May 2, 2012
FTBOA announces advisory committee formations
The Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association is happy to announce the formation of several new advisory committees designed to continue improving and growing the Association. Each committee will be made up of several members, each to have representatives from the FTBOA Board of Directors, staff and general membership.
We are very excited about the ability to broaden the input and expand the inclusion of a cross-section of perspectives into the Association through the broad-based participation of Member volunteers. Upon Lonny’s arrival here as new CEO in January, he made it very clear that he wanted the organization to be more inclusive and volunteer-driven. His desires melded with my objectives as the new president to reach out to FTBOA Members and get them positively engaged in the future of their Association and industry. I am very happy to announce this important progress towards that end.
Each committee chair is a sitting FTBOA Board Member who will be responsible for recruiting potential members for their respective committee, holding meetings on an ongoing basis and reporting back to the CEO, President and FTBOA Board as to their efforts and suggestions. Powell and I along with the FTBOA Board, have created five advisory committees currently which include: 1. Goverance, 2. Racing and Stakes, 3. Outreach, Activities and Events, 4. Communications and 5. Social and Charity Committee.
As of today, the committees and their members are:
| Governance Phil Matthews – Chair, FTBOA board member Brent Fernung – FTBOA board member George Russell – FTBOA board member Bill Rainbow – FTBOA member Greg Wheeler – FTBOA member Lonny Powell – FTBOA staff Caroline Davis – FTBOA staff Racing/Stakes Brent Fernung – Chair, FTBOA board member Phil Matthews – FTBOA board member George Russell – FTBOA board member Fred Brei – FTBOA member Lonny Powell – FTBOA staff |
Outreach/ Activities/Events Bonnie Heath – Co-Chair, FTBOA board member Diane Parks – Co-Chair, FTBOA board member Francis Vanlangendonck – FTBOA board member Crystal Fernung – FTBOA member Bobby Jones – FTBOA member Denise Alexander – FTBOA member Caroline Davis – FTBOA staff Becky Robinson – FTBOA staff Patrick Vinzant – FTBOA staff Communications Roy Lerman – Chair, FTBOA board meber Brock Sheridan – FTBOA staff Patrick Vinzant – FTBOA staff Social/Charity Eddie Woods – Co-Chair, FTBOA board member Craig Bernick – Co-Chair, FTBOA board member Brock Sheridan – FTBOA staff |
March 28, 2012
Editor’s Note: This is an excerpt of a speech given to the Farm Manager’s Association by Dr. Matthews on Mar. 27.
When I accepted the nomination as president of the FTBOA, I had several things on my mind. First and foremost, is that it is a great organization which has a serious responsibility of representing the Thoroughbred breeders and owners in this state. It is my responsibility as its temporary steward, to make certain that it remains viable and continues to serve the needs of its members.
In addition to the fundamental task of keeping the boat afloat, there has been the continuation, or completion, of tasks begun my predecessor, Fred Brei. Most notably, getting Lonny on board and moving ahead with a more secure accounting/computer program for the handling of the trust fund. In addition to that, Mike Compton left and there was a search to conduct for a new Florida Equine Publications editor in chief. You throw in the Gretna barrel racing fiasco and the legislative session and it all translates to a busy time.
But in addition to these things, I also wanted to address some topics that, if accomplished, I felt would better the organization. Some of these items are as follows.
Address the election process. This is important because the perception that this process has created is a perception of mistrust.
I would like to see us work toward becoming a more tech savvy association in how we communicate administratively, within the membership and externally to the industry and public. By virtue of this, the leadership and administration can become more communicative to the membership. I chose the words ‘work toward’ purposely. My experience tells me that these efforts never move as fast as desired and it may take longer than one year. In addition, we are starting from further back technologically than I originally envisioned.
I’d like to help facilitate a cultural shift in the organization that allows for and promotes more membership engagement.
Create a format by which this association conducts ‘regular’ strategic planning sessions to identify issues and goals that the membership has input into and is kept informed about.
