Candidates Must Declare by Midnight Tonight

Due to resignations from board members in Kentucky and Washington, additional seats have been added to the 2024 election. Qualified members have until midnight tonight to declare their candidacy and have their name listed on the ballot. A list of current candidates can be found at www.twhbea.com/election.

The Executive Committee has accepted the resignations of Spencer Benedict, Carrie Benedict, and Linda Arnold.

Carrie and Spencer Benedict resigned as directors from Kentucky following their recent move to Tennessee. Carrie's seat went to the alternate in that election - Sheree Bollinger, who will complete her term through 2024. Spencer's seat will be filled in this year's election; his term lasts through 2024. The top three vote-getters in Kentucky will serve full three-year terms and the fourth will serve the remainder of Spencer's term.
Linda Arnold has resigned as director from Washington. There was no alternate in her election so the seat will be filled in this year's election to serve through 2025.

This Fall TWHBEA members will elect 30 individuals to serve three (3) year terms on the International Board of Directors beginning next year. They will also elect one individual to serve the unexpired term of Spencer Benedict in Kentucky for one year and one individual to fill the unexpired term of Linda Arnold in Washington for two years. As directed by the TWHBEA By-Laws, the Executive Committee confirmed the positions of directors from states and aligned regions for the coming election. There are a total of 32 seats to fill from the following states and regions:

• Alabama (2)
• Florida (1)
• Indiana (1)
• Kentucky (3 full terms) (1 one-year term)
• Mississippi (1)
• North Carolina (3)
• Ohio (2)
• Tennessee (10)
• Texas (2)
• Virginia (1)
• Washington (1 two year term)
• Region 1 (1) Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom
• Region 3 (1) Connecticut, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island 
• Region 4 (1) Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma
• Region 6 (1) Dominican Republic, Mexico

Anyone interested in running for an open seat must declare their intention to run by August 1, 2023 to the CEO, Mark Farrar, by emailing [email protected] or mailing TWHBEA, Attn: Mark Farrar, PO Box 286, Lewisburg, TN 37091-0286. 

In order to run for a seat on the International Board of Directors, individuals must meet the following qualifications:
• Each Director shall be a resident of the state or region from which he is elected;
• Each Director shall be eighteen (18) years of age or older at the beginning of the election period;
• Each Director must have been a dues-paying member of the Association for at least the past three (3) consecutive years;
• A Director may not be serving a USDA-initiated and finally adjudicated Horse Protection Act suspension of thirty (30) days or longer or have served any such HPA suspension in the last 365 days, nor be serving any HPA suspension of thirty days or longer from any USDA certified horse industry organization during the Director’s term or his/her term will be terminated;
• Each director must take and at all times conform to the oath of office extant at the time of the director’s election and as amended at any time during the term of office;
• Each potential Director must have had at least one horse duly registered with the Association for a period of one year, commencing as of August 1 of the preceding year to be elected, and must keep at least one horse continuously registered throughout the duration of the election period and the term.

Additionally, no person shall be eligible to be a director for more than two (2) full consecutive terms, however, a director may serve more than two (2) nonconsecutive terms. 
A complete copy of the TWHBEA By Laws and more information on the election of directors can be found at www.twhbea.com/governance/corporate-bylaws.