Harness: USTA Board of Directors annual meeting starts Friday

The U.S. Trotting Association’s 2019 Board of Directors annual meeting is scheduled for Friday (March 8) through Monday (March 11) at the Hilton Columbus at Easton.

This year’s meeting is starting a day earlier on Friday afternoon to allow for the addition of numerous subcommittee meetings and other working group sessions prior to the start of the usual committees and general sessions.

The agenda kicks off with the USTA Youth Delegate Committee on Friday at 3 p.m. followed by the USTA Subcommittee – Call to Action at 6 p.m. and concludes following the Board Protocol Subcommittee at 7 p.m.

Saturday’s schedule leads off with the Executive Committee at 8 a.m. followed by sessions on USTA IT Education for board members and UC/Davis Genome Research, then subcommittees on Uniform Racing Rules and Legislative Advisory before lunch at noon. The afternoon slate is the Harness Racing Medication Collaborative Subcommittee, an Amateur Driving working group, the Fairs Subcommittee with the Communications/Marketing Committee meeting, starting at 3 p.m., ending the first full day of meetings.

Saturday evening features the annual Welcome Reception sponsored by the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies and Van Gundy Insurance Agency starting at 6 p.m.

The Board of Directors’ General Session kicks off the Sunday (March 10) agenda starting at 8 a.m.

Following is the agenda for the General Session:

1. Call to Order
2. Pledge of Allegiance
3. Roll Call
4. Introduction of New Directors
5. President’s Report
6. Chairman’s Report
7. Election of Officers
8. Executive Vice President’s Report
9. Financial Report
10. Break
11. Subcommittee Updates
a. Board Protocol
b. Harness Racing Medication Collaborative
c. Call to Action
d. Youth Leadership Development
12. Standardbred Transition Alliance Update
13. Other Business
14. Group Photo

Following the general session, President’s Awards will be presented at the Recognition Luncheon slated for noon.

Later in the day, the Racing Committee meets at 1 p.m., the Registration–Owners/Breeders Committee at 3:30 p.m. and the Rules Committee at 5:30 p.m.

On Monday (March 11), the agenda commences with the Finance Committee at 9 a.m.

The 2019 meetings will then conclude with the second Board of Directors General Session starting at 10:30 a.m. where committee reports will be made, the 2019 budget will be approved and USTA President Russell Williams will make closing remarks.

For daily news updates starting Saturday, please visit the USTA website at www.ustrotting.com. Also, follow all the up-to-date news on ustrotting.com and HarnessRacingFanZone.com Facebook and Twitter pages. The hashtag #USTABOD19 will be used on social media throughout the meetings.

-release (USTA Communications)