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Dear Members,
Along with the
rest of the newly elected
Executive Committee it has been
a pleasure to serve you the last
few months. As promised, a look
into our financial position was
the key to creating a realistic
budget. Unfortunately, our
investigation found the
Association in worse shape than
anyone had imagined. In a
nutshell, our reserves have been
depleted from $1.5 million to
$150,000; thus, quite a reason
for major concern. Please refer
to Mr. Pruett’s State of the
Association article for more
detail as to where the money
went, but for now I would like
to concentrate on our options on
a move forward basis. Just as in
any other business, the two ways
to get back in the black are to
cut costs and/or increase
revenue. I would like to discuss
both
Click to see Reserve Account
Click to see
Comparative Statement of
Activity
Cutting
Costs:
Our number of employees has been
reduced by almost two-thirds.
Executive salaries have been
eliminated or greatly reduced
and consolidation of duties has
happened as a result (i.e.
currently the Executive Director
is fulfilling the
responsibilities of the
Executive Director, the Deputy
Executive Director, the
Registrar, the Director of
Operations and oversight of the
Voice). Our loss of some very
capable people has been the most
painful turn of events. The
current numbers of employees is
at the very leanest level
possible and still provide
quality service.
All line-by-line operating
expenses, from phone lines to
garbage pick up, have been
reviewed and wherever possible
reductions, consolidations, or
eliminations have taken place.
This is what we should do at all
times as stewards of your money-
I simply want you to know that
Stan Butt and all of our
dedicated employees are
attacking this challenge in
earnest.
Our
programs (i.e. versatility,
pleasure, marketing,
owner/exhibitor, performance,
and etc.) have budgets that are
at historic lows and still will
require donations to be
successful. Team efforts with
WHOA and NWHA, as well as
others, are being pursued in
hopes of sharing costs. The
motto is simply, "Find a way to
make it happen."
Generating
Additional Revenue:
This is a difficult task for a
"for profit" business so believe
me it is not a walk in the park
for a "non-profit" business. We
are (or should be) a service
conduit for registering,
transferring, and promoting your
horse. Our income is driven by
memberships and the business of
breeding only, so when we spend
more than those items bring in
we have deficit spending. So
what is being done? Our new 2008
budget reflects a conservative
spending approach, however, we
will have shortfalls if the late
summer and fall registrations
are less than conservative
projections. To restore the
necessary reserve funds, we must
do one or more of the following
things:
1.
Obtain donations from our
membership
2. Borrow money using our
headquarters building as
collateral. However we would
still need donations to repay
the loan.
3. Sell the headquarters and
move to a smaller facility.
Excess revenue from the sale
would replenish reserves.
4. Raise all fees for services
(with membership approval).
Clearly, the most immediate and
desired solution would be
donations. With nearly 16,000
members, a $25 gift from each
would amount to $400,000. A $100
gift from 8,000 members would
give us $800,000. This, coupled
with sticking to our current
budget, which reflects spending
only money generated through the
registration office, would
restore the financial integrity
to our seventy three year old,
Association.
We must respond quickly to
fulfill our obligations. Please
contact Lisa King @ 931-359-0581
with any donation you can share.
You will receive recognition on
the TWHBEA website and in the
Voice as we track these gifts.
Meanwhile the monthly postings
of how we are performing to
budget will be published. For
the first two months we budgeted
for a loss of ($64,212). Our
actual loss was ($18,259). We
are headed in the right
direction, but we need help.
Like any other business we have
a profit period and loss period.
Our Association relies on the
final four months of the fiscal
year to be its most profitable
period.
Sincerely,
Mike Inman
Administrative/Fiscal/Audit Vice
President
Tennessee Walking Horse
Breeders’ and Exhibitors’ Association
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