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America<\/span><\/em>\u2019s Horse, March 24, 2009 \u2013 <\/span><\/em>AQHA\u2019s Public Policy Committee\u2019s vision of a grassroots lobbying group made up of knowledgeable and passionate AQHA members became a reality February 10-12 in\u00a0Washington,\u00a0D.C.<\/span><\/p>\n The pilot program, which is known as Q-Contact, was created to develop a \u201ckey contact\u201d system to enable AQHA to expand its efforts in national public policy work with a functional \u201cgrassroots or grass tops\u201d type program. Key contact advocacy is based on select industry leaders developing a strong working relationship with lawmakers and their staff. The initial goal of the Q-Contact program was to identify, train and empower 15 to 16 members to develop key constituent relationships with selected members of Congress that might be in a position to advance policies and regulatory goals of AQHA. Q-Contacts are working to become a reliable resource and partner in regard to the area of expertise for lawmakers and their staffs. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The following nine Q-Contact members, along with AQHA staff\u00a0Tom Persechino\u00a0and\u00a0Barbara Linke, traveled to Washington, D.C. in February for training and Hill visits: Dr. Jerry Black of California; Kelly Boles Chapman of Michigan; Wade Ellerbroek of Iowa; Norm Luba of Kentucky; Shawn Magee of Louisiana; Ed McNelis of Idaho; Scott Merritt of Nebraska; George Phillips of Mississippi; Georga Sutton of South Dakota.<\/p>\n Several of the Q-Contacts met with their Senators and Congressmen in person. Representatives and Senators for the following states were contacted:Alaska,\u00a0California,\u00a0Iowa,\u00a0Idaho,\u00a0Kentucky,\u00a0Louisiana,\u00a0Nebraska,\u00a0Michigan,\u00a0Mississippi\u00a0and\u00a0South Dakota. Q-Contacts also visited with the House Agriculture Committee staff.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n At each Congressional and Senate office, the Q-Contacts left information on American Quarter Horse ownership and population graphs for each respective state, an updated position statement on pending federal legislation concerning horse processing, the National Conference of State Legislatures resolution and a short DVD featuring Dr. Tom Lenz\u2019s presentation on the unwanted horse.<\/span><\/p>\n Megan Formeck of\u00a0Fairfax,\u00a0Virginia, attended the Q-Contact training session as a junior lobbyist and also made Hill visits. Formeck is an AQHYA member and a student at\u00a0George\u00a0Mason\u00a0University.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThese meetings were extremely successful in getting the initial contact established as well as communicating the Association\u2019s position on key pieces of legislation,\u201d said AQHA Executive Vice President Don Treadway. \u201cKeeping abreast of the political activities in\u00a0Washington\u00a0will benefit all AQHA members.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n In February, the initial development and programming of a Q-Contact network began. This on-line community will serve as a key component in AQHA\u2019s communications and follow-up with the Q-Contacts.<\/span><\/p>\n