Pennsylvania Professional Farriers Association
January 2000 Newsletter

The Presidents Letter:

This year marks another exciting milestone for the PPFA. We have had another two successful certifications one held at Gettysburg with Dave Ferguson and the other held at Valley Forge with Wayne Allen. Both places have asked us back again. The leg dissection clinic held at New Bolton Center with Todd Meister and former east vice president Chris Volk was outstanding. It was very in depth and informative, as well as, very well attended. Mark Goodfellow's welding clinic was also very informative. All who attended walked away with hands on experience in welding in aluminum and steel. The end of the summer brought Craig Trinka to the mid-state clinic organized by Mark Wharton. Craig's enthusiasm was peaking after just competing and winning competitions in England and Canada. The two day clinic focused on quality shoe making. From plain stamped shoes to heart bars. Two days with a champion will change your work habits and quality forever. We cannot forget House Bill 1418 as all the hard work Jay Flynn has done for us. From going to our state capitol to talk to Senators, to speaking with veterinarians and college deans it was a staggering amount of time and work. Just want to say "THANK YOU JAY!" A word of thanks to all our members for your effort. I have put on two certifications and a clinic in the past three years, and trust me it is no easy task. Please keep up the good work and remember this association is only as good as we make it.

William Kiner CF
PPFA President

PA Practice Act update

To keep the membership abreast of developments
regarding this controversial piece of legislation, the PPFA
newsletter will post an update in each issue if and
when any developments occur.

As of September 15, 1999, the bill known as HB-1418 was submitted to committee for revision. The bills sponsor Rep. Art Hershey has acknowledged in numerous articles concerning the bill since then, that He was in fact not completely versed on the topics contained in the legislation that he sponsored. And has now also acknowledged that the bill stands no chance of passing into law in its present form. The bill has come under fire from many quarters and has many infirmities with regard to focus and terminology. An exemption for farriers is presently contained within the bill. But the specific language of the exemption is also now subject to review and revision, pending recommendations from the committee presently reviewing the bill. Rep. Mary Ann Daily of the 146th legislative district and a member of the committee has informed PPFA that any language changes or deletions will be brought to the attention of the representatives of the interested farrier associations with membership in PA, before any further movement of the bill towards submission to the house floor occurs. Representatives of the PVMA, (the bills authors) and the committee, have also informed PPFA that this process of revision will probably take anywhere from a year and a half, to two years to complete. During this time, it will be determined which exemption language, if any at all is felt necessary, will or will not be recommended for inclusion to the bill concerning farriers. Both the PVMA and the licensure committee have stated for the record their intention to work with and respect the wishes of the farrier community once the committee has returned it's recommendations for language adjustment. Developments will be monitored and information passed on as details become available.

On a related note:

The AFA has hired an Executive Director. Mr. John McCutcheon has assumed the duties of Exec. Director of the AFA. One of his duties in that capacity will be as the representative to associations such as PVMA, and the handling of these sorts of issues from the position of representing the worlds largest farriers association and it's chapters on any similar matters in the future. John has been appraised of the pending legislative situation here in PA. And is presently researching these acts and gaining further perspective from such groups as the National Horse Council, for a better understanding of their implications to both this profession and the Equine community at large. PPFA and Mid-eastern Farriers Assoc. will work with John on this and all other issues of relevance to our industry and our associations in the future.

Investing in the Future

In 1997 the PPFA re-organized itself with help from some longtime supporters of associated professional farriery. The officers elected at that time made a commitment to those who supported the group, to bring at least two clinics a year to the membership. After voting to join the AFA, we made a commitment as a chapter of that group, to also bring to the region at least two AFA certifications a year. And in conjunction with the mission of keeping lines of communication between farriers open, PPFA has now at the turn of the century, met these goals and in some circumstances even exceeded them. We have a good group and many fine clinics have been stages, and many certification goals have been achieved.

But at this time, although still a full year away from election of officers, I would like for the 85 dues paid members of PPFA who have not considered holding office in your association to begin to do so now for next year. I have served 1 term as President and one term as your treasurer. It has been my pleasure to have had this opportunity, but I think you know, as the educated men and women that you are, that no association can survive and stay fresh if the same people keep serving in the positions of responsibility.

In a volunteer association such as ours, we need *EVERYONE* to take a turn on deck and help steer the ship. Otherwise, it will stall in the doldrums and founder. (and we all know what that means). So as we officers now move forward to plan for you a year 2000 calendar of events, please remember this, and tell this to all the farriers who thank me for my efforts when they attend these events. I tell them: "It has been my pleasure, but remember, someone went to a lot of effort to make this happen today so that *you* could reap the benefits. And *YOU* need to be that someone.....someday."

With the framework now firmly in place and the certification dates and facilities now an annual affair, it is really not a huge commitment, even for a busy person. And if each of our members serves just one two-year term in any one of the five elected posts, we will have a strong and healthy organization well into the 21st century.

Jay Flynn CF
PPFA Treasurer

Upcoming Events

The PPFA is planning another AFA certification for the spring. Look for a flyer in your mailbox with more information as the time grows near.

Shoeing Clinic

Mark Goodfellow has put together a practical shoeing clinic that will be held at his farm on February 26 at 9 A.M. Mark has secured the services of John Josorz from New England. John is the resident farrier at Tufts University. We plan to cover general areas of shoeing with instruction along with some hands on work. The cost will be $10 for PPFA members and $20 for non-members. This is also a great time to pay your dues in person. Bring a friend to join as well. This is shaping up to be an informative day so don't miss out! See you there.

Contact Mark Goodfellow for directions and more information: 610-696-7280.

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