May 2012
“Reaching Out”
Dear FTBOA Members & Friends:
As the season comes to an end and many of you move on from a robust and encouraging 2 year-old sale at OBS, we felt it was a good time to update you on some of the recent out-reach efforts of the Association. By “out-reach” in our situation we specifically mean initiatives, invitations and projects that are designed to educate our Marion County residents, visitors and particularly business and civic communities about the importance and impact of Thoroughbred breeding, ownership, sales, training and racing to the economy, character, past and future of our city, county and state.
Interestingly, this concept has not just been driven from our side, though it has been one of my top priorities I have wanted to address since my first week at my new post-I and others who are associated with FTBOA have heard from numerous public officials, business and tourism advocates about “What can we do to bring the Ocala horse and business communities closer together?”. We are really starting to see the possibility of a “perfect storm” in terms of such dialogue becoming more and more frequent, intense and widespread within our Ocala community. This represents a significant opportunity and priority for us to pursue and maximize. Our community and industry need each other now more than ever.
This really was the inspiration to recently form one of our most active advisory committees to date.
The Out-Reach & Events Committee enthusiastically chaired by director and officer Bonnie Heath with board member Dianne Parks chairing the “Activities & Events” division of the committee (events basically meaning signing up member volunteers for OBS booth staffing, awards dinner sponsorship recruitment, making sure our facility is presentable for hosted events, attendance/representation at certain charity and community events, etc. (We’ll discuss these activities and needs at a future date).
So far, the Out-Reach Committee has been very involved with talking with community and business leaders and generally providing assistance and support to our limited office staff and resources. A few of the most recent and more visible activities with the Committee are discussed below.
Derby Day Doings
We have been active in the Ocala/Marion County community at recent events, including participation in the Appleton Museum’s Day of the Horse, held on Saturday, May 5th. During the day, FTBOA representatives joined other local equestrian organizations to share information about our industry, including a video presentation of Florida’s past champions.
Approximately 80 guests and /visitors attended the day’s event during the 25th anniversary of the Appleton Museum.
FTBOA Representatives were also on hand for the first annual Downtown Derby Days event held Saturday on the Ocala square. Memorabilia displayed at the FTBOA tent included trophies, silks and photos of Florida-bred Kentucky Derby winners along with trivia on the horses and their Ocala connections. Visitors could pick up Derby entry information along with current magazines from the Florida Equine Publications.
Talking Tampa
As an adjunct to our annual FTBOA Day featuring stakes for Florida-breds at Tampa as well as seating and buffet (nice to meet so many of you over there) the Committee arranged for the leasing of a single bus with the challenge being to the Board to bring with them on the trip, people within the community who have either never owned or bred a thoroughbred, or been to the races before (or those who may have long ago, but for some reason drifted away). Our hope was that such reaching out will contribute to this positive awareness and advocacy that I discussed earlier. That recruitment and transportation effort along with a beginners’ handicapping class on the bus and a great day of racing and a wonderful setting at Tampa Bay made for a very nice outing for all involved. Plus, it brought so many hard working, caring, positive, constructive and supportive FTBOA Members, staff and guests under one tent for the day.
These initiatives represent just a modest start to where we hope to go. Thanks to people like the many dedicated and constructive volunteer members of the Out-Reach & Events Committee as well as FTBOA Board and staff. We are already making progress as well as developing significant inroads and contacts to further the business of our Members and Association. We look forward to nurturing the early seeds and continued fruits of our labors with the purpose of harvesting positive awareness and business results for our industry in the months and years to come. Your support and involvement with the positive movement forward of our Association are greatly needed and appreciated.
Respectfully yours,
Lonny T. Powell
Chief Executive Officer & EVP
April 2012
“Blinkers-Off”…A Few Observations from My First 90 Days
Dear Valued FTBOA Members & Friends:
As I near my almost first three months on the job as your new CEO of FTBOA, I am encouraged with what I see and hear and am convinced that, though there is much work to do and priorities to identify and address, our accomplished thoroughbreds, dedicated members (our greatest resource today), hard working staff and resilient industry appear to have only one direction to go from here, and that is upwards.
As is typical with the thoroughbred breeding, owning and racing scene at major pari-mutuel jurisdictions across the country, behind or beside virtually every “challenge” we face is an “opportunity”. It is how we both as individuals and collectively as an association take on such challenges while availing ourselves to the opportunities also at hand that ultimately define us.
Along these lines, we continue to evaluate and investigate how we can best modernize and enhance the office, operations, brand and programs of the FTBOA. Probably the greatest short-term challenge we face, and one certainly not limited to just our situation, is that of being extremely short-staffed and under resourced. One of our most exciting initiatives designed to help us in this area is our recent creation of a number of special member advisory committees designed to provide us with broad-based feedback as well as volunteer efforts to assist and support staff via our valued membership. Of particular note is a “Governance Committee” chaired by Phil which will look at ways to improve upon our current Board of Directors election process. Other committees include an “Outreach” Committee chaired by Bonnie Heath and charged with bringing the local horse and business/tourism communities closer together. Another committee “Communications” chaired by Roy Lerman will initially investigate ideas that will lead to enhanced and more timely communications between our association and its membership through the expanded use of print and electronic communications including “social media” as well as a reinvigorated website.
