ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, August 7, 1996 TAG: 9608070028
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RAY COX STAFF WRITER
The Roanoke Valley Horsemen's Association no longer is the minority partner in the Roanoke Valley Horse Show.
Horsemen's association president Nancy Peterson announced Tuesday the group is entering into a new marketing relationship with the Salem Civic Center that will enable the association to sponsor the horse show alone instead of in partnership with another organization.
At the same time, Peterson announced that June Camper, for many years the volunteer horse show chairman, has been appointed to the newly-created paid position of horse show executive director. Salary details were not disclosed.
Peterson also used the occasion to announce that the horse show would be donating 50 percent of its profits to the Bradley Free Clinic, the pet charity of philanthropist Marion Via. The late heiress was also a major benefactress of the horse show.
``I think we can say this will be a permanent relationship,'' Peterson said.
The future of the horse show had been cast into doubt when the Junior League of Roanoke Valley, the majority partner with the horsemen in putting on the annual show, pulled out of the relationship late in 1995. The league had traditionally collected 75 percent of the profits to the horsemen's 25 percent. This year's show was the last one in which the league participated.
``Now that we will be working with the civic center, I don't think we'll need another partner,'' Camper said. ``Should we need [volunteers] to help us the week of the show in some of the same ways that the Junior League did, we can always bring in another organization in return for our donation to their charity. But I don't think we're going to need to do that.''
Carey Harveycutter, the civic center director, stressed that the civic center would not be taking the league's place as a partner.
``But we do want to be a team player, '' he said.
That means the civic center, working within the horsemen's budget, will handle the marketing, promotions and media buying for the horse show. Additionally, Harveycutter said civic center facilities sales representative Tracie McKenney will be helping the horsemen in efforts to recruit new event and class sponsors for the show.
``We expect to retain the sponsors that we already have,'' Camper said.
The marketing support the civic center will be offering was previoulsy handled by the league. It is the same type of marketing and promotional support the civic center offers other multi-day events there, Harveycutter said.
``This is a relationship that we wanted all along,'' Camper said.
Next year's show, the 26th annual, will run June 16-22. Although the books have not been closed on the 1996 show, Camper said it appears it did very well financially.
Also present at the press conference was Bradley Free Clinic executive director Estelle Avner.
``We are extremely proud of this wonderful relationship [with the horsemen],'' she said. ``And yes, we need the money.''
Avner said that last year the clinic provided health services worth $1.5 million to people she called ``the working poor.''
``These people are not on welfare,'' she said.
The horse show will continue to underwrite a pair of scholarships to Virginia Tech, one for a veterinary student and another for a pre-veterinary student, as well as donate to several 4-H Clubs, Peterson said.
LENGTH: Medium: 66 linesby CNB