It is my hope that all of the above will foster more unity within the association. Our industry has taken a beating, not just in Florida, but everywhere in the country. It is important that we keep our eye on the ball and work in unison toward common goals. The last thing this organization needs is to be pointing guns inward. In some respect, I understand why this happened. However, I will submit to you that the discontent felt within our association has had several roots.
The economy has hurt many of us. It has driven people out of business and made it harder for those of us that have survived.
As I tell people, I am working harder for less and enjoying it less. Much of the fun and optimism is gone when you are in survival mode. Frankly, this environment creates an atmosphere of looking for someone to blame.
There has been a lack of response from leadership in years past on certain issues that resulted in mistrust and suspicion on the part of some. These topics simply needed addressing and explanation and I firmly believe that had that been done in a more open, transparent and explanatory fashion, a lot of angst could have been avoided.
There was also a fair amount of misinformation that members possessed and because they thought it was correct it angered them and eventually others. Again, better communication, but as importantly, more responsiveness to these issues when they arise is also important.
But as I say that, I am reminded of Fred Brei’s tenure in this office. He did just that, he was very responsive. Not only in answering questions and providing information, but also by conducting some internal house cleaning. Yet, I’ve heard criticism about his ‘style’. Let us, as a group, focus on results. When you have someone that brings results, let’s leave ‘style’ out of it.
For a moment I want to address our industry and how this association fits in to that very broad picture. As breeders and owners of race horses, your livelihoods are dependent upon the health of the overall industry. I know that the price of your product is essential to your success. Your product may be a sale horse or a race horse.
The price of your product is not only the sale proceeds or the purse, but is also the breeder’s award or the owner’s award or supplement. And I think obvious to most of us, is the value that is created for our product through the success of the horses we sell.
Whether that improves the pedigree of our mare, potentially increases the stud fee of our stallion, or enhances our reputation as providing a good product at the sale; whatever it may be.
But what does everything I just mentioned boil down to? Everything is dependent on the overall health of our industry. It is the obligation of this association to do whatever it can to ensure our industry as a whole, remains healthy and strong. Yes, we dispense breeder’s awards and it is a very important part of what we do. But it is foolish to think that is all this association does do or should do. It is our obligation to be your public relations arm, to carry the message of how important this industry is to the economy and preservation of green space in the state of Florida. It is imperative that we preserve our seat at the legislative table and protect the gains we’ve made there and press for more. It is important that we don’t let the racinos stop racing; that we don’t allow them to do away with horse racing and only have slot machines and card rooms. Put simply, we need to work hard to preserve a racing venue within our state. It is important that we don’t allow bizarre forms of pari-mutuel gaming, such as barrel racing, to become a substitute for legitimate horse racing. And finally, it is becoming extremely important that we do whatever possible to re-capture all of the revenue we are losing to ADW.
We’ve all seen the New York Times front page article by now. For anyone that thought our industry operates in a vacuum; that should have been a real eye-opener. Is there anyone that doesn’t understand how increasingly important a strong public relations effort is for our industry? Our association? Does anyone not see the vital importance of conducting community outreach through informing the public and conducting charity efforts within our community? Do you think that our involvement, again through our charities arm, of taking care of retired race horses, in light of that NY Times article, is not important? Is it not a prudent objective of this association? This association should leave nothing to chance in protecting our industry from the carpet baggers that wish to destroy it for their own financial gain or to the do-gooders that have never been around a horse and yet think they know more about animal husbandry than the people in this industry.
I invite all of you to think about something that sometimes escapes us, no matter the level of our experience and knowledge. Often times all of us are better served by giving others the benefit of the doubt. Our first reaction may be to question the actions or the intent of those actions taken by others. But it is always prudent to first fully understand the action taken and then to understand the circumstances that formed the decisions leading to those actions. As members of the FTBOA we are all on the same team.
We have tremendous commonality of purpose. Our first inclination should be to side with each other and to work with each other. Realizing that another’s philosophy isn’t necessarily wrong, it may simply be different, and that does not constitute reason for mistrust.
