NAMHSA Welcomes New Web Manager

 

On August 17th, Heather Malone was appointed as NAMHSA’s newest Web Manager. As Web Manager, Heather’s responsibilities for the next three years will include maintaining and updating the NAMHSA website, updating Member Show information, posting NAN information including results and photos, maintaining the Merit Award pages including photo galleries, and helping to manage the NAMHSA Facebook page.

Heather has had a life long passion for models horses, receiving her first Breyer when she was four years old! (Palomino Western Prancing Horse, predictably named “Trigger”.) As an Army Brat, she moved around most of her childhood, and while she took lessons, she could never own a horse of her own until junior high school. Model horses filled that real horse gap! In the early 80s through “Just About Horses”, she got involved with the backyard showing and SASE phase of the hobby. She particularly enjoyed TB pedigree assignment. In 1994, Heather attended her first live show, and the hobby officially became an adult passion. She has previously served as the NAMHSA Region 6 representative and held the NAMHSA Member Show of the Year “Smoky Mountain Spring Fling” and “Breakables”, the BreyerFest All China Show. Additionally, she has mentored other showholders, held hobby benefit fundraisers, and has been an active hobby judge for 18 years.

Heather has been a graphics artist and multimedia specialist for 20+ years. Currently she is an Art Director and Creative lead with Raytheon Company. She attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro as a communications major and art minor. She recently graduated with a BA from Art Institute of Colorado Magna Cum Laude with a degree in Web and Interactive Development.

She currently splits time between homes in Dallas, TX and Denver, CO. She has a boyfriend named Josh, who is very tolerant. They own 3 cats: Sammy, Molly, and Cali.




Heather will be replacing the outgoing Web Manager, Lynn Weber, who will still be remaining on the NAMHSA Board as current Region 5 Representative. NAMHSA would like to thank Lynn for her six years of dedicated service as Web Manager.

As Heather is still working on getting her bearings in the new position, please be patient about website updates for the next couple weeks. For further inquiries you may write to Heather at website@namhsa.org.

NAMHSA News for July 2015

Jul 1 

-- Stacy Quick (R1) posted her experiences from NAN 2015. Teresa Buzzell (pres) asked for clarification on what NAN volunteer shirts cost.

Jul 6 
-- Carmen Robertson (treas) confirmed the cost for NAN volunteer shirts.

Jul 7
-- Teresa Buzzell (pres) posted another application for the fundraising chair.  There was some brief discussion about the applicant and Kim Bjorgo-Thorne (VP) requested references.

-- A poll was started about issuing a 50% refund for a NAN entrant who had a family emergency.

-- Jackie Moore (R6) asked if it was possible to order a volunteer plaque from 2014 for a member in her region who did not receive one. Teresa Buzzell (pres) replied that it was not.

-- Kim Bjorgo- Thorne (VP) welcomed new BOD members and asked for contact information. She advised that departing member’s terms ended on July 12 and new members would be activated the following day.

Jul 9 
-- Kim Bjorgo-Thorne (VP) asked if anyone had any candidates in mind for the future web manager.

Jul 11 
-- Carmen Robertson (treas) posted several financial reports:

May 2015:
Balance in BOA checking as of 5/31/2015: 66706.88
Balance in PayPal as of 5/31/2015: 83.25
Balance in NAMHSA accounts as of 5/31/2015: 66790.13

June 2015:
Balance in BOA checking as of 6/30/215: 70941.41
Balance in PayPal as of 6/30/215: 0.00
Balance in NAMHSA accounts as of 6/30/215: 70941.41

She also posted the 2015 First Quarter report.

Jul 12 
-- Carmen Robertson (treas) reported that Friday of NAN made $800 in catering and Saturday $300, leaving NAMHSA responsible for $900 in catering receipts from the venues. She reported she asked Donna and Harvey Stone (2015 NAN chairs) to confirm.

-- The pole about issuing a 50% refund for a NAN entrant who had a family emergency ended:
- yes
-Lindsay Diamond (R4)
-Lynn Weber (R5)
-Jackie Moore (R6)
-Annette Dean (R7)
-Sharon Mossy (R10)
-Kim Bjorgo- Thorne (VP)
- no
- abstain
Did not vote: Stacy Quick (R1), Kathy Williams (R2), Pauline Entin (R3), Jenna Murphy (R8), Niki Hertzog (R9) and Sandra Gibson (R11)

Jul 15 
-- Teresa Buzzell (pres) posed an orientation for new BOD members.

