To: Members of TWHBEA
Re: The importance of the election
I have been involved with and interested in the walking horse industry all of my life, 40 years now. I, like all of you, have seen the ups and downs in our industry; however I have never seen it in such disarray, with the division that exists today.
TWHBEA has serious problems, and it needs serious people to solve them. We need to have people who have encountered and experienced the problems with the association to help bring positive change. The Breeders’ Association needs a dose of pragmatism, it does not need debate, it needs solutions. The corporate culture at the association the past 3 to 5 years seems to have been the “survival of the un-fittest”, well where I come from ladies & gentlemen, you either do things right, or you get eliminated by those that will. A spirit of cooperation needs to be adopted, not the stance of isolationism that they have taken.
The time has come for a new generation of leadership within this industry and the association. I urge all members to elect directors who will put in place a slate of officers to the Executive Committee who are more in touch with the mainstream of the industry, and that will not be led by others.
I believe these four things are fundamentally important. 1. I absolutely 100% believe in the concept of the Commission. 2. I believe that the Celebration is where the World Champions and WGC’s should always be crowned. 3. I believe that without cooperation between the WHTA, WHOA, and TWHBEA, nothing constructive can be accomplished for this breed. 4. I believe that the mission of TWHBEA should be to maintain pedigrees, transfers of ownership, membership service and retention, and positive promotion. The regulation of the show horse industry should be handled by those of you who actually earn your livelihoods training and showing horses, not by those who do not. You are the ones with the vested interest; you should be the most active and vocal on this issue.
I firmly believe that with the right leadership at TWHBEA, the association can be turned around, back on the track to the accomplishments and growth of the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. As members of the association, please take your vote seriously and elect directors to the board who will make a difference.
Respectfully,
Kerry B. Huckaby