I can assure all of you that there is no board member that has any goal other than the FTBOA becoming stronger and better at serving its membership. I assure you that you have a team of people that work for our association, led by Lonny Powell, that commit themselves every day to making our association better.
I think that the goals I mentioned above will help to ensure the membership that the administration and volunteer leadership of this organization has one paramount goal, to make our Florida thoroughbred industry stronger.
Thank you.
February 27, 2012
I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome our new Editor-In-Chief of the Florida Equine Publications, Brock Sheridan. We had the good fortune of having several highly qualified candidates apply for the position, which made for an interesting interview process, and allowed for the comparison of both contrasting and similar skill sets.
Last year’s announcement of our new Executive Director/CEO of the association prompted questions from the membership about what criteria the search committee had used in making the selection. A prudent question that certainly is pertinent in this instance as well.
The position of Editor-In-Chief involves three primary skill sets; writing, editing and managing. The priority of each can be argued but all are integral in the performance of this position. Brock Sheridan is educated and experienced in all of these arenas.
Beyond the necessary skill sets that qualified Brock for this position, he had several more qualities that the search committee had hoped to find in a candidate. He is personable and engaging; obviously traits that work well in all arenas of life. He is also very savvy in the world of high tech communication and social media. This is an area that we feel strongly can be expanded upon for the benefit of the association; for both intra-association communication and outwardly to further enhance our industry exposure and public relations efforts.
We all realize that Mike Compton left big shoes to fill. I’d like everyone to know that the Board of Directors and the Search Committee took that very seriously and feel that a good selection has been made. Brock will officially be on board March 5 and I invite all members to give him a warm reception and take an opportunity to meet him at some point in the near future. I am very excited that Brock is joining the team and I am as excited about the future of FEP.
January 14, 2012
On Thursday, I received some good news from Warren Husband, the Association’s attorney, when he sent me an email updating me on the Gretna Racing situation.
He stated, “Finally, some good news for our side. The folks at the Rutledge firm obtained a forthcoming Attorney General Opinion addressed to Secretary Ken Lawson at DBPR on the subject of slot machines. In response to a question posed by Lawson, the Attorney General has concluded that the Department may not issue a slot machine license in any county outside of Miami-Dade and Broward that seeks approval of slot machines by local referendum (see s.551.102(4)) without new, specific legislative authorization for the local referendum.
"No such authorization currently exists for Gadsden County or anywhere else. This is obviously bad news for Gretna Racing. In light of this opinion, the Department will almost certainly not entertain a slot machine license application from Gretna Racing without the passage of further legislation on the matter.”
For clarification, the ‘Rutledge firm’ referred to by Warren is the law firm that is representing the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association, Florida Horsemen’s Benevolent Protective Association, and Florida Quarter Horse Racing Association in the Gretna Racing litigation.
If you are interested in seeing a well-written newspaper article on the subject, click here.
I also would like to remind all members that the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association will hold a Membership Meeting on Thursday, Jan. 19 at 2 p.m. at the Hilton-Ocala. This meeting will be an informational meeting and will introduce you to Lonny Powell, the Association’s new CEO/Executive Vice President.
January 2, 2012
Happy New Year to all! Let’s hope it is just that for our industry; happy and prosperous.
It’s a time when many people think about resolutions to make their lives a little better; changes they could make to improve something in some way. It is also a time to reflect upon where we’ve been and what we have accomplished over time that has brought us to where we are in our lives.
The FTBOA is entering a new year and a new era today. It has been under the stewardship of Dick Hancock for 22 years and now the mantle is being handed off to someone else in Lonny Powell. I welcome Lonny and look forward to his energy, insight and abilities. However, it is my purpose today to thank Dick for all he accomplished for this association for many years of dedicated hard work.
Like many of you, I’ve known Dick for many years by virtue of his position in our organization. Although I always considered Dick a friend, we did not know each other well. After coming on the board my contact increased, and we worked a lot together this past year. It was always interesting to me what an absolute fountain of information he is about the history of our association and all of the ancillary intangibles that came with the process of getting us to where we are today; the legislation, negotiating with the race tracks, dealing with our local community and on and on.
