2012 Member of the Year

The WDCTA State Board voted unanimously that both Donna Thomas and Diane Brault deserved to be recognized for their tireless contributions to WDCTA. Read on to understand what they’ve contributed to WDCTA, and congratulate them when you see them.

Donna Thomas

 
Donna Thomas on Trina

Donna was nominated by Caryn Vesperman

Donna has been a quiet and steady voice in WDCTA for years. She has been president of the Southwest Chapter for more years than I can remember, and has been instrumental whenever we've need event registration expertise. I almost can't remember a special event or symposium that Donna was NOT at the registration table or taking registration forms.

At state or chapter meetings, whenever voices raise in annoyance over an issue (we horse people can get passionate!), Donna has been a calm, logical presence to help steer us back on course.

I very much admire Donna's ability to look at all sides of an issue and make wise recommendations.

On a personal level, I admire the partnership and respect she and her husband, Chet, have with each other. You can see how proud Donna is of Chet's driving accomplishments and truly is a partner in his driving endeavors. Likewise, it's clear Chet appreciates Donna's eye when helping him with his driving, as well as her riding abilities. He may joke about things when watching Donna in a clinic, but that twinkle in his eye belies his respect and love.

The Southwest Chapter, and WDCTA in general, have been very fortunate to be the beneficiary of Donna's leadership and volunteerism. I'm happy and grateful that she is staying involved!

--Caryn

Diane Brault

 
Diane Brault on Barbie

Diane was nominated by Donna and Chet Thomas

Diane is such a cheerful, hard-working volunteer, often taking on less-than-glamorous-but-oh-so-essential jobs to make our organization run smoothly. Key contributions include co-chair of registration for the 2011 Steffen Peters-Janet Foy Symposium, member of the 2012-13 state board bylaws committee, and her major, on-going work as WDCTA membership chair, a position she has held since 2010.

Diane often works behind the scenes and, in that capacity, doesn't always receive widespread public recognition for all that she does. She can be counted on to be easy to work with and to take her responsibilities seriously, with good organization and attention to detail. It was amazing and wonderful to watch her plunge right in as a new member and agree to serve as membership chair--a huge undertaking that has evolved in challenging ways. As volunteers, we all have many other commitments in our lives, and so when someone like Diane comes along, it really is cause for celebration.