New ARC boss plans to boost finance$

BRIAN STOLLMEYER, new president of the Arima Race Club (ARC), plans to boost the struggling financial state of the top local horse-racing body.

The son of former TT and West Indies cricketer Jeffrey Stollmeyer was chosen as ARC president during the election of officers at the Santa Rosa Park, Arima, on Sunday.

With regards to his appointment, Stollmeyer said, “I’m very enthusiastic about it. I hope to be able to (make) a big difference.”

Asked what he meant by “big difference”, Stollmeyer replied, “It can’t be business as usual. The Club is bankrupt basically, so I’ve taken over an entity (that) needs renewal. It needs transformation and it needs to grow.”

Stollmeyer, who is also a racehorse owner and breeder, is looking towards the corporate sector to inject some much-needed funds into the industry.

In addition, he hopes that there will be an upgrade in the Arima facility, which in turn can attract potential sponsors.

“We need to make the facility welcoming for families and sponsors,” he said in an interview yesterday. “That would be our goal, but we must increase our revenue to meet our part-expenditure. That is the challenge that we will face.”

Stollmeyer takes over the post which was previously held by Peter Acham, who resigned in April.

David Bernard will serve as the first vice-president, with Douglas Bennett as the second vice-president and Reyaz Ahamad as the third vice-president.

“We have a great team that was elected and I have every confidence that, with the support of the existing staff and everyone else, we will succeed,” said Stollmeyer. “We have to make changes but the changes will be effective and productive.”

The new ARC president noted that he had discussions with his predecessors, adding, “I take advice from anybody that I feel can offer good advice. I’ve done so already.”

However, he reiterated, “My goal is for the revenue to exceed our expenditure. It’s as simple as that basically.

“We have to look and see how we’re going to achieve that. I can’t say more than that, I’m only one day in the office. I have a lot to learn to find out where we are exactly,” he ended.