What impressed me the most in dealing with Dick and in the many conversations that we’ve had has been his dedication to the FTBOA.
All of his efforts and thought processes were centered on what can be done to improve our association and make things better for its members. Dick and I had a few disagreements on strategy but I could never fault him on intent.
Past president Don Dizney said it well, “Richard Hancock’s retirement from the FTBOA is certainly the end of an era. He was pivotal in so many of the association’s important accomplishments over the last two decades. His many hours of strategizing, investment and effort provided a winning formula for the association and the entire Thoroughbred industry. Richard Hancock has played a significant role in making horseman, community leaders and legislators in the state and around the world know that Florida is the perfect place to breed, raise and train champion horses. He will be sorely missed.”
A few of the successes that we have enjoyed under Dick’s leadership are as follows.
Last year’s victories in FTBOA’s economic stimulus package passed by the legislature:
• Reduction in the tax on slot-machine revenue at Gulfstream Park, Calder and other pari-mutuels from 50 percent to 35 percent
• Breeders’ Flexibility Bill allowing more freedom in structuring the state’s incentive awards program
• A not-for-profit Thoroughbred racing permit for Ocala/Marion County and extended card room hours for pari-mutuel facilities
In recent years:
• Amendment 4 (2004) and enabling slot machine legislation (2005)
• The granting of a pari-mutuel permit for Ocala
• Florida-bred Stakes Program which funded such signature racing days as the Sunshine Millions, Florida Million day, and Florida Cup Day
• Promotional Funding budget with the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services to market Florida’s horse industry
• Changes in Breeders’ and Owners’ Awards legislation through the years which saw to it that Breeders’ Awards were paid on a timely basis and with an increase in the program (1991)
• Lobbying for and getting lower workman’s compensation rates so that our breeding farms and training facilities could continue to operate
In his early years, Dick played an important role in the Sunday Racing Bill (which led to increased attendance at the racetracks in 1987) and the Family Bill (which helped increase handle, which in turn increased purses in 1988).
FTBOA’s mission has been dedicated to ensuring a prosperous business climate for Florida’s Thoroughbred industry and for the last 22 years much of that mission has come from Dick’s leadership. He has taken great pride in Florida-bred racehorses, their success on the racetrack and in the breeding shed.
In addition to his role as executive vice president of FTBOA, he spearheaded Florida Thoroughbred Charities Inc.’s direction and the Florida Retirement Farm.
Through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Dick placed an emphasis on building relationships with horsemen from around the globe through trade missions, which opened new markets for Florida-bred horses in England, Ireland, Italy, Russia, South Korea and South America.
I would like to wish Dick a Happy New Year and more than that a happy new chapter in his life. I would also like to thank him for all he achieved for us over many years of service.
December 31, 2011
As members of the FTBOA, many of us don’t have the opportunity to work with the staff of the organization, whether they are on the publications side or on the membership side. Personally, I had little contact with most of those people prior to my serving on the board of directors. It has been a gratifying experience to get to know all of these people and to witness first-hand the dedication to their work and their commitment to the Association.
Today, I would like to address one person in particular, Michael Compton, editor-in-chief of Florida Equine Publications.
To give Michael the label of editor frankly sells him short. He has been much more than that; the proverbial glue that holds that department together.
Michael came to us from California 12 years ago and he brought with him a passion and respect for horse racing. Accolades followed soon after his arrival with numerous awards from American Horse Publications (AHP). In fact, The Florida Horse magazine is AHP’s reigning five-time best state or regional publication in the equine industry.
Beyond Michael’s literary skills, he brought a team mentality to Florida Equine Publications (FEP) and a strong work ethic. This team atmosphere became contagious with his fellow employees.
It is literally with a heavy heart that I tell you Michael is leaving us. He is moving on to pursue his dreams and we wish him the very best. Michael Compton will be sorely missed and even harder to replace. This is obvious to anyone that reads our publications and even more so to those of you that had the opportunity to work more closely with him on your advertising and other publishing projects.
