{"id":433,"date":"2011-12-09T13:03:38","date_gmt":"2011-12-09T20:03:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sbbch.org\/2011\/12\/09\/commentary-by-outgoing-president-marybeth-conger\/"},"modified":"2025-04-26T16:31:34","modified_gmt":"2025-04-26T22:31:34","slug":"commentary-by-outgoing-president-marybeth-conger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/?p=433","title":{"rendered":"Commentary by outgoing President, Marybeth Conger"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><em><font face=\"Calibri\"><\/font><font size=\"3\">It Official Folks\u0085. The SQUAW BUTTE CHAPTER of Back Country Horseman of Idaho had another FUN and SUCCESSFUL year in 2011 by increasing Membership Participation and Development.<span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/font><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em><font face=\"Calibri\"><\/font><font size=\"3\"><span><\/span><\/font><\/em><\/strong><font face=\"Calibri\"><\/font><font size=\"3\">How did the chapter increase Membership Participation and Growth? First, the Monthly Meetings were dramatically shortened with a call for agenda items for all members, including committee heads. This resulted in speakers organizing their thoughts beforehand, rather than \u0093droning on\u0094 which saved time and showed respect to the rest of us.<span>\u00a0 <\/span>Tickets were given to all members <em>and<\/em> guests for some Fabulous and Fun Door Prizes. Items came from our annual Yard sale but by the end of the year, members were bringing in donations; everything from Duck eggs, Slippers from a Princess Cruise, to gently used Tack.<span>\u00a0 <\/span>Educational Fun topics were scheduled after the Monthly Meeting was adjourned, so members could choose to leave or attend. The net result, we had an average <strong>Attendance increase of 25% at our Monthly meetings. <\/strong><\/font><\/p>\n<p><font face=\"Calibri\"><\/font><font size=\"3\">Second, check out the attached SBBCH Committee list which documents a <strong>45% Membership Participation rate<\/strong>. How cool is that. Bottom line these folks are the 2011 Hero\u0092s for the Squaw Butte Chapter. <span>\u00a0<\/span><span>\u00a0<\/span>All Chapter Committees were put in place by mid-February, rather than waiting to ask for volunteers at the monthly meetings. Committee members were chosen for both their skills set and a willingness to volunteer. <span>\u00a0<\/span>Mentoring was accomplished by paring a new member with a more seasoned one. <span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Plus, members weren\u0092t afraid to attend the Monthly Meeting for fear of being \u0093roped\u0094 into another project.<\/font><font face=\"Calibri\"><\/font><font size=\"3\">All new members in 2011 received a <u>hand written<\/u><em> <\/em><u>Thank you for joining Card<\/u> with a Backcountry Packing photo that was separate from the highly important and voluminous membership packet. <span>\u00a0<\/span>Several seasoned members reached out to these new folks and invited them to one of our events. New members were welcomed and introduced at the meetings and they never sat alone or in the back corner. Our <u>calling committee communicated<\/u><em> <\/em>with them to determine interests and the best contact method. <u>Seasoned Members reached out at meetings<\/u> and sat with them vs. staying in their in the pre-established sitting areas.\u00a0<span>\u00a0<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n<p><font face=\"Calibri\"><\/font><font size=\"3\"><span><\/span>Come on you know what I am talking about. We also had a <u>$50.00 Gas card<\/u> drawing at our Grand Jean July event to encourage participation. Consequently <strong>70% of new members attended meetings and\/or activities during the year.<\/strong><span>\u00a0 <\/span>This number would be even higher as 3 new members live in California or North Dakota which would be quite the commute. Fostering new member involvement is important as they bring fresh ideas and perspectives to the Chapter. <\/font><font size=\"3\" face=\"Calibri\">\u00a0<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font face=\"Calibri\"><\/font><font size=\"3\">A Continuing Goal of the SBBCH chapter is having <u>many Diverse Activities<\/u> throughout the year, so members can choose to participate in what interests them. <span>\u00a0<\/span>Keep in mind members are not expected to attend all events but those that they can. Horse carpooling is encouraged too. Activities focused on Education, Public Outreach, Trail Projects, Fun Rides, Packing Adventures, and as always Great Food.<span>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>SBBCH believes it is important to work with neighboring chapters vs. being competitive which helps BCHI to grow.