Jul 26 
-- Kim Bjorgo-Thorne (VP) reported that she had added new reps to their respective regional groups and adjusted moderators on each group to be the sitting rep, VP and president. She asked for thoughts on this. There were no objections to Kim’s plan with Yahoogroup management.

-- Lindsay Diamond (R4 and SMS) posted an email from a showholder about the possibility of two co-hosts turning their two-day show into two separate shows so they could show at each other’s shows.

Discussion ensured. It was felt that each show needed to be handled as a separate show--with separate applications, and that show holders should not share duties such as selecting judges if they intended to show in the other show.

-- Teresa Buzzell (pres) posted an update on NAN 2015 indicating that all the final bills had been received but that the Chairs were unreachable again.  She also gave a list of requirements that the Chairs were expected to complete by the deadline of July 31, which included getting addresses of judges and stewards to send their stipend checks, sending Carmen Robertson (treas) any final bills or items for reimbursement, and a formal NAN recap.

Jul 27 
-- Teresa Buzzell (pres) posted Jim West’s (2015 Registrar’s) recap for NAN 2015.  Jim’s recap discussed the communication problems with the Chairs and their general lack of experience needed for chairing a show of NAN’s magnitude, with a suggestion that future chairs be required to have been involved in the operation of NAN previously.  He also expressed his thanks to Niki Hertzog and Jackie Arns-Rossi for stepping up and taking over many of the Chairs’ responsibilities to ensure that NAN could go on.  He also gave his take on some of the incidents that occurred during the show, and reviewed what worked and what did not work.

Jul 29 
-- Lindsay Diamond (R4 and SMS) posted a question from a showholder about whether or not classes that were double-judged for Breed Halter and Non-Breed Halter could be entered in by one of both of the judges with the intention that any horses owned by a Breed Halter judge to only be judged for Non-Breed Halter, and vice versa.

Lynn Weber (R5 and web) referred Lindsay to another thread where the consensus in this situation was that a Breed Halter judge would be able to show a horse in Non-Breed Halter even if both those classes were being judged simultaneously.

-- Lindsay Diamond (R4 and SMS) also posted a draft of an email she intended to send to the showholder about the two-day show being turned into two separate shows and asked for edits.  In the email, she stressed to the showholder that the shows must be treated as separate shows with separate applications, entry forms, entry fees, etc.


REGIONAL REPORTS

R1
No Report.

R2
Recent Shows:
NAN 2015 came to Palm Springs, California, on June 26-28th. The weather was toasty but the company was great with people from many places traveling to attend the 20th anniversary of the North American Nationals. We thank all of the people who worked so hard to make this NAN possible – all of the volunteers and judges and everyone who packed up their models and came to show. It was a wonderful three days of fun and competition!

Upcoming Shows:
Teri Walsh will be hosting a new show on August 29, 2015 in El Cajon, CA. The show is called Autumn Show Among Friends and features OF Plastic, Custom and Artists Resin divisions as well as a Youth/Novice division.http://www.autumnmhs.com/

Mark your calendars for October 10th, 2015 for Suzie Francis’ Sleepy Hollow Live, a Halloween themed show.https://sites.google.com/site/sleepyhollowlive/home This will be Sleepy Hollow’s 3rd year. The venue is very pleasant, easy to get to and with good parking. Norco is a equestrian community and the perfect place for a model show.

A new show will be held by Naomi Bisagno - Los Angeles Live –on September 12th- 13th in Tarzana, CA. The show will have it all: OF Plastic, minis, Customs, Artist Resin, China and Performance.http://www.modelhorsemobile.com/LALive.html

As always, December is earmarked for Jane Morehouse’s Workmanship and Collectability Classes Only (WACCO) and the annual Christmas Potluck. http://www.fantasticplasticclassic.com/wacco/. There is usually a sister show to WACCO held on the following day in the same hall. Stay tuned for more information when we have it.
Kathy Williams, Region 2 Rep

R3
No Report.

R4
Region 4 is pretty quiet during July - but that's because of BreyerFest!! I hope to see many of you there!

To anyone who traveled to NAN, congrats for any wins!

So far there are no shows planned in August or September, but stay tuned for the fall/winter show season to kick off shortly after that!

R5
Region 5 had three shows in June, including a new show by a brand new show holder. Autumn Affinity Live, The BYO and Mid Kansas Live All OF Halter Show were happily attended by Region 5 showers.

