2018 Miniature Horse World Magazine SUMMER Volume 34, Number 4 | Page 10

president’s message
by Joe Kahre
I
t is that time again, the email from Me-
lissa saying “I need your President’s let-
ter”. It is that time again to take deep
consideration of what our people need to
know and need to hear. It is that time again
to procrastinate in hopes that divine inter-
vention shall descend upon this writing. It is
that time again just to sit down and succumb
to the reality and start typing and speaking of
what I know and feel.
The first thing I know is that serving as
President of this association is one of much
complexity. It is NOT a position of baby
kissing and shaking hands. At least that
is not how I have defined my role. Often
there is much confusion in the fact that
on the one hand you are expected to “fix”
everything and make everything right for
each person who speaks up of their personal
issue, while at the same time you have oth-
ers saying “you can’t do that”. You have to
smile and be positive; you have to keep your
frustrations intact while you come to what
you hope is a wise decision FOR the associa-
tion, it’s betterment and future growth.
You know that some are not going to be
happy, you know that there is always poten-
tial for error or misjudgment and you just
hope that you have made decisions correctly
and with wisdom. In this small world of
AMHA, there are many friends whom you
love and respect on a personal level. You
hope that if you have a differing of opinions,
ideals, and perspectives you are in the end
respected as you would respect the others.
You also know that many making sideline
judgments truly don’t know the full back
story, history, or all the information of any
given decision and that you are also under
scrutiny. You spend many hours, days, weeks
seeking council on history, rules, precedence
that has been set, and interpretations to
assist in your thought processes. You know
when some see the sky as blue others see it
as gray, and you have to somehow blow the
clouds away. You know that your personal
life and your own professional life are ex-
tremely compromised leaving people in your
daily life questioning and confused. You
know that you cannot explain this to them
with any hope of understanding. You know
that your own personal integrity and ethics
are the ever base of all you do. With that,
you know some find fault as well. And, you
know hindsight is often 20/20.
The difficulty in assisting in keeping an
office running smoothly and happily from
1500 miles away is another challenge. I
thank God daily for the leadership of Alison
and the dedication of her and all our staff in
making this much easier for me.
In the end, for myself, I am a miniature
horse hobbyist if you will. I have a small
breeding program, enjoy an afternoon
drive, and find that looking out at my
horses offers a sense of satisfaction that I do
treasure and is an important part of my life
and daily sustenance. For me, it is a faith
and belief in the small Miniature Horse and
its people that makes me stick to fighting
for something I believe in. For those that
hang with me and just “listen” please know
I am ever so grateful. Your ears and heart
have more value to me than you know. For
those that offer words of encouragement
and gratitude also, please know I can’t say
what it means and how it strengthens me
in the challenging endeavors of success.
Thank you!
Doubt and negativity are seeds easily
planted that tend to grow and flourish as
easily as weeds amongst the stones. It is
easy to succeed at failure, but that is not at
all what we are looking to and working for.
Please join us in the pursuit of excellence!
You all play an important role in our present
and future.
God’s Blessings,
8 Miniature Horse World
SUMMER 2018