Brent Fernung may have said it best, “Michael Compton has proven over the years to be one of the most conscientious people that I have come in contact with. He is an excellent writer with an astute knowledge of horse racing and breeding, talents that are in short supply. That, combined with his work ethic, guarantees he will be sorely missed by the Florida Thoroughbred industry.
For all of us, I would like to tell Michael that we will miss him greatly but wish him the very best in all of his future endeavors. Thanks, Michael, for all you’ve done for us.
December 23, 2011
A short message to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday Season! Governor Rick Scott offered us a little bit of good cheer this past week when he finally publicly entered the fray on the barrel racing issue.
This will be helpful in our battle to stop this potentially very harmful nonsense. Because the granting of the permit was done through the DBPR, an administrative division of the executive branch of the state of Florida, the legislature is unable to counter the action in any way short of passing future legislation to make it illegal.
We have been heavily involved in taking this battle head on; first with the DBPR, concurrently dealing with members of the legislature on crafting legislation and finally in the courts. We hit a brick wall in dealing with the DBPR directly. The lawsuit is ongoing.
Now, with the governor recognizing and making it known in no uncertain terms that he wants to see an end to this nonsense, we believe the legislative ‘fix’ has much more momentum. This hopefully will be a quicker resolution to the problem and certainly a less expensive one than doing battle in court.
It’s not everyone that got a Christmas present from the governor this week.
December 13, 2011
Most of us in the horse business are optimists; to a fault some would say. It is a personality trait that comes with the territory. But we all look toward the next foal, the next two-year-old or maybe the next race as our next source of excitement or income. But whether you make your living in the Thoroughbred industry or it’s simply your passion, it has been difficult to be encouraged lately. The general economy has taken its toll as well as factors within our specific industry. Then, if there wasn’t enough to worry about there is barrel racing! We’ve all been beat up lately, and for too long.
So I’d like to share some of my optimism and excitement with you; maybe lift your spirits just a little.
Most of you understand all too well that what happens in Tallahassee effects many aspects of our industry. Since having the privilege of being in this position I have learned how much our association relies on two people outside of the organization that operate within this arena.
Warren Husband is our legal representation. He helps us weave through the legislative process by interpreting proposed legislation and advising of its potential effects on us. As well, we charge him with writing the legislation when we have an agenda to put forward. Warren is also our advocate in law suits such as the Gretna barrel racing litigation that is ongoing. He is a quiet, unassuming man; both of which belie his talents and abilities.
In the few months of working closely with Warren I have been impressed at every turn. Not only are his knowledge and legal acumen top notch but he is very savvy to the maze which is the legislative process and weaves through it with aplomb. One of the more impressive experiences (which I have had now on several occasions) is to be on a conference call with industry/association leaders, lobbyists and attorneys and listen to the deference given to Warren. They want to know what he thinks before they formalize an opinion; and if he isn’t present on the call, they will defer to wait for his opinion. These are people who have been down these roads before and know the value of a well thought out strategy.
Another strong asset that our association has is our lobbyist, Matt Bryan. Like Warren, he has been with us a long time, through many battles, and has never failed to serve our needs well and with tremendous loyalty. I assure you, we have doors opening, ears listening and actions taken in Tallahassee that would not if it weren’t for Matt’s efforts and the strength of his relationships.
Like Warren, Matt makes himself available at all times. He is responsive to requests but doesn’t hesitate to advise if he disagrees or thinks strategy needs tweaking; in other words he does exactly what we pay him for. It has pleased me greatly to learn that we have such talented advocates working on our behalf and I would be remiss if I didn’t give Dick Hancock credit for bringing them on board.
On a final note, in less than a month, Lonny Powell will be joining us to add a fresh face to the team and I am very excited about his abilities as well. While still working in Arizona, Lonny has made a tremendous effort to stay up to date with our issues and offer input. In November he took a week of vacation time to meet the members of the board of directors and spend two days in Tallahassee with Matt, Dick Hancock and myself. This was a great effort which will allow him to hit the ground running when he arrives in Ocala on Jan. 6th.
