November Newsletter
President's Letter
At the end of every show season, I always ask my students two questions:
What was your favorite memory from this past year?
What is something you learned that you want to be sure to carry forward with you next year?
I’m going to pose the same questions to you, EMAA members. Before we all get caught up and lost in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, I hope you will take a moment to reflect and cherish the memories made this past year. Even if your proudest or happiest moment wasn’t at an EMAA show, I hope that you have a memory to smile over that will live on with you into next season.
One of my favorite moments of this year was presiding over our Year- End Banquet. And while I wished that I could have apologized in advance to the crowd for having to listen to my voice droning on in the background for 90% of it, I was still excited at the prospect of being the deliverer of good news to our winners of the evening. There is something about our banquet that doesn’t quite create feelings of an end, but rather the motivation for more beginnings. When I was a winner of any year-end award, no matter what the placing, it always fueled in me a drive to come back better and stronger next year. If I happen to be a winner of an overall 1st place or champion of a specific class, the goal then became to see what else I could branch out and perfect enough to win the following year. Even though I will admit to being the least competitive person to ever show horses, I can still appreciate how the thrill of winning becomes addictive and sends us back to the barn looking to perfect more skills for the future.
Historically, I have not been as involved in banquet planning and preparation as I was this year. And much like with any event planning, the stress and worry over potentially forgetting something was greatly overshadowed by the joy of knowing that we as a board put together a fantastic event and were about to deliver a night of fun, laughter and excitement for our members. The perfect recipe for creating lasting memories. Being able to watch and witness the merriment and enjoyment from our members throughout the night was such a treat to me, I almost didn’t care that my feet were killing me and my voice was hoarse by the end of the evening.
I think its safe to say that our Board of Directors went above and beyond to create this spectacular night. I cannot thank them enough for their attention to detail, thorough and strategic planning, and general cohesive teamwork in producing this event. I have always marveled over how amazing and fortunate it is that we’re able to hold this celebration every year, but this year is going to be tough to beat! Not only did we have an excellent prize selection (winners were basically able to shop for exactly the prizes they wanted!), but we were able to give out more free door prizes than ever before! Not to mention, every single registered member who attended the banquet was given a FREE membership for 2024. All because of the hard work of our board members and generous donations from our 2023 Celebration Sponsors.
And I certainly cannot overlook the fantastic participation from you, our members. We had a record breaking year for all of our raffles and silent auction. These fundraising opportunities help to ensure we can continue offering you the absolute best horse show experience possible for the next season. Whether it be in the judges we’re able to hire, food vendors offered at the show, or youth activities, we really do work hard to ensure that whatever money is raised is earmarked for enriching your experience as members.
If you attended our Year-End Banquet, I’d love to hear from you! Tell me what you loved, what you thought went smoothly (or not so smoothly!). Tell me how your year showing with our association went. Tell me your proudest moment or what you look forward to next season. Please know that I can always be reached via email at Kel.beaubien@yahoo.com and welcome your feedback.
Wishing you and your families, and barn families, and furry families the warmest holiday wishes! I will see you in the spring!
Sincerely,
Kelly Beaubien
President
Thank You, Sponsors!
The first year of the Sponsorship program was a success and will carry over to the 2024 Season!
I want to thank you personally from the bottom of my heart for helping this program succeed in its first year being offered. Connecting with different businesses helps grow our community just as much as the members showing their horses with us. I have taken all the feedback received and will be making a few tweaks to the program to better serve our members. Our newly revamped sponsorship program details will be annnounced early 2024 season. We want to focus on small businesses within the EMAA members along with their friends and family members. I hope to see existing sponsors continue for next year, or if you need help getting started reach out to me at emaa.tdeblair@gmail.com
Thank you to our Sponsors for the 2023 Season!
Thank you to our 2023 Year-End Banquet Basket Raffle and Silent Auction Donors:
3 BL's Custom Logo Wear
Alyssa Kidd
Angela Deal
Animal Emergency Hospital
Big Dee's Tack and Vet Supply
Connie Taylor
Corrine Blaine
Dover Saddlery
Family Farm & Home
Fenger Family
Good As New Blankets
InGait Custom Show Apparel
Kara Paddock
Larissa Lincoln
Mariann Vernasco
Melinda Blaine
San-Lue Arabians/Taylor DeBlair
Sarah Cline – Pampered Chef Rep
Schneiders Saddlery
Sharon Murch
Spellerberg Family
Stacey Vanremdonck
Stephanie Hawes & Archie
Swaim Family
Tara Lamrouex
Tracey Mathews
Watson Concrete/Kate Moseley
A Note from Our Treasurer
Here is a snapshot of some key numbers as we close:
Out the 2023 season. We as a board have worked hard to keep cost affordable for our members this year while the cost of venues, judges and insurance have all increased. Please know that our number one goal when making any decisions on expenses is always deciding how it will effect our membership. Below are a few highlights to close out the season.
Membership:
2023 EMAA Membership was 133 adults and 96 youths; down from 146 & 104 respectively in 2022.
Banquet:
The year end banquet ticket sales/attendance was also down from 2022 with 163 adult tickets sold and 28 youth.
The “shopping” for your award sounds like it was great idea to avoid duplicates and allowed the winners to select their preference; we have had positive feedback on this idea.
Overall, the banquet cost the club $24,721. We received funds of $9161 from ticket sales, advertising, bucket raffle ticket sales, and the silent auction. We had expenses of $33,882 which included Awards ($12,313), decorations, ribbons, the venue, the programs and other miscellaneous expenses.
The final financials from the 2023 show season will be detailed at our Spring Meeting.
Looking forward to spring and a great show season; stay healthy (humans, horses, and all of your companions) and safe - happy holidays!
Sharon Murch, EMAA Treasurer
Behind the Scenes Action:
While our season has come to an end, these board members are far from taking a break!
Vice President, Amy Sommer spent Black Friday scooping up the best deals and getting a jump start on awards shopping for the 2024 show season. (Picture to include here)
Secretary, Mattie Smith is on top of ribbon inventory already! With the help of her husband, Tyler, and peewee EMAA rider, Wyatt, they were able to get this daunting chore wrapped up in just a few short hours last weekend!