NAN has come and gone and people enjoyed themselves. Please look through all the results to see who our winners were!

Breyerfest is approaching quickly and I hope to see Region 5 well represented there. Hope to see you all soon!
Lynn Weber
NAMHSA Region 5 Representative and Web Manager

R6
Hello All!

The Hollow Horse All Foal Show was held on June 20 in Cumming, GA. Beth Patterson submitted this show report:
"The common refrain from entrants was that they had no idea how many foals they owned until that was all they were looking for... and they found a bunch! The OF classes were beyond full (there was some splitting) and with the multiple divisions you had plenty of chances to win NAN cards aplenty. I was amazed at all the entrants in performance especially.

Valerie, as usual, did an outstanding job with her class lists and prizes; champs and reserves got tiny pastel baby toys on ribbons along with their rosettes.

We all had fun and I think we even left some oreos for Valerie to snack on once it was over "

Sounds like it was a great show!

There are no shows scheduled in the region for July. I hope that everyone making the trek to Kentucky has a safe journey and a wonderful time!

Next up on the Region 6 calendar is Palmetto State Live in Irmo, SC on August 29. There is also a show planned for September - Magnolia State Live to be held near Tupelo, MS on Sept 19.

See you at the shows!
Jackie Moore

R7
Region 7 Report

We had one show in the month of June - Big Orange Bash (BOB) hosted by Carol Tuft. It was an awesome show with a lot of great entries. It was a benefit show for the Large Animal Clinic at the University of Tennessee's College of Veterinary Medicine, We all look forward to seeing this show again in the next year. It was lots of fun and it was great to visit with everyone there.

July will be a bush month for us. We have the shows:
* Vive Le Breakables Live at Breyerfest - hosted by Maggie Barkovitz
* Breyerfest Open show - hosted by Michelle Masters
* Stone Age Live Show - hosted by Tom Dean
Links to these shows can be found at: http://www.namhsa.org/membershowsbyregion.htm (For Region 7)

Happy Summer to all !

Annette Dean
Region 7

R8
No Report.

R9
Sadly, Region 9 lost two long-time hobbyists in June. Keith Bean passed away on the 29th and Hilary Applegate on the 9th. Keith was loved by all who met him and always had a big smile on his face. Hilary always reminded me what the hobby should probably really be about - she loved her models and enjoyed showing them no matter how they did. Both Hilary and Keith will be missed in the hobby.

There are four shows coming up in August, South-Central PA Classic on Aug 1, Mid-Maryland Mini Model Madness and Build the Barn Live on Aug 8, and South Jersey Classic on Aug 15. It's great to have so many shows on what has been a slow month in the past.

R10
Region 10 July Report

Like some other Regions, July is a quiet month for shows, because of Breyerfest! For anyone going to Breyerfest, stay safe, have fun, and make lots of memories!

As far as upcoming shows, on August 15-16th, in Boxborough MA, Maria Firstenberg is hosting Baystate Models Live. This show is a wonderful show at a wonderful venue and I can't recommend it enough - get your entries in!!

And remember, you can always keep up to date with the Region 10 website: http://www.regionxnation.com/

~Sharon Mossy~
Region 10 Rep

R11
No Report.

NAMHSA Welcomes New Fundraising Coordinator

 

On August 11th the Board of Directors voted to approve Elena Lemm as NAMHSA’s newest Fundraising Coordinator. As Fundraising Coordinator, Elena’s responsibilities for the next two years will be heading all of NAMHSA's fundraising efforts on year-round basis, including quarterly fundraising events.

Elena has been collecting since the 1980's, but has been showing since the early 2000's. She made the jump into judging in 2012 and hosted her first shows last year. She now hosts two live shows a year plus a judging clinic in the Houston area. She comes to us with a background in finance/accounting and a strong desire to make the NAMHSA fundraising a huge success.

Elena will be replacing the outgoing Fundraising Coordinator, Erin Corbett. NAMHSA would like to thank Erin for her service as Fundraising Coordinator and wish her well in her future endeavors!

NAMHSA also thanks all applicants and appreciates their interest in this position. For further inquiries you may write to Elena at fundraising@namhsa.org.

NAMHSA News for June 2015

 

Jun 1
-- Discussion continued about the final classlist for NAN. The question of splitting classes of 50 horses was brought up. A post by Niki Hertzog (R9) about the economics of classes at NAN was forwarded by Jackie Arns-­Rossi (RS).

