D.J.
Sproat, Linda Konichek , Ted Luedke, Carol King.
The next Annual Meeting of Members will be held November
2, 2008 at the home of Karen Smith in Sanford, Maine. Jane moved and
second by Wendy to adjourn at 10:27 PM. Motion carried.
Meeting of the IMBA Board of Directors
Cream Ridge, New Jersey November 3,
2007
Immediately following the Annual Meeting of Members, we
had a brief meeting of the Board of Directors (BOD). Officers were
elected as follows:
Chair: Karen
Smith
Vice
Chair: Denise Schneider
Secretary: Jane Licht
Treasurer: Wendy Konichek
Gelding/Yeld DNA Waiver
-There was a
motion by Ingrid, second by Wendy that for foals born after January 1,
2003, the BOD may elect to waive the DNA requirement for geldings and
yelds that are without progeny and with the requirement that a DNA test
is on file for the sire and dam; there will be a DNA waiver form on the
IMBA website for the veterinarian to sign. Motion carried. This change
to IMR Rules may affect those of you who have geldings or yelds (female
counterpart to geldings) born in 2003 or later.
Membership Fee Increase
- There was
discussion regarding the fact that it would be good to provide an
incentive for members to join early in the year and not wait until
election time. The Board voted to retain the current fees when the
membership forms along with the proper fees are postmarked between
September 16 and January 31st. Membership fees postmarked after January
31st will be increased by $5 for all membership categories except for
lifetime memberships. Lifetime member fees are increased from $200 to
$225 or $250 for payments made in one calendar year.
There will be a check box on membership applications for
those who have more than one member at the same address to indicate they
do not wish to receive a second MP
and thus, $5 will be subtracted from the second membership.
This
rule change was adopted and goes into effect immediately. Therefore,
you will want to send in your dues to IMBA by January 31st, 2008.
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