Another suggestion would be to join the local beagle club. The one in Spokane is starting up again - and while I think the emphasis might be more on "show beagles", it could be a good source for "networking". I think the dues are very minimal. Here's the link for the club.
Lorna Boydston
Beagle Club of Eastern Washington
President
Legislature Liaison
Rescue Director
PO Box 189
Colbert, Wa. 99005
http://www.beagleclubofewa.org
Here is the response from Chris: "Start slowly, find someone that has a training pen..
taking the beagle there will give it more of a chance to scent and chase a rabbit..
unless they want to leave the dog there for a month, they could drive it there every other day.. this is the only way to make sure your rabbit is actually running a rabbit.. instead of deer or squirrels .the guy that has the running pen will be able to help a lot and tell the owner if there dog is going to start running... hope this helps."
I hope some of this is useful to you!