I lied, this is the final note. In November your board of directors voted to hold a general meeting in January in response to the request from the October general meeting. Certainly a major purpose of this meeting will be to introduce Lonny officially (although I know he plans to meet many of you prior to that) and communicate to you other association information. The date, time and place will be announced soon but will be in conjunction with the January sale.
November 15, 2011
For the last few weeks a topic has been at the forefront of my mind. That topic is unity. The reason for it being ever present in my mind is that I’ve been immersed for the past several weeks in the ‘barrel racing scandal’ that has been perpetrated upon Florida horse racing by several individuals and their allies. This attempt by a few individuals for their own self enrichment is at the expense of our sport and livelihoods.
Accompanying this President’s Report is an article prepared by Michael Compton which summarizes this situation. I’ve made several attempts at a summary in the week leading up to this report but the information and events are flowing so rapidly that I would find the summary inadequate the day after I wrote it. In spite of that, I feel our membership needs this information presented in as coherent a manner as possible. Please keep in mind that the situation is very fluid, changing almost every day.
This situation has made it painfully clear to me how a small consortium can disrupt the lives of tens of thousands of people in our state, within our industry. The intention of this group is to exploit loopholes and bend the rules for their personal gain with total disregard for the livelihood of others.
These men that have postured themselves throughout their careers to be in a position where they can exploit loopholes, bend rules, and massage the right people for their personal gain while disrupting the livelihood of others.
We have great people in our camp taking this head on. We have also aligned ourselves in this fight with horsemen’s groups that are equally committed to seeing this defeated; the FHBPA, the FQHRA, the United Horsemen of Florida, the FSBOA, the AQHA and the FQHBRA. By uniting our resources, both political and financial, we hope to win this fight and not allow these few people to destroy the race horse industry in the state of Florida. I believe the strength exhibited by a unified front will prevail in this situation as it can in many battles.
I look at our own organization and think of remarks I’ve heard about it being ‘fractured’ and ‘broken.’ I have always contested that opinion.
We have issues to address, improvements to make and new ideas to implement. We have disagreements within about how some of that should occur, as does every organization I have ever belonged. But we also have an association filled with members of like goals and like needs. That builds unity. We need that unity to keep the wolves from our door; and they are pushing in from all sides.
This is not an attempt to minimize some of the internal issues that some members feel we have. But what is paramount is that as we work through those issues we don’t lose sight of the fact that we all gain strength by unifying through our common goals. I can tell you that our foes love to witness discontent and are conniving enough to foment it. You have a board of directors committed to making this organization better and stronger and representative of all of its membership; and to keeping the wolves from the door.
October 22, 2011
It has always been my belief that challenges are disguised opportunities. If I’ve been correct, I’ve walked into a tremendous opportunity with my new post at the FTBOA.
Last year brought many changes and Fred Brei led that charge. This year will see at least as many, and I hope to give them all a positive direction.
It is a high priority of mine that we can move toward increased unity within this organization. I envision that happening through better and more communication between the board of directors and the membership; addressing the election process and making the entire board a more informed and responsive body.
We have legislative challenges ahead, economic issues threatening the existence of individual members and the organization and competitors that are pushing in from all sides. These are all battles that can be won, and a unified, strong organization will help ensure that.
I am excited about Lonny Powell coming on board and I know everyone will be, too, once we start to see results. I ask the dissenters of the decision to hire him to give him a fair chance; that’s all Lonny will need from you.
I was asked at the annual meeting what our priorities were during our search and in making our hire of a new executive vice president. I answered; “Strong communication skills, strong administrative skills, a thorough understanding of the Thoroughbred industry, a capable negotiator and someone familiar with the legislative process.”
It is my firm belief that Lonny brings this wide range of experience and knowledge with him. These skills are important because it is through him that we will continue to repair what is broken, provide better transparency and take a unified FTBOA forward to the benefit of all the members.
Challenges are opportunities. I plan to prove the old adage correct.
