One of the most positive things that has occurred is the hiring of Glenn Petty as the new EVP. Glenn comes well qualified, is highly respected and capable of taking over our administrative leadership role. He brings a fresh approach to the Association with a great blend of horse knowledge, years of experience in the equine industry and excellent people skills. I have had the opportunity to work with Glenn and I can tell you it has been a privilege and pleasure. I am very pleased to have Glenn as part of our AHA future. He will be at some of our major shows and events. I encourage you to introduce yourself and welcome him to AHA! Prior to Glenn assuming his duties, former employee Janet Holloway served as interim office manager, with her years of experience at AHA and ability to step in immediately and take decisive, quick action, it was the right thing for the Association. This is the second time Janet has helped us out and I truly appreciate her willingness to help and her commitment to the Association.


When I became your president, we established four cornerstones that the Association would focus on: Breed Growth, Financial Stability, Communication, and Organizational Efficiency. With this, the Business Deployment Plan was implemented with measurements for each of the four cornerstones. The BDP gradually became more of a staff initiated plan, rather than a member initiated plan. I believe this plan works best when you, the membership communicate your desires, needs and wants to the Board and consequently the Board is the driver. We are returning to a sharper focus by the Board in this important strategic planning process. In order to be successful, particularly during trying times, there have to be long and short-term goals with measurements to determine success levels.


The entire equine community is suffering from declining memberships and horse registrations. Our youth and adult membership has declined by 3.8 percent. Most all other breed associations suffered a loss last year. The key to maintaining our numbers and increasing them is providing services and value to being a member of the Arabian Horse Association. That has to be the focus in Breed Growth. We have taken extra initiatives to survey past and current members on how we at AHA can provide better service and what we can do as an organization to encourage membership and involvement with Arabian horses. I would greatly appreciate it if you receive a survey from AHA, please take the time to respond. If you know someone that does not receive my President's e-mail Broadcast it is because AHA does not have their e-mail on file, please encourage them to send AHA their e-mail information.


Our Sweepstakes program, which was revamped over two years ago, remains very successful with increasing entries and significant payouts. By early spring, over 3,000 payouts went out to owners. A total of $2.2 million was paid out with an average of $587 per horse. And, even though registrations were down last year, entries in the Sweepstakes program are up. Last year, we had 4,292 breeding entries compared to 4,387 thus far for this year. We have about the same number of people signed up for the Points Payout Program, about 1,900. The Sweepstakes Trust total stands at $7.2 million. The success of our Sweepstakes program is inspiring and I believe signifies that we indeed do have a value related reward in our Association. The turnaround in our Sweepstakes program, after years of declining revenue, is a great success story. Again, my thanks to the Sweepstakes Commission for their great efforts and to those of you who support the program.


AHA's fiscal year ends in March, therefore, our 2008 year is already over and the 2009 budget has already been reviewed and approved by the Board of Directors. I was very disappointed with the budget information that was provided in 2008. There was an over estimating on revenue, and an underestimating on expenses. The results of the 2008 budget led to immediate actions for future considerations. The Board of Directors took a hard look at our 2008 budget numbers, identified where mistakes were made and most importantly have taken corrective actions. Because of the erratic budget variances in the 2008 budget I suggested that the Board re-evaluate the 2009 approved budget. I also established a Board review of the budget at every Board meeting so that we can adjust the budget according to economic times and economic impact situations that we cannot foresee a year in advance. The budget process starts with our AHA Management and Senior Directors putting forth their various projects, estimating income and expenses. The Budget and Finance Committee receives this information and uses it to put together an operating budget for the year. Those of us on the Executive Committee and all of the Board of Directors evaluate the numbers and once they have been reviewed and approved by the Board of Directors I report this information to you, the membership. We make decisions often based on these numbers and we operated the Association through out the year based on these projections. Unfortunately, as I said, some of the projected expenses and anticipated income numbers did not meet the expectations of the budget. The Board met much of Saturday morning at their May meeting, going over the 2009 budget, line item by line item, considering variances and the impact they would have. It is important for you to know that from now on, the process that the Board will go through at each Board meeting will help keep the Association more nimble and allow us to adjust to various financial impacts that will affect the profitability of the Association. While our income is less than anticipated, this will be the forth year that AHA has turned a profit and has not been in the red. I believe the Executive Committee and Board of Directors are on target with their corrective actions and foresight to assure the financial stability of the organization.


