June 17, 2016
Board members present: Tim Floyd, Mary Lou Griffin, Nina Hagen, Dana Halvorson, Dr. Duane Hopp, Debra Pabst, John Parker, Candice Tollett and Steve Zerda. Absent: William P. Brewer, Keith Swagerty and Jennifer Webber. Staff present: M. Anne Sweet.
The meeting was called to order at 12:28 p.m. at the WTBOA offices by President Halvorson.
Previous Board Minutes: Minutes from the May 20, 2016, meetings were presented and reviewed. Parker moved to approve the minutes as presented. Tollett seconded the motion and the minutes were approved.
Finance Committee Report: Treasurer Pabst reported that the association’s finances are on track and actually better than budgeted by a fair amount. The Finance Committee recommended moving the WTBOA bank accounts from US Bank to Bank of America. The change is recommended for three reasons: 1) The fees at Bank of America are slightly better; 2) Bank of America has been very responsive, while US Bank has been consistently unresponsive over a period of several months; and 3) A line of credit with US Bank requires a personal guarantee by one of the Board members, while Bank of America requires no guarantee. Bank of America has stated that they would offer a line of credit in the amount of $40,000 (10 percent of gross financial holdings). Hagen moved to approve the change to Bank of America as the WTBOA’s financial institution. Hopp seconded and the motion was approved.
Northwest Race Series (NWRS): Pabst reported that one late extended nomination in the amount of $5,000 was received prior to the May 31 deadline for a two-year-old of 2016. This brings the total available for 2016 to $126,129 with $125,000 having been committed for the 2016 series. This year’s NWRS stallion nominations were the lowest ever, but the stallion nominations made this year for the 2019 series were healthy.
Sales Committee Report: Sales Committee chairman Griffin reported that there are some nice sires of yearlings in this year’s sale. A list of those sires was included in the Board packet. Payments for yearling entry fees are coming in and on track. The number of Summer Session yearlings is up slightly from last year. The final number is anticipated to be 110-112 versus 105 last year.
Sales Committee election nominees include incumbents Hagen (accepted) and Bryson Cooper (accepted), current liaison Marilyn Wulff (accepted), Connie Belshay (considering) and Claudia Canouse (declined). [Tom Birklid (will be contacted), Tim Floyd (declined) and Kara Toye (interested but does not meet qualifications) were later also suggested.]
Publications: Sweet reported that the staff is currently working on advertising and editorial for the Summer/Sale issue of the magazine. It is currently on track to go to the printer as scheduled. Staff will then begin working on the Summer Yearling & Mixed Sale catalog.
Washington Horse Racing Commission (WHRC)/Emerald Downs: Halvorson reported that he had spoken with Emerald Downs President Phil Ziegler, who reported that Emerald Downs is doing okay, better on-site than from satelliting, but holding their own.
The Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) will be having their summer meeting in Seattle, July 13-15. They will be holding a Town Hall meeting at 2 p.m. on July 13 in the Emerald Room (4th floor) at Emerald Downs. It is free and open to industry participants, although pre-registration is requested. The WHRC will provide a link to the online registration page when it is available.
Annual Membership Meeting: The Annual Membership meeting will be held on Saturday, July 16. The Jockey Club will be sending a representative to talk about microchipping and online registration.
The schedule for the meeting will be as follows: 3:15 p.m. a no-host bar (provided by Emerald Downs) will be open and available; 3:30-4:00 p.m. WTBOA business portion of the meeting; 4:00-5:00 p.m. The Jockey Club presentation and questions; 5:00 p.m. dinner buffet (catered by Emerald Downs); 5:00-6:15 p.m. dinner and continued discussion/social hour (no-host bar closes at 5:45 p.m.); 6:30 p.m. Emerald Downs first post.
Pabst noted that the Washington Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (WHBPA) will be holding their annual membership meeting in August and she encouraged all owners s to attend. The WHBPA will send out a postcard notification, as well as two e-mail notifications.
Nominating Committee: Both Swagerty and Brewer were unable to attend today’s meeting. Sweet will contact them regarding potential nominees. Incumbents Hopp (accepted), Parker, Tollett and Zerda have terms that are expiring at the end of 2016. It is hoped that all will be willing to run again, although Zerda later declined due to limited availability beginning next year.
Next Meeting Date: The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, July 13, 2016.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:58 p.m.
July 13, 2016, Meeting Minutes
Pending approval at next meeting
Next Meeting
Friday, September 30, 2016
