The National Reining Horse Association held its Fall Membership Meeting on October 6, 2005, at the All American Quarter Horse Congress in Columbus, Ohio. Dr. Kim Sloan was elected to the position of NRHA Vice President while Anne-Marie Burns, Troy Heikes and Rick Weaver were elected to serve on the Executive Board.
Sloan, an Orthopedic Surgeon from New Jersey, brings years of administrative experience to the position of NRHA Vice President. He has served on the NRHA Board since 1996 and on the Executive Board since 1999. He was elected Vice President in 2001 and, in 2004, served as NRHA’s President. “2006 needs to be the year that we initiate the changes to make the NRHA a true international organization,” said Sloan recently. He has the knowledge and expertise to achieve this goal.
Anne-Marie Burns, a Non Pro competitor from Oklahoma, is the Director of Tax Compliance for Washington, D.C. based Artic International, LLC. She has been a tax consultant to NRHA since 1997 and has served on the NRHA Board since 2003. Active on both the Finance and Audit committees as well as the Board of the Reining Horse Sports Foundation (RHSF), Anne-Marie has been instrumental in obtaining exempt status for the RHSF, changing the exempt status of the NRHA and she has been the driving force behind the development of the RHSF’s initial strategic plan as well as the development of business planning and budgeting models for NRHA.
Troy Heikes is a professional reining horse trainer, breeder, instructor and Non Pro coach from Arizona. He was first appointed to the NRHA Board in 1995 and has served as an Elected Board member ever since. Closely associated with NRHA’s successful Futurity and Derby sales, Troy has served for several years as Chairman of the Sale Committee and, in 2005, co-chaired the Aged Events committee and was a member of the Sire & Dam committee. Troy has said that he enjoys being involved with the inner workings of the NRHA as that affords him a hands-on perspective of the sport and allows him to “make a difference.”
Rick Weaver is a professional horse trainer from Pennsylvania. His history with NRHA as a competitor goes back to 1977. In 1982 he won the NRHA Futurity. Rick served on the NRHA Board of Directors from 1990 through 1996. In 2004, he was asked to serve as an NRHA appointed Board member. Noting his 30 years of experience as a trainer, showman, NRHA Judge and Board member, Rick felt he could make a contribution to the association and accepted the invitation. For the past two years, Rick has chaired the Judges Committee and, while his primary focus is the judging of the sport, he also has a keen interest in our affiliates and helping them to succeed in their various endeavors.
There were two By-Law changes supported by the NRHA Board of Directors: one Youth By-Law change pertaining to the Election of Officers and one pertaining to Membership and Regions. Both By-Law changes were approved by the membership.