The Board of Directors received an update on the Arabian Horse Foundation and the progress it has made in the past few months. An important administrative task of moving the incorporation of the Foundation from California to Colorado, which will be the home base for the foundation, has been accomplished. The charity is now a "public" charity which has better tax advantages for donors. The Foundation website, www.arabianhorsefoundation.org now has a donation option with PayPal and has received initial contributions by this easy to use payment method. Also, it was announced that a new "Arabian Horse Foundation Wall of Honor" will be unveiled at the U.S. Nationals and later displayed at Convention in Denver. Those listed on the wall are those making contributions of $1,000 or more, in either the Arabian Legacy Society or the Arabian Heritage Society. Since the "wall" will be portable, it can be taken to all of our major venues, displaying publicly the names of supporters of the Foundation and its mission. This is a "first" for our Association.


In a marketing report to the Board of Directors, we learned that our Arabian Horse Guidebook which encompasses all aspects of our breed and Association is one of three finalists for Equine Related Special Issue in a national American Horse Publications contest. This follows on the heels of national level awards to our magazine given out at the USEF Annual Convention. It is interesting to note also that Modern Arabian Horse magazine is now the second largest breed publication in North America, just behind the American Quarter Horse Association's magazine. In other promotional news, the Market Development and Promotion Committee reported that they have approved a 2008-09 budget of $403,000 that includes funding for promotion of the new Arabian Horse Galleries at the Kentucky Horse Park. We are going to re-focus and strengthen the support to our PR Network Representatives, so that they can deliver the AHA message, marketing and promotions to our membership. All regions should be represented by at least one PR Representative. A documentary is being finalized and the committee plans to see a draft of that soon. Once approved, the documentary can be marketed bringing our breed into many homes nationwide.

• The new AHA National Distance Commission has been very active and is taking a firm hold of the National Endurance Ride and the National Competitive Ride. The creation of this Commission is timely as we reach out to more people riding our Arabian bred horses, but do not have them registered. Many of those are in the Distance Riding community.
  
  
• In a report on Class A shows and trends, the Board of Directors learned that 26 Class "A" shows to date had a decrease in numbers by 13.6 percent; 12 Class "A" shows had an increase of 27.8 percent, and 13 Class "A" shows have been cancelled. Of the shows that were "up," one had a big increase. Those shows reporting decreased numbers were down by about four to five percent.
  
  
  
• The Fun Trail Ride held at Fort Robinson continues to flourish while the V6 ride in California was slightly down. Staff is again looking into an East Coast ride. The hope is that a ride can be put together with various pricing options, allowing a person to select the price and accommodations they want.
  
  
  
• In a Racing report, the Board of Directors learned that the total bet on Arabian racing horses last year was over $40 million with the average bet per race at $86,570. Nearly 640 Arabian racehorse owners received $4.1 million in purse money with an average payout per race at $8,801. The average number of horses entered per race remains steady at about seven. Many Arabian horse enthusiasts have embarked on partnerships in racing, having competitive fun and also having the chance of winning large race purses.

Our last Board of Directors meeting in Aurora was an intense one with major decisions to be made. One of the biggest was how to get a better handle on our financial situation. I believe we are on a positive course on this. We also considered a new administrative leader for our Association and reached agreement on selection of a great candidate. Throughout all of the decision-making and dialogue, there was a realization that our breed and Association are being impacted by events and an economy that we have no control over. All of us in the equine world have to shift priorities as we anticipate the ride to possibly get worse. As I look back over the report I have given you, I see many good and positive initiatives. We have not slowed our momentum. We're confronting our problems and working proactively to resolve them. Your continued support and encouragement is important not only to me, but to all the members of the Executive Committee and the Board of Directors. I look forward to seeing you this summer as we head toward Tulsa in October and Denver in November.

Thank You and God Bless,