Thank You Letter to Life Members

(click on above link to read the actual letter)  April 23, 2011 Dear (Life Member Name), We are writing to thank you so much for participating as a plaintiff for the derivative action on behalf of all AMHA members. Without your courage and dedication, we could not have accomplished all that we did. You committed to improving AMHA to better serve the members in an open, fair, democratic and positive way. You demonstrated your ongoing faith in the traditional Morgan - to preserve, protect and promote America’s breed. Your integrity, honesty, compassion and sense of purpose encouraged many others to speak out and to vote!A settlement agreement was finalized between AMHA and plaintiffs in July 2010. A court order confirming the settlement occurred last October.  As agreed, the plaintiffs’ proposed election bylaws changes were placed on the ballot (as Item #3) for the February 2011 Annual Membership Meeting.Although the election results were not as we had hoped, AMHA did agree to substantial changes in the settlement agreement, including: Revised bylaws ensure an improved proxy system. A candidate for director must hold an individual membership; an entity membership will not be allowed. Election inspectors are abolished; the election tabulator will serve as inspector. The AMHA board will enforce a strict conflict of interest policy, disclose reimbursement to directors, and provide access of information to all directors. The AMHA board will disclose executive and staff compensation to the membership on an annual basis. The registry committee will be subject to board review and control. Standard operating procedures (SOPs) will be published on the AMHA website. In February we had the largest election turnout ever. Many people joined late in 2010 for the sole purpose of voting in this important election. The GoMorgans website, online chat rooms and individual emails were a huge forum for discussion. We are hopeful that AMHA will now reach out to all members to be inclusive, democratic, fair and represent all aspects of the versatile Morgan breed - the Justin Morgan horse, America’s breed. Happy trails, Jan Gingold and Joyce Quigley