Janet T. Terhune has been appointed the next director of the Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame by its Board of Trustees. Following the annual meeting of the museum’s trustees on July 1, Terhune will succeed Gail Cunard, who will be retiring after having served the museum for 27 years, the last 17 as director

.

In making the announcement on Monday following the meeting of the Board of Trustees, Elbridge T. Gerry Jr., president of the Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame stated:

“I and the trustees are thrilled with the outcome of the museum’s search in identifying and recruiting Janet Terhune to become the next director. When Gail Cunard notified the trustees late last year she wanted to retire in 2012, I feared that the task of finding Gail’s successor would be both daunting and difficult as she has so nobly and effectively served the museum as its director for many years. We formed a search committee of five trustees who worked diligently since the end of last year. We began with a list of 48 potential candidates who had been suggested by members and friends of the museum. Through a systematic and disciplined process that included in person interviews, expansive reference checking and completion of a rigorous computer based job attributes assessment questionnaire by members of the search committee, by certain museum staff personnel and by the candidates who were finalists for the position, the search committee selected Janet to be recommended to the trustees. She is passionate about the sport of harness racing and is a collector of harness racing art and memorabilia. The museum, I know, will be well served to have been able to recruit someone of Janet Terhune’s education, management experience and passion for harness racing.”

Terhune is currently the director of Registry and Member Services at the United States Trotting Association where she has been employed since 1995. From 1995 to 2008, Terhune served principally as an information and research associate at the USTA involved in several key development projects including the development of Pathway - the USTA’s online data service. In 2008 she was appointed registrar, and in 2011 the director of Registry & Member Services. Annually, she represented the USTA at the Horse Racing Simulcast Conference and volunteered at the Harness Tracks of America’s Art Auction run by the late Stanley Bergstein and at the Harness Racing Museum’s gift shop at the Delaware Ohio Fair and at the Standardbred Sales Company horse sales.

Prior to joining the USTA, Terhune served as an administrative assistant for the Ohio Standardbred Breeders & Owners Association and as an administrative assistant at Otterbein College in Westerville, Ohio. Born and raised in Connecticut, Terhune is a graduate of the Kent School in Kent, Connecticut. She earned her BS degree in Agriculture from the Ohio State University. She also earned her MS degree in Agriculture from OSU. Janet has two children, Kate, who is a graduate of the Ohio State University, and John, who is a student at Miami University in Ohio.

Terhune will relocate to Goshen, New York and join the museum in mid June.