Commitment to Improve

“The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement. – Helmut Schmidt”

I would like to take the opportunity to acknowledge the need for AMHA to vastly and quickly improve the management of two very valuable programs. The My Morgan and Me and the Open Competition Programs have not been administered at the professional level expected of an organization of our caliber. As the Executive Director, I assume full responsibility for the administration of all AMHA programs and I have been advised of several deficiencies that need to be immediately addressed. Some of the frustrations have included poor turnaround time, delays responding to e-mail inquiries, a need for earlier notifications of results, and overall program dissatisfaction and concern.

Knowing the workload and commitment that the entire staff has for this Association, I can assure the membership that it is both frustrating and humbling to realize we are not providing service that exceeds expectations. However, I would like to formally commit to resolving these challenges and assure you that plans are actively underway that will be permanent solutions to these issues.

Workflow processes are being implemented this month to the My Morgan and Me program that will greatly decrease processing time and the delivery of awards.

Open Competition awards were mailed this week and a new, more appropriate schedule of 2018 deadlines has been established as follows:

• November 1 2018: Competition Year Ends
• November 14, 2018 to November 28, 2018: Verification Period (corrections/edits allowed)
• December 3, 2018: Final Results Announced
• Feb. 7-9, 2019: 2018 Awards presented during Annual Meeting/Convention (San Antonio, TX)
• Week of February 18, 2019: Mailing of ALL awards not presented at Convention

With the new streamlined method for self-entering results via online, we can now increase the number of Open Competition placings from Champion and Reserve to Champion, Reserve and 3rd through 6th. All placings will receive ribbons and certificates. I am working on finding a corporate sponsor for the possibility of adding additional awards as well for all Champions. If you are a business (or individual) that may be interested in such a sponsorship, please feel free to contact me at the AMHA office. If we don’t obtain a sponsor for this year, we will continue to search until it can be secured! We are committed to improving the quality of awards and recognition for these wonderful Morgans.

The AMHA website pages dedicated to these two programs are undergoing a makeover as well. Be looking for some fun improvements such as a photo galleries and testimonial pages where you and your Morgans can be recognized for their participation and achievements!

The Disciplines Committee will be reviewing all the details and planned actions to improve the programs and would love to hear your constructive suggestions and ideas. Please forward your thoughts to me at execdir@morganhorse.com and I will be sure the committee is adequately advised of the input from participating members.

In closing, please accept AMHA’s sincerest apologies for the past frustrations. We ask for your patience while we perform these operational “makeovers” and know that we truly appreciate your participation in these programs and will work diligently to provide the service you and your Morgan horses deserve.

Sincerely,
Carrie J. Mortensen
Executive Director
(802) 985-4944, ext. 201
execdir@morganhorse.com