On the legislative front, though we remained ever-vigilant in Tallahassee, the predominate subject during the recently concluded session, aside from the budget and redistricting, pretty much was the “destination casino resorts” push by casino giants and local backers. As we anticipated, this controversial and polarizing topic literally “sucked all of the political oxygen from the room” which ultimately prevented any pari-mutuel and/or gaming legislation from moving forward. Nonetheless, our association and our very solid and credible lobbyist Matt Bryan, has worked hard to position ourselves within the debate so as to proactively insert ourselves directly into the conversation with the potential casino permit holders.
The Gretna pari-mutuel barrel racing shameful debacle continues to cast its ugly shadow over the future of racing and can in no way be supported by anyone who seriously cares about the thoroughbred (or Quarter Horse) industry. It must be noted that, amazingly, the efforts of time and resources by FTBOA and FHBPA have represented the only thoroughbred industry organized opposition to pari-mutuel barrel racing. The silence of other thoroughbred racing stakeholders on this has been “deafening”. As stakeholders with much invested, we cannot let our membership be further harmed by seeing barrel racing swapped for traditional pari-mutuel racing at existing and potential future racinos as such a move would be devastating to all Florida horse breeders and owners. Furthermore, Gretna’s move to circumvent legitimate horsemen association approval should frighten us all as the consequences would be disastrous.
The last observation I would like to make is probably one of the most difficult areas to address, though in my mind perhaps most important – excessive negative rhetoric for the sake of being negative combined with what seems to be an almost constant passing along of incorrect or partially flawed information as either news or fact within our industry, membership and community. Though some level of disinformation is common throughout all businesses – it seems to really find a perch on which to roost in our industry from coast to coast. I will say however, here in Florida I think sometimes the tone and level of such “noise” takes on excessive levels to the point of potential distraction from the matters that are really important. It is so easy to tear down versus build – to be loose with the facts versus taking the time to study, understand and visibly own them while considering sources, motivations, knowledge and/or credibility. We hope our future and current enhanced communications efforts along with my accessibility and willingness to meet with people “eyeball-to-eyeball” (anonymous communications and rants never receive consideration) will help greatly stem the tide of incorrect perception sometimes driven by an unintentional or intentional absence of factual information. One of my goals is to assist us in moving away from the classic industry pitfalls and distractions often facilitated by misguided or rogue “circular firing squads” all charged with the knee-jerk orders of “Ready..Shoot…Aim!”
It has been a very active first 90 days – far beyond what words can portray or what the imagination could foresee. Much of the work to date has been both challenging and consuming. Many strategic and logistical chess pieces must be and are being moved around the game-board in order to achieve the level of reorganization and revitalization within the entire FTBOA that I and the Board seek. One thing for sure, so far I really like what I see in terms of opportunity for us to change and evolve in a positive and proactive fashion. Here in wonderful Florida we have many things going for us that most do not have. In our widely coveted Ocala and Marion County we have the single greatest location to breed, grow, sell, train and race horses in the country. Our task is to keep it that way, turn others on to it, and work together in the same direction in order to create a true collective economic and awareness rising tide for our Florida thoroughbred industry that will “lift all of our thoroughbred boats”. I look forward to “rowing” with you.
Respectfully Yours,
Lonny T. Powell
Chief Executive Officer & Executive Vice President
February 2012
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the FTBOA Board of Directors for selecting me to serve the membership as your new CEO. I consider it to be a high honor to represent such a significant organization and product. As many of you know, I literally hit the ground running upon my long-awaited arrival in Florida and Ocala earlier this month. In a little less than two weeks I have driven the entire length of the state twice in order to attend meetings and make presentations from Ft. Lauderdale to Tallahassee. I have had very productive discussions with the FHBPA, Calder, Gulfstream Park, Tampa Bay Downs, OBS, legislators and chaplains while also attending and participating in my first official FTBOA Board and Member meetings.
I continue to be impressed by the resilient dedication of our membership and their significant level of investment of time and treasure, as well as desire to see the FTBOA and our homegrown Thoroughbreds rise to new and even more successful heights.
Like any member organization, our Association has had to overcome certain distractions and issues of the past. The important thing is that we don’t shy away from or get distracted or even paralyzed by such challenges. Instead, we take them on in as timely and transparent of a manner as possible and then move ahead. That is what vibrant and responsive membership-driven associations do.
As we move forward in the pursuit of better things for our members and industry, let us commit to building a strong, member-supported association that is relevant, focused, compassionate, strategic and proactive. Let each and every one of us commit to building up our Association, our membership, horses and image versus tearing the very fabric of our people and industry apart. Let us “construct” versus “destruct” on a go-forward basis pulling together in the same direction. Let us come together in order to make good things happen.
I have enjoyed getting a chance to meet many of you and will continue reaching out to hear your views. I look forward to working with you toward these ends. Thank you for inviting me to join you and for the very warm and welcoming reception you have given me! I love the Ocala area and am very proud to now call myself a “Floridian.” As someone who has spent literally every day of my life and career in this great industry, I thank you for sharing the passion to see it evolve, grow and succeed.
Respectfully yours,
Lonny T. Powell
CEO & Executive Vice President
