Spring Meeting

Attendance was low at this years Spring Meeting, which can only mean one thing…. The TDA is taking care of the memberships wants and needs - or probably, it was just a beauty of a day and everyone wanted to enjoy it!   

If you would like to review the Meeting Minutes, they can be found in the Members Only area at www.tennessee-donkeys.com  The next scheduled business meeting will be the Annual Meeting & Elections. It will be held on Saturday, November 5^th at 4pm.

Spring Meeting - Saturday March 19th

TDA’s Spring Meeting will be held on Saturday, March 19^th at 4pm (as voted and passed by members during the Fall Annual Meeting.)  The meeting will take place at the Ag-Expo Park  1415 Long Lane Franklin, TN.

Please submit any subjects for discussion to Diana Poole (tda.president@gmail.com) by Wednesday, March 9^th.

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November/December 2010

A few thoughts....
Our Annual Meeting and Elections were held this past Saturday at Ag-Expo Park and we had quite a turn-out! Thirty people in attendance! We learned a wealth of information about various topics by State Veterinarian Charles Hatcher and a variety of subjects from club members too (more info to come in Meeting Minutes and future ALL EARS.)

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We have new members to our club again this month! Each one have been members before!

Sally Dunn of Parrish, Florida cbfrm1942@yahoo.com
Tiffany Pierce of Hohenwald, TN loveybp@yahoo.com
Ricky Spears of Hohenwald, TN (Lydia Spears husband)

Please join me in sending out a big, “WELCOME BACK!”

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Officers Board for 2011

Elections were held on November 6th and the following members were elected to take office beginning January 1st, 2011.

PRESIDENT – Diana Poole

VICE PRESIDENT – L.J. Mix

VICE PRESIDENT – Sandy Carroll

SECRETARY – Katrina Fleener

TREASURER- Lydia Spears

REPORTER – Theresa Puckett

SHOW COMMITTEE- Theresa Puckett, Dayle Haworth & Kay Allen

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SIDENOTE: I read an article online that referenced this 5k run call the DONKEY DASH. Just wanted to share….. http://www.donkeydash.com/

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This will be the last ALL EARS of 2010. I am giving myself a break in December. Next publication will be January 2011.

So, as I close my thoughts for 2010, I want to thank each and everyone for supporting this club in the ways that you have over this past year! And remember (this is one of my favorites!):

You tell a horse,
You ask a mule,
You negotiate with a donkey!

We will Chat Again Soon!
~Diana Poole, President

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In this months ALL-EARS

Membership Dues
TDA Christmas Party
Reporters Corner
TDA By-Laws
Facebook
Calendar Updates

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Event Calendar Updated

The calendar has been updated with some club functions for 2011. The Awards Banquet has been set for February 26^th and the Spring Meeting has been set for March 19^th.  For more details, go to the Event Calendar.

OCTOBER 2010

A few thoughts………….

It just seems I can’t be pleased with the weather this year. First it was too wet and cold, then too hot and now its DRY. I know, whaaaa! LOL! I do love fall and am thankful that it is here. Time to be outside and do fun things with the donkeys before it turns wet and really cold again. It’s also a good time to get some maintenance things done also. For example, make sure to check your water trough heaters BEFORE you need them!

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Just a quick reminder that this coming Saturday, October 9th is our Trail Ride/Drive (all sized donkeys, horses or bikes!) in Elkmont, AL http://www.traillink.com/trail/richard-martin-trail.aspx  and, next Saturday, October 16th ,is a FUN DAY at Sandy Carroll’s farm in Shelbyville, TN. Information has been emailed and is on our calendar.

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A couple of years ago I started a Facebook page for the Tennessee Donkey Association to help promote the club in Facebook -land . I have had several remarks from members that it is confusing (and I agree) to have the TDA’s facebook page set up as it currently is – under my personal facebook account. I am in the process of setting up a stand-alone Facebook account that can be linked to the TDA’s website etc. And will only have TDA info showing up on it.

As I make changes to convert everything over to the new page, current “Friends” will be notified. Once it is completed I will update all the club membership and invite them to join. This helps promote the page on Facebook and will help it get seen by more people that enjoy donkeys.

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Please join me in welcoming new members to TDA!

Kenny & Sherry Puckett of Cookeville, TN (muleman101@yahoo.com  and sassy.p@live.com )

Marybeth McGrath of Mt. Juliet, TN (marybethmcg@comcast.net )

Hope to see you all soon at a future function!

