Randy,
At one point several years ago, the UAE through Jim Baldwin made an offer to
assist in the financing of the AERC National Championship. During the
meeting the former
Midwest director, Louise Riedel spoke up and said "This is the American
Endurance Ride Championship, lets just leave it that way, all American." I
thought there was a lot of wisdom in her comments. A vote was taken and it
was decided not to accept the offer. There is no such thing as a free
lunch.
Jerry
----- Original Message -----
From: "Randy H Eiland" <renegade12@...>
To: <AERCMembersForum@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 04, 2004 10:40 AM
Subject: [AERCMembersForum] Fw: [AERC_BoD] Sponsorship thin ice


> TO AERC MEMBERS - COMMENTS WANTED:
> (I sent a similar message to the AERC BOD for comments)
>
> The following post from Kim Fuess (found below) was one of several that
> are making the rounds after TEVIS.. Kim Fuess is very articulate and
> represents what may be the general opinion surrounding the TEVIS
> Sponsorship by the International Emirates Endurance Village. |These
> comments bring up the question(s) asked below.
>
> In some ways the current controversy mirrors some opinions voiced when
> the AERC Sponsorship Committee first came into existence in 1998/99 - at
> that time some AERC members were concerned about the attachment of
> corporate names to AERC national categories because "it would be a sell
> out to the corporate world"...the 1998/99 AERC BOD took their concerns
> into consideration but decided to allow our Sponsors to be associated
> with the specific national category they selected to sponsor - it has
> proved to be a successful action with no negative repercussions. The
> success of the AERC Sponsorship Program may be related to the fact AERC
> Sponsors are businesses or entities that support AERC Members and in turn
> are supported by AERC Members. I think our Sponsors are perceived by
> AERC Members as "part of the family" - perhaps a side question to be
> considered is whether the TEVIS Sponsorship controversy is related to
> corporate or political perception.
>
> QUESTION FOR DISCUSSION:
>
> I suspect the AERC Sponsorship Committee might be able to strike a very
> financially rewarding Sponsorship relation with the International
> Emirates Endurance Village or another similar organization. Purely from a
> business perspective, I think this could be very beneficial to both
> organizations - but, "how would it be accepted by the AERC Membership?"
> So, "Do you think the AERC should explore the possibility of this or a
> similar Sponsorship? If so, what guidelines would you like to see
> followed?
>
>
> Randy Eiland
> SW Region Director
> AERC Sponsorship Chair
>
>
> - in asking Kim's permission to reprint her letter on AERC-Members, she
> asked the following be added: . "I am not against the sponsorship
> itself. This is not about the Emirates endurance village, the UAE or
> International riding. I would have written the exact same letter if Fort
> Dodge, Purina, or any other corporate sponsor had been given the same
> treatment by the WSTF board because of a large monetary donation."
>
> From: KimFue@...
> Subject: [RC] Tevis Sponsorship
>
> I am glad to see that others were bothered by sponsorship displays at the
>
> Tevis this year. I thought about it for a couple days and finally
> decided to
> write a letter to the board of governors. It probably won't change any
> minds or
> do any good but it certainly made me feel better. Here is a copy of the
> letter I sent if anyone is interested.
>
> Dear Western States Board of Governors,
> I have taken a few days to decide if I should write this letter and
>
> give my opinion on the International Emirates Endurance Village
> sponsorship. The
> way this sponsorship was displayed at the 50th anniversary running of the
>
> Tevis Cup bothered me so much that I decided to be honest with myself and
> that I
> should write this letter.
> I have not been involved in the Tevis ride as long as many of you
> and do
> not have as many buckles as most on the board. The first Tevis I
> attended
> was as a spectator was in 1989 and since that time my goal every year is
> to have
> a horse ready to take to this ride. I don't think I would still be
> involved
> with endurance riding if the Western States Trail Ride ceased to exist.
> I had the ride of a lifetime this year but the dark cloud over my
> Tevis
> experience was the gaudy display of International Endurance Village
> banners, T
> shirts, hats, pins, bags, dried fruit, etc., at the staging area at Robie
>
> Park and at the awards ceremony. It was not the class act that I would
> expect
> from an organization like yours. It really looked like your "crown
> jewel"
> sponsor had taken over the entire ride. There were some friends that
> were
> attending the Tevis for the first time and they thought the International
> Emirates
> Endurance Village was actually managing the ride! I was disgusted that a
> belt
> buckle was presented at the awards ceremony to a "sponsor". A belt
> buckle (even
> similar to the Tevis buckle) should be reserved for those who actually
> complete the ride not those that help underwrite the ride! Wouldn't a
> plaque or
> other memorabilia be much more appropriate? Did the runners who
> completed the
> course along side our horses receive buckles? If not, they should
> certainly be
> getting a buckle before any sponsor!
> I am sure that this crown jewel sponsor gave thousands of dollars
> ($35,000 was the figure floating around)....whatever the amount of the
> "donation"
> it was certainly not enough to have their name plastered next to "Tevis"
> on
> every official banner, volunteer T shirt, official program, etc. Hasn't
> your
> organization worked hard to earn the reputation of putting on the
> ultimate
> endurance event in the world? Are you willing to sell or even share that
> reputation
> with ANYONE who comes up with a lump sum of cash? There must be other
> ways
> to honor a high dollar sponsor other then having their name plastered on
> everything. I really equate this to allowing sponsorships of national
> treasures
> and then adding the name of the sponsor to that monument or park. Can
> you
> imagine "Citibank's Yosemite National Park" or " Coca Cola's Grand Teton
> National
> Park". It may seem outrageous but that is how this year's Tevis Cup ride
>
> looked to many of us that attended. Perhaps next year the Crown Jewel
> Sponsor can
> give "bobble heads" of the 2004 Tevis and Haggin Cup winners to all that
> enter. I know I would appreciate that more then the name of some
> organization
> never affilitated with the ride embroidered on EVERY ride item given to
> me.
> There have been many changes in endurance riding over the last 10
> years.
> Endurance horses selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars, 100 mile
> races with support vehicles on the trail following the horses through out
> the
> entire ride, 25 mile rides receiving national awards. I guess change is
> inevitable in all things BUT I never would have dreamed the Tevis Cup
> ride would be the
> first big ride to "sell out" to the highest bidder. The PR director for
> the
> International Emirates Endurance Village should get a big bonus for
> landing
> the marketing contract they received from your board. Really
> unbelievable!
> Well, thank you for allowing me to express my opinion. I will
> continue
> to support the ride regardless of the cheesy marketing and PR tactics
> allowed
> to any crown jewel sponsor. The challenge of the trail is too important
> for
> me to deter me from entering.
>
> Sincerely,
> Kim Fuess
> Rider #89
>
>
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