Wood County Humane Society Annual Meeting Recap
(Bowling Green)—The Wood County Humane Society Board hosted its Annual Meeting on Tuesday, January 24, 2011. Overall, WCHS had a good year. The dedicated staff, volunteers and Board of Directors have worked together to provide many valuable and unique services to the citizens of Wood County and to help hundreds of animals. These services include cruelty investigations, SNIP, our spay/neuter initiative in cooperation with HUMANE OHIO, caring for hundreds of animals at the Minniebelle Conley Shelter, educational programs, information and referral, and the Safe Pets Program, which helps people fleeing violence by providing temporary housing for their pets.
This past year saw several changes in the board and staff. WCHS’s recently-hired shelter manager, Jamie Fairbanks, suffered serious health problems early in the year, and the board granted him an extended medical leave. The interim manager, Rachel Bryant, and her hard-working staff have been providing exemplary service to the public. We send our fervent wishes for health and recovery to Jamie. Also, WCHS’s new Humane Agent, Erin McKibben, taking over in May 2010, has done a remarkable job. We also bid a regretful good-bye to two retiring board members. On behalf of the Society, I want to thank Darlene Bevelhymer, and Patty Switzer for their service during the past year.
Many of WCHS’s committees were very busy and successful this year. The Community Education and Events committee participated in a number of community events including the Family Fair at the Woodland Mall, the Wood County Hospital's Health & Safety Fair, WBGU-TV's Kids' Extravaganza, Perrysburg's Harrison Rally Day and Trick or Treating in downtown Bowling Green. Numerous school visits throughout the county were made to speak to Wood County's youngest citizens. Also, the Buildings and Ground committee completed several projects and facility improvements including landscaping, building and storage repairs and replenishing the stone in the dog runs behind the shelter. The Volunteer committee made significant improvements on the maintenance and usage of the volunteer database and established a training program for new volunteers at the shelter. Lastly, the Membership committee was hugely successful and surpassed expectations in recruiting and maintaining WCHS members.
While the economy had a definite impact on fundraising efforts this year, as did the weather, the committee was proud of their achievements. Many annual events continued in 2011 including WCHS Wine and Cheese event held at Nazareth Hall, the Garage Sale hosted at the Wood County Fair Grounds and the Mutt Strut at the W.W. Knight Nature Preserve. Significant fundraising efforts and partnerships also took place this year, for which WCHS is very appreciative of.
All of WCHS’s activities are made possible by our kind and generous community through a myriad of fundraisers and appeals, by the vital support of the Wood County Commissioners, who have been so generous, even in these tough times, in providing annual funding for our Humane Agent, by various grants and contributions from businesses and non-profit foundations, and our membership in Community Shares. During the past year, we received funding from Pet Supplies Plus, BP Fabric of America Fund, Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program, Petco Foundation, and The Humane Society of the United States. WCHS also received funding from The Kenneth A Scott Charitable Trust for a grant, written by board member Melissa Shaffer, to hire an Adoption Outreach Coordinator to organize adoptathons at external sites. We are excited to get that project underway.
WCHS is most grateful for the support of the generous individuals who have remembered WCHS in their wills and contribution bequests, and for all of the donations of useful items too numerous to name here. Our thanks go out also to the professionals who donate their services, especially attorney Andrew Schuman and accountant Darlene Petkwitz, who have given many hours to WCHS. We thank all of the businesses from which we receive invaluable support: the media; the businesses that sponsor our banks – such as Video Spectrum, which over the years has raised more than $2,000 – and those who give their expertise, such as Pisanellos, who sponsored our Black Swamp pizza sale.
WCHS is extremely thankful for our lifetime members, for the volunteers who spend countless hours on fundraising activities, SNIP, helping at the shelter, walking dogs and taking care of cats at Petco. We salute our dedicated staff, and thank everyone who has sent a donation or fostered a dog or cat. We have so much to be thankful for!
This organization is strong, and looks forward to meeting the challenges of 2011. We are confident that we can succeed, because our community is behind us.
Press Release Contact Name: Lisa Ingram
Press Release Contact Email: [email protected]
Organization Name: Wood County Humane Society