MEETING NOTES

02/10/2009
LOUISIANA EQUINE COUNCIL BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING FEBUARY 10, 2009 CONFERENCE CALL

LOUISIANA EQUINE COUNCIL
BOARD OF DIRECTORS’ MEETING
FEBUARY 10, 2009
CONFERENCE CALL


President Daniel Lyons called the meeting to order at 12:00 noon.

Board members present for the meeting were: Daniel Lyons, Howard Cormier, Ruby Halter, Aleta Overby, Daryl Schouest, Ruby Collins, Tom Foshee, John Henning, Johnny Boudreaux, Dianne Morrill, Ginger Schouest, Dixie Bunton and Jay Prather.

Board members absent were: Melinda Schexnaider, Johnny Spears and Judy Travelby.

Advisors present were: Dr. Clint Depew and Ron Harrell.

Advisors absent were: Dr. Dennis French.

On a motion by Ruby Collins, seconded by Dixie Bunton, the minutes of the previous meeting were approved.

Howard gave the Membership Report stating that there were 233 members having paid in 2008 and 2009. Memberships are being sent in at this time.

Daryl Schouest gave the Treasurer’s Report stating that we had received $1,230.00 in membership dues. Bills included $350.00 for the American Horse Council, $307.60 for Expo ads and $458.00 for the annual meeting. There was $17.000.00 in the general checking account and $7,500.00 in the Expo account. On a motion by Daryl, seconded by Dianne Morrill, the Treasurer’s Report was approved.

The next item under the Treasury business was a fee increase for clerical help. Howard stated that Tammy Trahan, who does typing and filing and other secretarial activities for the Expo, had received a $1.50 raise, and, in keeping with her pay level, he asked that we increase her payment from $15.00 to $16.50. On a motion by Daryl Schouest, seconded by Aleta Overby, the board approved that request and allocated $500.00 in 2009 for clerical help, and this passed.

Daniel Lyons then gave the Annual Meeting report, stating that all went well and both LEC members and Cattlemen were pleased with the Annual Meeting. Daniel stated that the meeting might be in Monroe next year in conjunction with the Ag Expo on Saturday, January 16th. He stated that there will be publicity of the LEC Annual Meeting along with the LCA schedule. It was suggested that we try as much as possible to stick to the main agenda of the general meeting and include Dr. Henry Moreau, the State Veterinarian, as part of the agenda business.

Under old business, there was discussion about purchasing shirts with the LEC logo. After some discussion on color, it was agreed that hunter green long sleeve shirts would be selected. Daryl Schouest moved to have the board pay for each board member, advisory, and committee chair shirt. Tom Foshee seconded the motion and it passed. Daryl asked if Ruby Halter could look into purchasing the shirts from the same people who will do the embroidery.

Advisor Ron Harrell asked for information about the Secretary of State filing fee. Daryl stated that that had been paid and the bill will be coming again in May of 2009. Ron also stated that the guidelines for the political action committee had been received and he will forward them to Howard.

There was discussion about the Southwest Louisiana Horseman’s Expo. Daniel stated that he will attend Saturday and Sunday. Jay Prather, Ruby Collins, Peggy Bianchi, and John Henning expressed plans to attend, so there should be opportunities for people to get some relief working at the LEC booth at the Southwest Horseman’s Expo. Howard agreed to check on payment. After discussion, it was found that an amount had not been decided upon. After some discussion, Howard moved to pay $100.00 to the Friends of Therapeutic Riding, Dixie seconded, and the motion passed.

Peggy Bianchi discussed the Fun Ride March 21st. The fee will be $15.00 per rider for lunch and the ride out fee. She plans to give a handout to visitors at the Expo in Sulphur and Monroe. After discussion it was felt that we should change the fee to $20.00 for non- LEC members.

Ruby Collins then discussed the 3rd Annual LEC Expo. In discussing booth prices, there was a fear that not all of the booth space would be sold because the High School Rodeo Association had already asked many of the vendors for their support. On a motion by Daryl Schouest, seconded by Johnny Boudreaux, the board agreed that Ruby would have the authority to cut booth prices from $300.00 down to the bare minimum cost, which is $50.00, so that we could get as many people as possible to have a booth. Daniel Lyons suggested hiring someone to help Aleta Overby and Ruby with the details of the Expo. Daniel stated that Bob Felknor had been approached about this and agreed to help, pending the decision of the board. On a motion by Howard, seconded by Johnny Boudreaux, the board budgeted $1,000.00 to be used to help with securing booth sales. This motion included $500.00 expenses and 20% of sales, as suggested by Dr. Clint Depew. This motion passed.

Aleta Overby discussed the silent auction to benefit the Louisiana Tech Equestrian Club. LEC would get 25% of the proceeds from that sale. This would be done through regular booth space where they would pay the fee, but not any commission, to LEC. It was felt that Aleta and Ruby Collins could work these details out.

In discussion of funds received, $1,900.00 has come in from the West Monroe Convention Center. A total of $5,000.00 was allocated, but the Convention Center will provide $3,000.00 for out-of-area publicity and handle approximately $2,000.00 of publicity within the area. LEC also received $12,200.00 from the State Tourism Commission as a grant. It was stated that Ruby needed to make certain she met all of the requirements of the grant regarding logo and publicity, and she assured the Treasurer that this was being done. In other details, she expressed concern that she would have someone at the Hospitality Room. Entry fees will be charged for Saturday and Sunday, but not Friday. LEC members get in free.

Johnny Boudreaux stated that there are still slots available for the Joe Wolter Clinic. He asked Howard to e-mail this information out to the membership. The luncheon details are being finalized. Ruby asked board members to send her a list of VIP individuals to be sent tickets.

Concerning the at-large board member replacement, John Henning submitted the name of Mr. Maurice Tynes, an attorney and cutting horse enthusiast in the Lake Charles area. On a motion by Ruby Collins, seconded by Dixie Bunton, the board voted to name Mr. Tynes to fill the at-large director position.

Concerning committee appointments, Howard stated that we needed chairs of membership and facilities. Judy Travelby is working on facilities list in the Folsom area.

Ruby requested more legislative booklets to spread the message to influential people about LEC’s mission and needs. It was felt that the LEC board will need to revise the legislative book to be more current and more available to board members.

Howard discussed the fact that the Horseman of the Year motion had not been voted on at the Annual Meeting. On a motion by Daryl Schouest, seconded by Ginger Schouest, the board agreed to change the minutes to show approval of this event by the general membership.

The date of the next meeting was set for March 2nd at the Ike in Monroe. A conference call would be scheduled for the afternoon so that board members who could not attend the walk- through at the Ike could be in on the discussion. On a motion by Daryl Schouest, seconded by Ruby Halter, the meeting was adjourned at 1:55 p.m.