24/ MAY 2019 THE RIDER


INSIDE AQHA News ..........................24


OQHA News ..........................25 EOQHA News........................26 QROOI News.........................27


AQHA Director’s Report


By Kathy M. Patterson


April Executive Committee Meet- ing AQHA Execu-


tive Vice President Craig Huffhines shares highlights from the April AQHA Executive Committee meet- ing. Customer experi-


ence and financial sustainability were


the two major topics of discussion. For any association, these two areas are the most important to maintaining a healthy organization and to supporting membership growth potential. But some very basic things have to occur to be successful in these two areas: 1) computing power needs to match the expectation for turnaround time out of our registry department and 2) budgets must be established that focus resources on what is most important for the long-term growth and quality of service of the organiza- tion. These are the areas on which the Executive Commit- tee has been laser-beamed focused. The newly elected AQHA President Stan Weaver led


the meeting and the newest AQHA Executive Committee Member Kenneth Banks joined the table with First Vice President Butch Wise, Second Vice President Norman Luba and Member Dr. Scott Myers. In a very rigorous three days and 35 hours of meetings, the Executive Com- mittee reviewed the recommendations from the AQHA Standing Committees and AQHA Animal Welfare Com- mission from the 2019 AQHA Convention, and appointed the committees and commission positions for 2019-2020. The Executive Committee recommendations will be pub- lished on AQHA.com once committee reports have been updated. A great deal of time was spent evaluating the AQHA


technology plan, understanding the rate of improvement in the roll out of the most recent computer system launch. The Executive Committee evaluated the workflow chal- lenges that ramped up after the first of the year while the entire production and processing staff was testing the sys- tem. The early March launch of the new system provided a window of opportunity to get it up and running just ahead of the late spring show season. Strategies were dis- cussed that could relieve some of this backlog and catch up the service levels out of the registry department while the IT department continues to fix the glitches that have slowed progress. Another key topic with many of our members is the


new website that rolled out at the same time as the new computer system. The biggest challenge has been for members to reset their login credentials and then learning how to navigate the new system. In addition, there have been a few glitches with accessing performance records and using a credit card to pay for services. All of these de- tails are being worked on by the IT development team and are being resolved one by one. There are two approaches we are taking to alleviate


the backlog. First, the IT department is working 7 days a week with NTT Data developers to make the fixes that streamline the computer system and fix the glitches. This will help staff more rapidly process registrations and trans- fers, allow members to pay for their services online with a credit card and allow members to access volume records online more easily. Secondly, we are hiring a part-time em- ployee work force, a few of whom are show managers who know a great deal about our business, to help push transfers and show results through our system. Our goal is to attack the backlog with as much work force as possi- ble to catch up in the next six weeks. The Executive Committee also spent time with


our Customer Care team, monitoring phone calls and speaking with members about the issues they are experi- encing. We thoroughly discussed our plans on how to


move forward and fix the issues our members are experiencing. In the past three weeks, the AQHA Customer Care call center has received more than 10,000 calls per week to address pri- marily registration and transfer delays. This has created a wait time for those members calling in with questions. Most members have used the call back option, which has worked the best for most members, as they have received a call back within one and a half to two hours with the an- swers they need. Ultimately, getting caught up on the registration and transfer backlog will help with the high volume of calls we are currently experiencing. I cannot express enough my ap-


The Canadian Quarter Horse Association is an affiliate of the AQHA. Annual membership is


on-line, visit the CQHA web site: www.cqha.ca, and choose


Choose “Affiliates” to link to provincial Quarter Horse & Racing Association sites. Contact: CQHA President,


Wayne Burwash, ph: 403-246-8283, email: president@cqha.ca


preciation of your patience, while we resolve is- sues related to the new computer system and website. We will share more information with you, as we improve these issues and services we are providing to our members around the globe. We also had a very transparent and open


discussion about AQHA’s finances and budget with AQHA Chief Financial Officer Aaron Bovos and Director of Finance/Accounting and Controller Brian Hickman. We are working hard to maintain a balanced budget and to not use AQHA’s investment reserves so that eventually we can get to a place where we can put back money into the AQHA emergency reserve fund. The Executive Committee approved the amended budget. The American Quarter Horse Foundation


Board of Trustees also met last week. The Board of Trustees is the governing board of the Foun- dation. With advisement from the Foundation Council, the Board of Trustees is responsible for managing the business and affairs of the Foun- dation. The 2019 Board of Trustees are President Stan Weaver, First Vice President F.E. “Butch” Wise, Second Vice President Norman Luba, Member Dr. Scott Myers, Member Kenneth Banks and newly appointed Member Robin Merrill. Over the past two years, the Trustees have focused on supporting transparency for Foundation financial management and gover- nance, helping to illustrate the good manage- ment and stewardship of donor-directed funds to


Continued from Page 26 “Membership” section.


free to current members of AQHA. To enroll


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