I would like to share with you some thoughts of mine since the price of fuel, feed and horse ownership has gotten to be so expensive lately.

While currently AERC enjoys about $660,000 in reserves, we know that the board of directors needs to diligently watch our expenses, along with our income, so that we remain a healthy business that can continue to thrive in future years.

When the economy gets tight the board members may have to make some tough decisions that may not be popular with all our members. I am not trying to be an alarmist as I feel that we are very strong financially for now -- but have found it is better to be prepared and be proactive rather than to have a panic that is followed by a knee-jerk reaction of the board.

AERC always needs to be looking ahead and be prepared should our finances start to take a downward spiral. We would like to have answers as to which would be the best way to make sure we remain a strong financial business. Should we raise dues or ride fees? Should we try to find more sponsors? Try to attract more members? Or maybe just cut down on some of our expenses? I have often wondered which would serve our members and the organization best.

Raise dues or ride fees?

Our dues are right in line with most equine organizational membership dues. We have not raised individual dues in many years but did make the decision this year to raise additional family member dues by just $5. The ride fees that ride managers pay to AERC have remained the same over the past few years.

Besides paying the AERC dues, I would bet that most of us also pay dues for regional endurance or trail organizations that help AERC members in many ways.

Would raising dues hurt the membership growth or help our bottom line? I believe most members would not want to see a dues or fees increase if it can be avoided.

Office staff?

Our office is run with a minimum number of personnel. Each member in the office does many overlapping duties. Most of the board members feel like we have some of the best people we could possibly find for these positions. The office staff has worked hard in cutting all cost wherever possible.

I think all of us should be proud of an office staff that has so few people but can do so much of our business in-house. Our magazine is just one example and it is the best! We all love the fast, efficient and personal service that they all have provided to us. It would be hard for us to accept less than what we have become accustomed to.

Education, trails, research?

Our bylaws mandate that we be involved in education, trails and research. We have some great programs going in each of these fields and would not want to lose any of them. Since we don't want to cut back on them we need to be sure to contribute to each of these when we renew our membership each year. For the three-year members, just because you don't have to renew each year, please remember to contribute to the funding of each of these. I don't think most members would want a lot cut back on these services.

Other cuts?

Yearbook. One of the things we have each year that is very costly is the yearbook. I believe it costs about $20,000 for printing and mailing. With all the statistics listed online and monthly in the Endurance News maybe this is one expense that the membership feels like we could drop.

Insurance. Insurance is another big ticket item. Some people feel like the ride managers/riders should pay for this service; others feel this is just good business practice for AERC in protecting AERC as this insurance insures AERC first.

I am sure there are a few other things if we need to make neccessary cuts that we could do. The board would not want to make any decisions without our members' input.

Other fund-raisers?

Convention. We have the convention each year and hope our members will support AERC by attending. The convention raises major funding for us.

Sponsors. All members who have any connections to businesses that would be good sponsors for AERC need to work with the office in getting them on board.

New members. Each of us can help recruit new members. Get news out when there is an endurance ride in your area and talk it up with members of local horse clubs.

Trail mileage tracking. Should we also make AERC a trail riding organization that tracks miles or do we want to stay an endurance-only organization? There are a lot of pros and cons concerning this issue but is one that needs discussion so that the board will know your wishes on the path AERC will take in the future.

For the moment we are a financially sound business. We want to make sure that we stay that way. Please let your directors know if you have any ideas on how to stay financially sound in a downward economy that would be acceptable to our members.