Post by Exceller Fund on Jun 6, 2008 20:02:21 GMT -5
This press release was sent out a couple of weeks ago, and I am posting it here for our members. I am also working on getting a new webmaster to keep our new site updated.
With the depature of two board members at the same time a couple of months ago, I have been doing a lot of work on business continunity and management succession for The Exceller Fund. My goal is to get to the point where the organization does not depend on any one person to keep going. This means that I am detailing all of what I have been doing so the various jobs can be delegated out to other dedicated volunteers.
Over the course of the past year, I wound up in a dangerous non-profit "trap" where I took over jobs when other volunteers left until I got to the point where I simply had too much. Now, with the help of our new board members, and volunteers such as Leslie Hubbell and a couple of others who don't wish to be named, I think we are on the right track to a more balanced organization that can help more horses in need of new homes!
Anyways, here is the Press Release, and I am working on more updates about new horses, horses adopted, new developments, and so on!
With the depature of two board members at the same time a couple of months ago, I have been doing a lot of work on business continunity and management succession for The Exceller Fund. My goal is to get to the point where the organization does not depend on any one person to keep going. This means that I am detailing all of what I have been doing so the various jobs can be delegated out to other dedicated volunteers.
Over the course of the past year, I wound up in a dangerous non-profit "trap" where I took over jobs when other volunteers left until I got to the point where I simply had too much. Now, with the help of our new board members, and volunteers such as Leslie Hubbell and a couple of others who don't wish to be named, I think we are on the right track to a more balanced organization that can help more horses in need of new homes!
Anyways, here is the Press Release, and I am working on more updates about new horses, horses adopted, new developments, and so on!
Exceller Fund names three board members
May 22, 2008
The Exceller Fund, a volunteer-based welfare group that transitions Thoroughbreds into second careers when they are unable to race, has named Lexington, Kentucky, residents Liane Crossley, Nicole Smith, and Cory M. Williams, D.V.M. to its board of directors.
“I am thrilled to have such knowledgeable Thoroughbred industry insiders on the board,” said Bonnie Mizrahi, president and one of the founding board members of The Exceller Fund. “That all three are in Lexington—a hub of Thoroughbred breeding and racing—is a plus. They have varied backgrounds with Thoroughbreds and this diversity will allow us to reach out in all directions to assist Thoroughbreds in need of new lives when their racing days are over.”
Crossley, a member of the National Turf Writers Association, is a regular contributor to Thoroughbred Times magazine. Her resume includes stints in the media and horsemen’s relations departments at a number of tracks including a nine-year run at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. She has worked on the racetrack as an exercise rider and assistant trainer and at farms and major auctions handling young Thoroughbreds. Her favorite mount of late is a friend’s off-track Thoroughbred and she shares her home with four cats, including former barn cat Rags to Riches.
Smith, who previously worked as adoption coordinator for the national Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation, develops computer databases and websites for Thoroughbred industry members and also performs seasonal administrative work for major Thoroughbred farms. An avid volunteer and fundraiser for a number of charitable racing-related organizations, Smith doubles as The Exceller Fund’s vice president and secretary. Animals in need have a way of finding Nicole, who has placed many strays and has two cats.
Williams specializes in Thoroughbred reproduction and counts a number of leading Thoroughbred farms among his clients. A graduate of Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, Williams is dabbling in Thoroughbred ownership with a three-year-old colt, a pair of broodmares and their foals, and two yearlings.
The Exceller Fund, which works to transition Thoroughbreds to second careers off the track, acquires horses that might be at risk for slaughter and cares for them until an adoptive home is found and provides retirement for a few horses when sponsorship is provided. The Exceller Fund also works to facilitate the placement of Thoroughbreds with local horse rescue organizations.
The Exceller Fund is an organization of more than 100 racing fans and horse lovers who make a commitment to care for Thoroughbreds that are making their transition off the racetrack. Our members are located all over the United States and Canada, and stay in touch through e-mail and our bi-monthly electronic newsletters. Members participate by voting on the fund's activities and on the horses we purchase.
At the beginning of every month, members send their donation to The Exceller Fund. These monthly donations are used to care for our horses until they are adopted into permanent homes. The minimum donation per member is $15 per month. Any remaining money is put into a special rescue fund, which is used for purchasing new horses in need of a loving home.
The Fund also sells or auctions items, such as Exceller T-shirts, handmade stuffed animals, hard-to-find books about Thoroughbreds and racing, and Thoroughbred art and photographs. Links to available items can be viewed at The Exceller Fund Gift Shop.
For more information, visit excellerfund.org