-- Carmen Robertson (treas) posted the April 2015 treasurer report:
Balance in BOA checking as of 4/30/2015: 58,260.23
Balance in PayPal as of 4/30/2015: 3,705.35
Balance in NAMHSA accounts as of 4/30/2015: 61,965.58

Jun 3
-- A poll was started to accept the final version of the NAN 2015 classlist.

-- An issue with the wording on the new membership proposal was brought up. The original ballot was slated to go out prior to May 30, but a series of events delayed this. The membership wording that was originally voted on would have gone into effect on May 30, after the voting period ended. Eleanor Harvey (parl) was asked for advice.

Jun 5
-- Jackie Arns­-Rossi (RS) reported she was holding the ballot until the issue with the start dates of the proposed membership program changes was figured out. She also advised that the next few weeks were very busy on her end and her time for NAMHSA projects would be limited.

-- Eleanor Harvey (parl) confirmed that the BOD would need to approve a new start date for the membership program. There was no need to motion/second/discuss, just a vote could be done.

-- Jackie Arns­-Rossi (RS) posted an update on recruiting judges for NAN 2015 and warned that she currently did not have enough judges to cover three judges per class for all divisions.  She made a motion to allow one judge per class in the divisions that she didn’t have enough for three judges per class.

Niki Hertzog (R9) seconded.


Lynn Weber (R5 and web), Sharon Mossy (R10) Teresa Buzzell (pres) felt it was OK to go with single judging in the classes Jackie stated.

Jun 6
-- Kathy William (R2) requested one final call to members for judges.

Jun 7
-- The poll to accept the NAN 2015 classlist ended.
yes

no
-Lindsay Diamond (R4)
-Lynn Weber (R5)
-Jackie Moore (R6)
-Annette Dean (R7)
-Niki Hertzog (R9)
-Sharon Mossy (R10)
-Sandra Gibson (R11)
-Kim Bjorgo­-Thorne (VP)

abstain
-Stacy Quick (R1)
-Kathy Williams (R2)
-Pauline Entin (R3)

Did not vote:  Jenna Murphy (R8)

-- Pauline Entin (R3) uploaded the membership proposal changes with a start date of July 1. Jackie Arns-­Rossi (RS) moved to accept and Lynn Weber (R5 and web) seconded. The vote was set to start the next day, with a 72 hour window to vote.

-- Pauline Entin (R3) and Jackie Moore (R6) also requested one more final request for judges for the 2015 NAN. Jackie Arns­-Rossi (RS) replied and reminded everyone that the show was only about three weeks away and the deadline needed to be mid-week in order to give her enough time to work on evaluating any new judge resumes.

Eleanor Harvey (parl) reminded the BOD that time was growing short and travel costs were going to be prohibitive for those out of region. She asked Kathy Williams (R2) to come up with names of people who were local. Kathy responded that she would look, but the call should not just be local.

Jun 8
-- A poll was started to approve the membership proposal changes with a start date of July 1.

Jun 11
-- Sharon Mossy (R10) posted a question about finding a new treasurer in Region 10. She was advised that this isn’t a NAMHSA issue, but a local one, as Region 10 has opted to create their own local central treasury for its regional championship show.

-- Teresa Buzzell (president) advised the BOD to consider single judging some classes at the 2015 NAN as there had been issues in getting adequate staff to cover all divisions. She cited that this was an annual problem for NAN, although the issues appeared particularly accentuated this year. Kathy Williams (R2), Pauline Entin (R3), Jackie Moore (R6), Annette Dean (R7), and Sharon Mossy (R10) all felt that this change should not be considered without considerable discussion from members and were not in favor of changing the three judge system. Teresa reminded the board that these issues have been ongoing and in need of change for years, and felt that stagnation would be the death of the organization.

-- The poll to approve the membership proposal changes with a start date of July 1 ended:
yes
-Stacy Quick (R1)
-Kathy Williams (R2)
-Pauline Entin (R3)
-Lindsay Diamond (R4)
-Lynn Weber (R5)
-Jackie Moore (R6)
-Annette Dean (R7)
-Sharon Mossy (R10)
-Sandra Gibson (R11)
-Kim Bjorgo-Thorne (VP)

no

abstain

Did not vote: ­Jenna Murphy (R8), Niki Hertzog (R9)

Jun 12
-- Teresa Buzzell (pres) posted a topic about some concerns about how NAN 2015 was being run so far and attached a timeline of conversations and attempted contacts.  There was limited discussion as most participating in the discussion did not feel there was much to be done at this point.