Upcoming Board of Regents Meeting(s). 12/8/2022
Ed Phillips Memorial Arena Update
We are asking for your voices concerning the arena at the upcoming Board of Regents Meeting(s). If you cannot attend, please consider emailing your comments. This will be discussed tomorrow and, we assume, again in January.
- This fall our Horsemen's Association posted a petition to retain University ownership of the Ed Phillips Memorial Rodeo Arena. Since that time we have received hundreds of signatures of supporters who believe, as we do, that competitors for the University should have a practice facility owned by the University. We are so appreciative of the voices and testimonies supporting the value of horses here at Northwest.
- Our club President and alumni were also interviewed for a Northwest Missourian article, which was greatly appreciated and brought additional publicity to our situation. This article is linked below for additional context.
https://www.nwmissourinews.com/.../article_e81f82b4-4f73
- Finally, as a result of that newspaper article and petition, we were contacted by a member of Nodaway Economic Development indicating that the arena was one of a handful of facilities they were considering for a regional events center. The University has indicated to our advisor that they are one of a handful of interested parties. We have requested economic development provide a date for a January 2023 informational session and are waiting back to hear a date. We want to be clear that we support a large regional ag and event facility for the economic growth of the region but do have reservations of that development coming at the cost of an existing student facility. Look for additional details forthcoming as that date is provided to us.
In the meantime, the club has signed up to speak Board of Regents December Meeting tomorrow (it may not come to open discussion until January - but we plan to attend to ensure we have a chance to be heard) in the Boardroom of the J.W. Jones Student Union on the campus of Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville, Missouri, at 9 a.m., Thursday, December 8, 2022, and you can do the same for future meetings!
We feel that folks on the board may not know how the facility is currently being utilized by student boarders and our competition team. Given the red tape we have encountered in using the facility, we are certain community members do not know how to best utilize the space to bring in outside events. We are hopeful that this can open a conversation about the existing facility and future opportunities as opposed to cashing in our equine space. We have spoken to both finance and academic offices on campus trying to share ways the facility could be better utilized. We hope our voices can be heard by the board.
With your support, we can imagine a future with increased usage for both community and classroom applications, but it will take more than our humble little club and a few undergraduate voices to make big changes.
Any community member who would like to have their voice heard on this matter during tomorrow's meeting or - more particularly for FUTURE meetings - can do so by signing up 24 hours in advance with Northwest Missouri State Board of Regents secretary Diane Hargrave at either dianeh@nwmissouri.edu or 660.562.1120.
Regardless of if we are allowed to speak tomorrow, or in January, we plan to share our perspective at tomorrow's Regent's meeting that the arena fills a valuable niche for current students and has the opportunity as one of the few rodeo arenas in the region to serve the community with simple, institutional changes that would allow not only our club to benefit from events and practices in that location but the community & University as a whole.
We know our club's voice alone is small and so please consider lending the strength of your voice and support at this, or future, Board of Regents Meetings or by emailing written comments to the board.
Many Thanks and Happy Trails!
-NWMSU Horsemen's Association