2022 marked 10 years of RFE fun and camaraderie! So, what’s coming next for RFE and its members? Read on and find out what’s happening and how you can get involved.
We’re making some changes so that Rally Freestyle Elements can continue to grow and offer even more teams the chance to learn about, bond over and compete in Musical Freestyle and Rally-FrEe.
When I started RFE and introduced the sport of Rally-FrEe it was with the goal to increase skill and involvement in the sport of canine musical freestyle. I had blinders on when it came to what that would take. And that was okay! All I knew was that we needed a place to continue what we loved doing. Starting RFE was, and still is, one of the greatest accomplishments I could have ever hoped for! What started out as a small side gig grew into a full-time job, when I already had one or two!
Over the years, I have had an enormous amount of help! So many people have stepped up when I just didn’t have the time, energy or skill to do what needed to be done. I can’t say how grateful I am to have those people in my life. RFE would not be here today if not for them. So many, that I couldn’t possibly mention them all here. But I want to give a shout-out to those that help RFE to operate on a day-to-day basis. That includes Judith Stoodley who is the admin for pretty much all of the RFE FB groups, our event coordinator, Deana DeWolf, our social media and newsletter coordinator Claudine Illg, our webmaster, Dawn Miklich and, of course, all of our judges that volunteer their time, Marilyn Capello, Liz Chamberlain, Lindsay Crampton, Beverly Ferguson, Carrol Haines, Cassandra Hartman, Shari Heino, Claudine Illg, Pat Marshall, Nancy Marston, Jamie Ohman, Laura Ormsby, Barb Pfohl, Nancy Royse, Linda Skips, Gay Stahley, Amee Abel, Juniper Zen, Judith Stoodley, and Rosalind Walkington.
For over 10 years now, RFE has been operating as a small business with a non-profit outcome. But now RFE has grown to where it can no longer function under a small, one-person entrepreneurship and still maintain the same high degree of service to current members while expanding freestyle and Rally-FrEe to new members.
Maintaining the status quo not only limits our growth and ability to draw new people into the sports, but also puts RFE in jeopardy of no longer being a viable organization. For these reasons, RFE will be transitioning to a nonprofit, membership organization with board oversight. I’ve started the process to have RFE designated as a 501c7 and am excited to see where this next step in our growth leads. And, of course, I will still be involved operationally as a member of the board, and personally as an exhibitor, instructor, judge, active supporter, and participant. You can’t get rid of me that easily!
At this time, there will be no outward changes. You’ll still enter events the same way. Your access to your accounts won’t change. You can still contact me with questions, and a list of all of the board members, their roles and contact information will be available soon. You can feel secure knowing that any changes that take place due to transitioning to a nonprofit organization will always benefit you – the members – and the same supportive environment we have created together is here to stay!
If you’re interested in being a bigger part of RFE or have areas of expertise that you feel would benefit our growth, please get in touch. If you aren’t a paid member of RFE yet, now is a great time to join!
Soon we’ll be adding educational opportunities, more titling events, a stronger judging program, more online access to materials, more recognition of member accomplishments, and as always, greater camaraderie and support to our members and their dogs.
Thank you all for supporting me in this lofty endeavor and taking it to where it is today – One of the best freestyle organizations there is, and the only organization to offer the sport of Rally-FrEe.