<span>\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>Check out our website sbbchidaho.org which is getting a lot of attention. <\/font><\/p>\n<p><font face=\"Calibri\"><\/font><font size=\"3\">Some of the 2011 activities include:<\/font><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Symbol\"><span><font size=\"3\">\u00b7<\/font><span style=\"font: 7pt 'Times New Roman'\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><font face=\"Calibri\"><\/font><font size=\"3\">Four Arena nights focused on Safety and Defensive Horsemanship<\/font><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Symbol\"><span><font size=\"3\">\u00b7<\/font><span style=\"font: 7pt 'Times New Roman'\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><font face=\"Calibri\"><\/font><font size=\"3\">Six Fun Rides<span>\u00a0 <\/span>to get Ourselves and Stock in shape while sharing good trail times<\/font><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Symbol\"><span><font size=\"3\">\u00b7<\/font><span style=\"font: 7pt 'Times New Roman'\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><font face=\"Calibri\"><\/font><font size=\"3\">Manning the BCHI Information Booth with neighboring BCHI chapters at the Horse Expo and Idaho Sportsman show<\/font><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Symbol\"><span><font size=\"3\">\u00b7<\/font><span style=\"font: 7pt 'Times New Roman'\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><font face=\"Calibri\"><\/font><font size=\"3\">Co- Sponsored a AQHA and BCHI Ride to Promote our Organization while having Fun &amp; good Food<\/font><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Symbol\"><span><font size=\"3\">\u00b7<\/font><span style=\"font: 7pt 'Times New Roman'\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><font face=\"Calibri\"><\/font><font size=\"3\">USFS Sawyer ( A &amp; B) Certification Class to promote partnerships while doing Trail projects <\/font><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Symbol\"><span><font size=\"3\">\u00b7<\/font><span style=\"font: 7pt 'Times New Roman'\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><font face=\"Calibri\"><\/font><font size=\"3\">CPR &amp; First Aid Classes along with First Responder Training Classes to be Prepared<\/font><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Symbol\"><span><font size=\"3\">\u00b7<\/font><span style=\"font: 7pt 'Times New Roman'\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><font face=\"Calibri\"><\/font><font size=\"3\">Four Trail Projects putting our mighty muscles to work clearing trails<\/font><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Symbol\"><span><font size=\"3\">\u00b7<\/font><span style=\"font: 7pt 'Times New Roman'\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><font face=\"Calibri\"><\/font><font size=\"3\">USFS Large Saw Training for trail work in wilderness areas<\/font><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Symbol\"><span><font size=\"3\">\u00b7<\/font><span style=\"font: 7pt 'Times New Roman'\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><font face=\"Calibri\"><\/font><font size=\"3\">Two pack in\/out Trail crews in the Frank Church Wilderness promoting a partnership with the Selway Bitterroot Foundation<\/font><\/p>\n<p><font face=\"Calibri\"><\/font><font size=\"3\">\u00a0<\/font><span style=\"font-family: Symbol\"><span><font size=\"3\">\u00b7<\/font><span style=\"font: 7pt 'Times New Roman'\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><font face=\"Calibri\"><\/font><font size=\"3\">A record breaking Yard sale that will help fund chapter expenditures<\/font><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Symbol\"><span><font size=\"3\">\u00b7<\/font><span style=\"font: 7pt 'Times New Roman'\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/span><font size=\"3\"><\/font><font face=\"Calibri\">Highway cleanup<span>\u00a0 <\/span>and an<span>\u00a0 <\/span><\/font><\/p>\n<p><font size=\"3\"><\/font><font face=\"Calibri\"><span><\/span>End of year Christmas\/Holiday party that raised several hundred dollars for the local<span>\u00a0 <\/span>Idaho food back demonstrating our sense of community<\/font><font size=\"3\"><\/font><font face=\"Calibri\">Now if we can just remember to report all of our Volunteer hours for these and other activities that qualify. I suspect reporting hours will be a 2012 emphasis area for the Chapter along with celebrating our 20<sup>th<\/sup> Birthday.<\/font><font size=\"3\"><\/font><font face=\"Calibri\"><span>\u00a0<\/span>2011 was a solid year for SBBCH and 2012 will be even better. See you on the trail and please feel free to stop by and see me as I start a new job opportunity in Emmett. Look for the Cherry Red Mustang on Washington Street, starting January 2<sup>nd<\/sup>. <\/font><font size=\"3\" face=\"Calibri\">\u00a0<\/font><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It Official Folks\u0085. The SQUAW BUTTE CHAPTER of Back Country Horseman of Idaho had another FUN and SUCCESSFUL year in 2011 by increasing Membership Participation and Development.\u00a0 How did the chapter increase Membership Participation and Growth? First, the Monthly Meetings were dramatically shortened with a call for agenda items for all members, including committee heads. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tipstrickstidbits"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=433"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10825,"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/433\/revisions\/10825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sbbch.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}