STARTING A Jr. BCH DIVISION
Start Up
Jr BCH began as an idea to organize and educate the youth that are interested in participating in Backcountry Horsemen Activities. These children were often seen at the meetings because the parents wanted to participate and didn’t have the means to leave them at home or felt they shouldn’t be left at home.
It also gives a different approach to horsemen-ship than that available to the youth through 4-H. 4-H provided a place to learn from adults and compete with their peers. The Backcountry Horsemen would provide an opportunity to learn from the adults, the general membership and it’s professionals and their peers in a noncompetitive family setting.
Organization
The Jr. BCH is mirrored with the Adult BCH. They run meetings, elect officers, set an educational agenda, seek professionals and chapter members to fulfill those educational objectives, participate in the raffles and other chapter activities to include rides, clinics, and LNT training.
Bylaws
The By-laws are an extracted version of the Adult By-laws. They are comprehensive, detailed and outline the responsibilities of the board. They outline the timeframe for audits and Educational agendas but they do not require participation in Legislative matters.
Activities & Meetings
The Jr’s participate along with the adults in group functions. They have an advisor, parental supervision or a chapter volunteer when they participate as a group. The meetings are held at the same time as the regular chapter meetings and rarely do they have board meetings in addition to the general membership meetings. This removes added pressure on the parents to attend yet another activity in the busy lives we already lead.
Demonstrations & Guest Speakers
Demonstrations and guest speakers are held at the beginning of the meetings so they do not have to attend the business meeting. If a presentation appeals to the adult membership it is held before the general meeting. This allows everyone to attend both the presentation and the business meetings.
Participation
The members are not required to attend the meetings and will not be responsible for making anything up. It is our hope they will have a schedule that appeals to each individual since they plan their own educational agenda and that in and of itself will encourage participation.
Fundraisers
The fundraisers are aligned toward expecting something from the kids rather than asking for handouts. For this year’s Christmas party the Jr’s cut firewood for the raffle. The adult membership approved a 20% cut from the raffle only if the kids participate or bring something to raffle. This encourages independence rather than dependant irresponsible spenders.
It is our intention to use some of the Jr’s funds to help low income families participate in the Backcountry Horsemen Organization. We feel it is our obligation to give back to the community and foster a good relationship with our town and other user group in the community.
A 1 page, 2000 Summary and a 2001 Goal Statement was provided to the Chapter and to the State board to report on the progress of the North East Chapter Jr BCH Pilot Program. It outlines the Participation, Education and Meetings that happened throughout 2000 and projects a minimum outline of the Jr BCH goals for 2001.