AHP Newsgroup: AHP Student Award Party Celebrates Horses and Students with Colonial Flair
Silent Auction Raises over $3,000 for the AHP Student Fund
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, contact: Chris Brune
(386) 760-7743 Fax: (386) 760-7728
Email: AHorsePubs@aol.com
www.americanhorsepubs.org
SOUTH DAYTONA, FL, July 12, 2012 – In Colonial times people met in taverns, where they drank, ate, and were often entertained by traveling balladeers. It was not uncommon for colonial gentry to have animated discussions about politics and their horses, often matching them against each other in a race.
The 20th annual Student Fund silent auction and 2012 Student Award Party were held on Friday, June 1, during the AHP “Ride Into History Seminar in Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia. The theme of this year’s event was “Huzzah for Horses and Students” and to capture the spirit of 18th century Virginia, members were asked to nominate their favorite Great American Horse based on the following criteria: the horse was deceased, born in America, and had a major impact on the horse world. Five horses were named finalists in the competition – Justin Morgan’s Figure, Man o’ War, Rugged Lark, Secretariat, and Wimpy P-1. Supporters and fans campaigned on Facebook and Twitter prior to the event as well as during the seminar, but in the end, attendees voted Man o’ War the winner.
The evening began with a presentation that featured famous horses throughout history and former Student Award winners produced by Jennifer Bryant. The audience was then entertained by a live performance from Ben Brown on guitar and Jean Abernethy on mandolin who sang and played a selection of ballads.
Special thanks goes to the evening’s sponsors, Pfizer Animal Health, AQHA Publications, and Freedom Health’s SUCCEED® who provided the colonial-style buffet and libations.
Highlighting the event was the announcement of the 2012 Student Award Winner. The Student Fund awards up to three $750 Travel Awards to attend the annual AHP seminar to students pursuing a career in equine publishing. In addition, one of the Travel Award winners is named the Student Award Winner and receives a $1,000 cash award. The Fund also provides complimentary Student membership and seminar registration certificates to all Student Award applicants and supports the annual AHP Internship Handbook.
The 2012 Student Award winner is Danielle Moritz, who attends William Woods University majoring in Communications Journalism & Public Relations and Equine General Studies (Equine Media.). Student Award Chairman Patty Tiberg awarded Dani with the $1,000 cash award and Dave Russo of Publishers Press, Inc. presented her with an all-expenses paid trip to one of their Two-Day Customer Education Seminars.
The other two Travel Award winners are Sarah Jacobs, who attends Rice University majoring in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology with a double major in English, and Kate Light, a recent graduate from the University of Maryland, who also works full-time as content manager of EquiSearch.com.
Student Award candidates are scored on academics, relevant experience, skills, abilities, presentation, career goals and assertiveness. The finalists were interviewed during the seminar by the Student Award Committee who selected the winner. Based on the caliber of this year’s finalists, Chairman Patty Tiberg announced that the committee had voted to present a second place cash award of $500 to Sarah Jacobs and a third place cash award of $250 to Kate Light. The 2012 Student Award Committee includes Patty Tiberg, Chairman, Cheryl Erpelding, Christine Hamilton, and Summer Best.
Shopping the Student Fund silent auction is always a fun activity for seminar attendees and this year’s event offered a wide variety of over 80 items. Recognition for organizing this year’s auction goes to chairman, Judy Lincoln. The silent auction raised $2,795 and raffle sales added $360 for a total of $3,155.
The highest-priced item sold was the EQUISPORTS Massager donated by Core Products International, Inc. and purchased for $170 by Ramona Walsh. Bridget Harrison purchased the second highest-priced item, three pieces of Equinite jewelry donated by Equinite Gems. Ramona Walsh, mother of student member Liz Walsh, was the big spender at this year's auction with total bids of $330. Johnny Robb, JRPR, came in second for spending a total of $250, Stephanie Church, The Horse, spent $115, and Bridget Harrison, American Horse Council, spent $140. Other buyers who spent over $100 included Jaci Hoffmann of MagazineRadar and Emily Koenig of USDF.
The silent auction and raffle are not possible without generous donations from fellow AHP members and friends. The year’s donors included: Jean Abernethy, American Shetland Pony Club, AQHA Publications, Matt Bailey, Blood-Horse Publications, Denise Lee Branco, Breyer Animal Creations, Colonial Williamsburg, Core Products International Inc., Custom Saddlery, Jennifer Denison, Dream Horse Works, Equinite Gems, Fly Armor Equine, Freedom Health LLC, Maureen Gallatin, Tracy Gantz, Tami Hoag, Horse Radio Network, Horsemen's Laboratory, Jody Jaffe and John Muncie, Lisa Kemp, Kentucky Equine Research, Merial, Kathy Mezick, Sharon Miner, NRHA Reiner, Nutramax Laboratories, Omega Fields, Pana Pesca, Pegasus Television Network, Pfizer Animal Health, Platinum Performance, L. A. Pomeroy, Premier Equestrian, Publishers Press, Race For Education, Riders4Helmets, Johnny Robb, Dave and Ann Russo, Lua Oas Southard, Sox For Horses, Anne Sweet, The Tack House, Thoroughbred Times, Milt Toby, Trafalgar Square Books, Troxel Helmets, United States Dressage Federation, United States Hunter Jumper Association, W. F. Young, Wellpride, Windsor Equestrian, World Equestrian Brands, Lisa Wysocky, and Yellow Barn Media.
The donated items provided a great opportunity to shop for horse-related gifts, artwork, horse products and a variety of books. A big thank you goes to those who won the final bids: Jean Abernethy, Michelle Anderson, Jenny Blandford, Abigail Boatwright, Denise Lee Branco, Arnd Bronkhorst, Kimberly Brown, Christine Brune, Anne-Marie Chalmers, Samantha Charles, Stephanie Church, Jamie Clark, Rebecca Colnar, Liz Cornell, Kay Coyte, Kim Fisher, Maureen Gallatin, Lauren Giannini, Anna Goebel, Christine Hamilton, Bridget Harrison, Jaci Hoffmann, Cindy Johnson, Lisa Kemp, Emily Koenig, Dan Kramer, Beth LaPointe, Connie Lechleitner, Gary and Judy Lincoln, Nikki Livermore, Kaye Marks, Barbara Meierhenry, Jennifer Mellace, Kathy Mezick, Christa Morris, Jaime Navarro, Johnny Robb, Danielle Santos, Fran Severn, Patty Tiberg, Katherine Walcott, Ramona Walsh, Christy West, Dee West, and Holly Wiemers.
Applications and guidelines for the 2013 Student Award Contest will be available in the fall of 2012. For further information on any of the AHP student programs, contact: Judy Lincoln, American Horse Publications, 49 Spinnaker Circle, South Daytona, FL 32119; (386) 760-7743; ahorsepubs2@aol.com or visit the AHP website at www.americanhorsepubs.org.
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American Horse Publications is a non-profit professional association of over 450 members inclusing equine-related publications, digital media, professionals and businesses which share an interest in equine publishing. AHP has continued throughout its history to promote better understanding and communication within the equine publishing industry. The Student Award Contest will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2013.