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ALL EARS needs articles! If you have an article you have written that would be of interest to club members OR have seen an article in a publication - please email it to me!

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In this month’s edition of ALL EARS:

OFFICER ELECTIONS & FALL MEETING

REPORTERS CORNER

TN STATE FAIR RESULTS

2010 SHOW AWARDS

OFFICER ELECTIONS & Fall Meeting

 We need members to participate! Is this the year that YOU actively promote the donkey breeds? The Tennessee Donkey Association is a great club. It's your club!

 We come together as a group that loves donkeys and wants to promote the breeds. For the club to flourish and grow, members should participate in different ways – could being an Officer be your way to participate this year? Deadline for the election is tomorrow, October 6th. Please send me an email at tda.president@gmail.com  to throw your hat in the ring!


Another way to have your voice heard is to take part in the Fall meeting on November 6th (begins at 4pm) – watch for details via email.

ANNUAL MEETING & OFFICER ELECTIONS

Take part in “steering” YOUR club!

The Annual Meeting and TDA elections is getting closer….. November 6th! Which means that if you are thinking about “throwing your hat in the ring” for an Officer position, you must let me (Diana Poole – tda.president@gmail.com) know by October 6th. OFFICERS POSITIONS ARE:

• PRESIDENT
• VICE –PRESIDENT (2)
• SECRETARY
• TREASURER
• REPORTER
• SHOW COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN
• SHOW COMMITTEE MEMBER (2)

 

East Tennessee Get-Together

A wonderful facility has been found to hold a get-together in the East Tennessee area this fall. Watch your email as I will be sending out a survey (in the next few days) to get your input on a date and “agenda”. All members are encouraged to participate! It will take place at Lovingood Springs Farm in Louisville, TN. which is a suburb just south of Knoxville. Special thanks to all the members that have been helping find a venue! Here is their link: http://tnhorse.com/

Donkey Day Expo 2010

Donkey Day Expo was held Saturday May 15th at Maury Expo Park in Columbia, TN. The day started out wonderfully with lots of members coming to participate in the clinics held throughout the day. The day was cut a little short by the torrential downpours and winds that occurred – though for the most part, members stayed dry and enjoyed the sharing of information – and laughter!

Special thanks to Katrina Fleener, Lydia Spears, Bill Poole, Dayle Haworth, Sandy Carroll, Theresa Puckett and Joe Haworth for the extra time and effort put in to planning and instructing! Couldn’t have done it without you!

(CLICK PHOTO BELOW TO SEE ALL PHOTO'S FROM DDE)

East Tennessee Meeting held March 6, 2010

EAST TN MEETING


by Shirley Price

(note from Diana, many apologies that this was not published in last months newsletter, no good excuse, I just totally missed putting it in.)

On March 6, we had our first East Tennessee TDA meeting of the year at Calhoun’s Restaurant in Knoxville. Thirteen members and guests attended: Patti Baker, Jeff Langston, Donna Langston, Deirdre Tarr, Dennis Vonderfecht, Sheila Anderson, Alice Munsey, Bill Poole, Diana Poole, L. J. Mix, Deb Mix, Shirley Price, and Dr. Jim Blackford.

We enjoyed hearing our guest speaker from the U.T. Large Animal Vet School, Dr. Jim Blackford, DVM, MS, DACVS. Dr. Blackford presented an informative slideshow of the U.T. Vet Hospital facility, services, and the veterinarians and students who work there. Dr. Blackford relayed that someone is always with your animal and under the care of a veterinarian. At the end of his presentation, he took questions from the group. If anyone has any questions, he gave his email jblackfo@utk.edu and phone (865) 974-5701.

After the presentation, Diana and Shirley welcomed everyone to the meeting. Then everyone introduced themselves and where they were from. Dennis Vonderfecht was introduced as the previous East Tennessee VP and was recognized for his contributions and donations to the club.

The meeting led to discussion of when and where to have the next get-together. Everyone agreed they would like to get together in the East Tennessee area and have a fun donkey day with learning sessions and possibly a cook-out. We would like to plan a place where folks could also bring their donkeys. A date and place will be announced.

Everyone had a good time and looked forward to the next time we could all get together.

LJ Mix & Jeff Langston won the door - prizes!

Dierdre Tarr, Dr. Blackford, Bill Poole

Shiela Andreason & Alice Munsey