March 23rd Annual Meeting Minutes

Caldwell Humane Society, Inc.
Annual Meeting Minutes
March 23, 2010
7:00 pm – Lenoir Public Library

CHS, Inc. President Joy Sharpe opened the meeting and welcomed attendees.

Minutes
The minutes from the January 26, 2010 meeting were distributed by Lauren Clark and unanimously approved after a motion from Penny Nix and a second by Michelle Wood.

Board of Directors Elections & Recognition
Outgoing Board members Jeff Clark, in absentia, and Lynne Williams were recognized for their years of service to the Humane Society. Under Article V, Section 3 of CHS Bylaws, a director may serve a maximum of two consecutive three year terms in which they were elected by the membership. After a mandatory one-year absence, a member may again stand for election or be appointed to the Board. Both directors were commended for their dedication and were awarded with plaques and a much deserved respite from the Board.

Joy called for a motion to approve nominees Ron Stilwell and Donna West as the two new incoming Board members to serve three-year terms. Lauren Clark moved/Jeni Stilwell seconded and the nominations were unanimously approved.

Phyllis Braswell, who was appointed to the Board last fall after the resignation of Judy Cary, was unanimously approved as a Board member for a period of one year to finish the remainder of Judy’s three-year term. Penny Nix moved and the motion was seconded by Michelle Wood.

2009 Year in Review (See attachments)
Joy reviewed clinic figures beginning with 51 surgeries in 2005 and up to 698 in 2009, which represents many dedicated volunteer hours. At the conclusion of April, CHS will have spayed/neutered more than 2,000 animals since the inception of its low-cost clinics.

Caldwell County Animal Care & Control Report for 2009 was distributed, showing almost 5,000 animals being euthanized in 2009. This is not the fault of Animal Control, but a result of the citizens of Caldwell County allowing their pets to create unwanted litters. Our goal is to reduce the euthanasia numbers by the low cost spay/neuter clinics and by re-educating the public about spaying and neutering. Many pet owners think if they turn an animal in to Animal Control it will be adopted; however most animals are euthanized.

On a happier note, Bark in the Park 2009 raised almost $8,000 in spite of the uncooperative weather; and Joy encouraged everyone to participate for 2010.

CHS spent $2,254 to subscribe to KIND News, a kid friendly newsletter about animal welfare issues, which was distributed to 98 fourth and fifth grade classrooms.

Joy reported on the education and community events held during the year, giving special mention to Chia Dog who goes along to many of the interviews and educational events, as well as fund raisers.

Clinic Change
Joy announced that CHS is returning to Humane Alliance in Asheville after two years with the SNIP clinic in Hickory, and turned the floor over to Lauren Clark. Lauren explained we had previously transported animals for surgeries to Humane Alliance in Asheville until the Humane Society of Catawba County opened their SNIP clinic two years ago in Hickory, when the switch was made to help support the new clinic as well as cut down on the longer trip to Asheville. After two years, the Board has decided to go back with Humane Alliance due to several factors. Since the SNIP Clinic was and is in its growth stage, we are having to shoulder more of the financial burden, do more administrative work and the number of animals being done on any particular day was capped at 60 (30 females and of the females no more than 20 dogs). Humane Alliance can do 70 a day with no restrictions which will cut down on our paperwork and the extra scheduling of clinics. Also, we subsequently became aware of some issues between the veterinarian running the clinic and the Humane Society that leases the building to the clinic. SNIP really tried to work with us and we let them know Asheville just seems a better fit for our needs. We received a nice note from the veterinarian saying she understands our position. Members are urged to look at the Humane Alliance web site and follow them on FaceBook.

Our next clinic on April 20th will be headed to Asheville. Joy noted that since more animals will be going for surgeries, more volunteers will be needed each clinic day to facilitate the larger number of animals. Lauren reiterated that no advance training is needed for clinic days.

Treasurer’s Report (See attached)
Jeni Stilwell presented the Treasurer’s Report and explained the slight loss was mainly due to the larger number of SPOT surgeries for which CHS pays half. ($25). There were no questions concerning the treasurer’s report.

