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President to ‘Oversee’ NCHA Operations
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- Created on Friday, 07 September 2012
- Written by Mark Thompson
The horse trainer and rider with about $510,000 in career cutting earnings is also a longtime event judge. He’s been a member of many NCHA committees, including its Executive Board, during his career.
He’s commuting between his Union, Mo., home and the NCHA’s Fort Worth, Texas, office to fulfill the new duties. He’ll spend his weekdays in Fort Worth until a new Executive Director is chosen, he said.
Beutenmiller said he does not consider himself an Interim Director. “The Executive Committee has appointed me to oversee the daily operations, until a new Executive Director is selected. I’m a duly elected President. As the duly elected President, I will oversee the daily operations until a new director is selected.”
His primary goal, Beutenmiller said, is to ensure NCHA business runs smoothly during that time frame.
“My primary focus is to work with the membership, the Board of Directors, the Executive Committee and the staff, in preparation for all our major events coming up this fall,” Beutenmiller said.
No definitive time frame has been established for selecting the next NCHA Executive Director.
The search for a new full-time Executive Director officially started Aug. 28, Beutenmiller said.
A six-member search committee, appointed by Beutenmiller, includes three members of the last search committee and three new members, he said. “The most important thing is the result, not the time,” Beutenmiller said.
Alan Steen, Georgetown, Texas, took office as NCHA Executive Director on June 1, but vacated the position in late August, according to the association.
Following speculation Steen might not have officially resigned Aug. 21, as reported by the NCHA the next day, NCHA President Ernie Beutenmiller, Jr., said again one week later Steen did indeed quit.
Asked about speculation Steen might not have resigned, Beutenmiller said, “He resigned effective Aug. 21.” Beutenmiller would not comment when asked specifically how Steen resigned.
Returning a call and asked specifically whether he resigned as reported, Steen said, “I don’t have anything to say at this time.”
Steen started heading the 20,000-member NCHA on June 1, after working nine years as an administrator of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. At his prior job, he led a staff of 12 senior managers and more than 600 statewide employees, with oversight for regulating all phases of the alcoholic beverage industry in Texas. He oversaw all aspects of the agency, including finance, human resources, information technology, licensing, compliance, law enforcement, public information and general counsel.
Bill Brewer, former longtime American Quarter Horse Association executive vice president, served as interim NCHA Executive Director from March through May. Brewer also headed an NCHA search committee that selected Steen for the full-time position.
Former NCHA Executive Director Jeff Hooper resigned earlier this year, ending an 11 ½-year term that started Aug. 21, 2000.
In a press release posted Aug. 22 on the NCHA website, Beutenmiller said Steen resigned “for personal reasons.” He added a search for a new NCHA executive director would begin soon, starting with selection of a new search committee.
“Alan [Steen] was a great candidate for the position and did a lot in a short amount of time to raise the confidence of the NCHA member,” Beutenmiller said in the released statement.
