Missouri Quarter Horse Youth Association

December 2018 News

Happy Holidays fellow MQHYA members! I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday season and surviving upcoming semester finals! I know that I am looking forward to Christmas break that is just around the corner!

A few reminders:

The annual MQHA Convention is January 18-20 at the Holiday Inn Executive Center in Columbia. Our annual Youth Meeting is scheduled from 9:00-10:30 a.m. on Saturday, January 19. Following our meeting and the Opening General Membership meeting, we’ll head to Lazer Lanes and enjoy pizza, bowling and laser tag. This is always a fun team building/bonding activity! We will plan to return to the hotel by 3:00 p.m., in time to get ready for the awards banquet and dinner that evening. You should have received your MQHA Convention registration packet in the mail. Included in this packet is a complete schedule for the convention. I hope to see each of you there!

Each year during the convention, MQHA holds a silent auction at the awards banquet on Saturday evening. This is one of our youth fundraisers for the year. Please be sure to bring an item to donate to the silent auction. This can be a horse-related item, home décor, pet supplies, etc. Be creative! Remember, starting in 2019, each Team Missouri member (Youth World Show or Congress NYATT team) MUST participate in at least one fundraiser. This is a good way to take care of that early in the year.

During our Youth Meeting, we will be electing next year’s officers! Please see the description of the positions below. I have also attached a document that discusses the election process. Be thinking about if you would be interested in running for any of these positions. If you are interested in attending the Youth Excellence Seminar (Y.E.S.) next summer, the dates are July 9- 11. Reminder, Delegate spots will be given to the officers and directors first. So, if that interests you, be sure to run for an officer or director position!

PRESIDENT: The President shall preside over all regular and special meetings, and perform such other duties as usually attached to the office. He/she shall conduct all meetings according to parliamentary procedures. Duties include representing the Association to the MQHA Board of Directors, solicit corporate sponsorships, oversee the AQHYA World Show and Congress teams, and oversee the other officers. The President will write a monthly newsletter that will be distributed to the youth membership via email, and on the MQHA website. This letter is due on the 1st day of each month. This needs to be emailed to the youth advisor for proofing. When the letter is complete, the youth advisor will email it to the membership by the 10th of each month.

*Any other officer with information that needs to be included in the monthly e-mail needs to have their proof to the youth advisor by the 1st of each month. This would include any news, fundraising flyers, fun class flyers, etc. It will then be included in the monthly email.

VICE-PRESIDENT: The Vice-President shall perform the duties of the President when the President cannot do so. Fundraising activities will be planned and carried out through the office of the Vice-President. It is the responsibility of the Vice-President to take care of scheduling, planning, running, etc. the fundraisers and/or tracking the sponsorships and follow-up sponsorship receipts. He/she will work closely with the four Directors at Large.

REPORTER: The Reporter shall be responsible for taking pictures throughout the show season and making a scrapbook for entry at the Youth World Championship Show. It is also the Reporters responsibility to reach out to youth members and write a monthly ‘Youth Spotlight’ article to be shared via email as well on the MQHA website and MQHYA Facebook page. He/she will also help with finding ways to keep our members more informed on our website and Facebook page.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR – SOCIAL CHAIR: This Executive Director will be in charge of social events, including the annual MQHA banquet and organizing year end awards, as well as World Show and NYATT team prizes. He/she will work closely with the Reporter to be sure the MQHYA Facebook page and webpage stay current, fun and relevant.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR – MEMBERSHIP CHAIR: This Executive Director shall be responsible for implementing all Association activities, subject to the authority of the Directors at Large. This person shall keep minutes of all meetings. He/she will also be in charge of the membership committee and keep an ongoing current membership list. The four Directors at Large will be your committee members and the committee will work to develop ways to increase members and better serve our current members.

DIRECTORS AT LARGE (4): The Directors at Large are the four members of the “fun” committee! Their goal shall be to find ways to increase membership of MQHYA. These members will contact local regional open show circuits and 4-H/FFA groups regarding the benefits of becoming MQHYA members. Directors will also work together to bring more fun to our weekend horse shows! Directors may decide to develop a schedule of fun classes to be held at each show. Together, directors would need to plan the event, from start to finish. This includes contacting and getting approval from the show managers. Directors would design flyers for each show to be included in the monthly email. Directors could reach out to members and ask them to help with making signs to be put up at the show. Remember, you would need to give plenty of notice to those individuals to make sure they have time to make the posters! The Directors at Large, along with the Executive Director – Membership Chair will need to come up with a list of perks that you receive as a member. Directors at Large are responsible for getting to know all the youth at our shows. Try to introduce yourselves to anyone new. We want everyone to feel like they are a part of our organization!

Remember to renew your membership for 2019! Also, get your Letters of Intent turned in before you start your qualifying for 2019. You can find the Letter of Intent form as well as the 2019 MQHA membership form attached.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me or Youth Advisor, Cara Harmon.

Justin Eddy MQHYA President AQHYA Region 3 Director __________________________________

Cara Harmon Youth Advisor, Missouri Quarter Horse Youth Association caramharmon@gmail.com 573.999.4454

*Be sure to 'like' the Missouri Quarter Horse Youth Association Facebook page to stay up-to- date on all of the latest news and happenings!