There were no further questions or comments on 2009 in review.



2010 Goals
Joy reiterated the continuing goals to sustain growth and expand our volunteer base which is so very, very important. The more volunteers we have, the more animals we can spay and neuter.

Joy reminded attendees that if they paid their membership dues tonight, they would receive a free CHS magnet to help spread the word. Joy mentioned that paid dues are not a requirement to attend meetings or volunteer. However, any members that are financially able to pay dues are encouraged to do so as the dues go into the general fund. (And CHS Bylaws require a voting member to have paid the dues.)

Update on Tuesday Night Reservation Sessions
Emily Warren announced a record 72 animals were booked for surgery at the last Tuesday night session. The next reservation sessions are April 6th and 13th with a mandatory training session for new volunteers scheduled for May 11th. Approximately 55 animals are already booked for April 20th in Asheville.

6th Annual Bark In The Park Information
Emily Warren, 2010 BIP Coordinator, reported all is going well. The final sponsorship turn in will be April 13th. BIP flyers and pledge forms were available. Emily explained the difference between a business sponsorship and the pledge forms that are used mainly by volunteers to raise money for the dog walk event the day of BIP. An informal discussion was held between Emily and new volunteer Cindy Khalsa about possible sponsorship she might be able to obtain for BIP. Emily will email information and forms to Cindy.

New CHS T-Shirts
Several members were wearing the new T-shirts. Emily explained this is not a fund raiser but a PR opportunity to spread our message. All colors are available at a cost of $7 for short sleeve and $10 for long sleeve.

Other Discussions
Informal discussions were held concerning the continued use of the printed brochures indicating Catawba’s SNIP clinic rather than the Humane Alliance. Since there are so many printed at this time, volunteers will be instructed to inform people when they register of the change. Also, the price we charge for regular spay/neuter is now $50 instead of $49 and this change has just been marked through on the current brochures. Members were encouraged to take brochures and set them out wherever possible. A Spanish brochure will be printed once all the changes are made.

Penny Nix asked if Tuesday night volunteers might let clients know they will be asked for a donation when leaving after picking up their animals from Clinic on the second day. Many complain they don’t have money with them or that they gave their donation by paying to have their animal fixed, not realizing CHS pays $25 toward the SPOT surgeries. Even though regular clients paying $50 are paying the full clinic cost, we have fuel charges and admin fees that a small donation could help alleviate. Lauren Clark commented that the reminder sheet clients receive does mention the fact that donations are appreciated.

Lauren Clark passed around the euthanasia stats from other counties that she obtained from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. If anyone is interested, here is link to the site: http://www.epi.state.nc.us/epi/vet/index.html

Joy thanked everyone who brought items for the BIP silent auction baskets. Any further items are welcomed and can be brought to one of the Tuesday night reservation sessions.

Recognition of 2009 CHS, Inc. Volunteers
Joy recognized and thanked all the volunteers and again stated how nothing could be accomplished without the volunteers and urged everyone to bring in more volunteers as this is the only way we can accomplish our goals.

Laura Kerekes announced one of her father’s relatives passed away and he is using part of his inheritance to sponsor his grand-dog in the BIP walk with a very generous donation. This good news sent everyone scurrying to have Laura be on their team. Lauren Clark explained that sometimes it’s fun to compete among ourselves to see which team can raise the most money.

Drinda Goodell said she has more time to volunteer but does not have email so she is being put on the call list to be notified of clinic dates by the volunteer coordinator.

With no further business, the meeting was concluded at 7:57 pm.

Future Meeting Dates
Sunday, April 25th at 4:00 pm (Bark in the Park volunteer meeting)
Tuesday, June 22nd at 7:00 pm (regular meeting)
Tuesday, August 24th at 7:00 pm (regular meeting)
Tuesday, October 26th at 7:00 pm (regular meeting)

Attachments
Caldwell Humane Society, Inc. 2009 Year In Review
Caldwell County Animal Care & Control Monthly Activities Report Dec.’09
Caldwell Humane Society, Inc. Profit & Loss by Class