Pets in Need Society Year in Review - 2006
Pets in Need Society Year in Review - 2006 has been anything but a boring, routine year for our organization. I hope that as you read this recap of our “efforts” you will feel great pride and personal satisfaction in your involvements with and contributions to the many successes and accomplishments we can celebrate.
We began 2006 with $21,388.18 in the bank. While that may not be a lot of money for some folks, to us it is a fortune. And it represents the efforts and generosity of our members and supporters from previous years. But we did not sit back and bask in the worth or comfort of this balance. Rather, we worked hard all year to raise more funds to meet the ever growing demands for spay/neuter assistance.
In March and April dozens of our members and supporters worked to remove trash and litter from roadsides in the county. Funds were made available by the state for litter abatement, and Meade County offered those funds to local civic, school, nonprofit, and church groups at a rate of $100 per mile. We cleaned 10.8 miles of roadway to earn $1,080. Assisting us in this endeavor were cadets from the Bluegrass Challenge Academy at Fort Knox. Their participation would not have been possible if it were not for Ms. Linda Elsey.
After two days of picking up trash along the roadways, and hearing about what we do to help the animals in the county, those cadets told us that they had learned many things during the project -(1) they would never throw trash out of a vehicle again, (2) they would always make sure their pets were spayed or neutered, (3) people can help in varying ways to make this a better world in which to live -and (4) they felt good working to help the animals. Each of the cadets, and Ms. Elsey, were given a Certificate of Appreciation for their help with this project. I want to again thank Linda for making those kids available to help us. Also helping with our roadside cleanup were three teenage members of a family who needed help getting 8 dogs spayed/neutered. The mother of the family said she didn’t have much money, but she certainly had 3 kids who could help for a day to offset the costs of their animals’ surgeries. That is a perfect example of a family in need helping animals in need.
After we’d worked so hard on the roadside cleanup projects -the volunteers were fed by two wonderful ladies. The first day we were invited into the home of Ms. Rose Welch and fed like kings. The second day we were treated to a huge pot of delicious homemade chili made by Ms. Kay McGehee. I want to again thank these women for helping us with this fundraising project. I believe the litter abatement program is a great way for us to earn money for the organization, and I think that if the program is offered again, we should participate.
Our twice yearly yard sales have become not only a fundraiser for us, but seem to be a social event of sorts in this community. Folks look forward to attending, socializing, and capitalizing on the “good deals” we offer. Not only that, but more and more people are donating items to our sales to help us raise money. In fact, one of our storage sheds is already full for the spring yard sale, and I’ve been contacted about several large furniture items that will be donated in the spring.
The success of our yard sales is directly attributed to a special group of dedicated volunteers. Without fail, we can always count on folks like Becky, Amanda, Claudia, Duane, Jean, Nita, Crissey, Marylynne, Don, Sherry, Gary, and of course, Mr. Yard sale Himself -David Kitson. We just simply cannot think of having a yard sale without David being there to “hawk the merchandise”. I thank all of those volunteers and any others who I may have missed. Together we have developed an organized system for set up, operations, and breakdown. I also want to thank my Aunt Kay and Aunt Rose for all the time and work they do in preparation for the yard sales. These two ladies spend an entire day sorting the donations and combining like items so that we can do our set up and tear down in just minutes. It allows us to know what we have and what “special treasures” and high dollar items have been donated.
Not only do our yard sales bring in thousands of dollars a year for us, they also provide a media for public awareness and education. Without fail, someone who comes to our yard sale will learn about our spay/neuter program and will call the next week to get a voucher. I hope that we continue to have our yard sales so long as the public continues to support them.
One of the pitfalls in being involved in an animal welfare organization is that we tend to do a lot of things for the animals, and less WITH the animals. Thank goodness we have some members in our group who have gone out of their way to change that. Heather Mann and Linda Elsey have, for two consecutive years organized and conducted a 5K Run Your Tail Off event designed specifically to get people and their dogs involved in something fun. From designing and acquiring the t-shirts for the event, to publishing and circulating flyers announcing the event, from getting sponsors and prizes, to participating in the run itself, they have done it all. Heather has assured me that she loves doing this and will continue to “take charge” of the 5k run for us. Heather, Linda, thank you so much for all you do to help us help the animals. Your young energy and enthusiasm is an inspiration to some of us older, more mature members.
Our second largest fundraiser of the year is always our Raffle. Thank God for the many local businesses who donate items for the raffle, and for Southwest Airlines and their love for and support of animals. But no matter how many businesses would support our raffle, we could not have a raffle without the personal efforts of Crissey Burtt. I know it takes hours of work to get this event all worked out every year, and I thank Crissey for her dedication to the cause and her efforts with making the raffle such a great fundraiser.
In October we once again held our Blessing of the Animals & Pet Festival--a celebration of the love, joy, and companionship that animals bring to our lives. With a theme of “Fabulous 50’s” this year, we saw several poodle skirts, penny loafers, pony tails, and rolled up jeans. While attendance was down this year, I think all who attended had a great time. I was able to get lots of prizes for the contests and for door prizes, and we made sure that nobody left the festival without a prize.
The Animal Communicator was a huge success. There was never a time when she did not have a person in her booth seeking advise and information about a special pet. She was very impressed with our group and our community. She asked if she could come back next year, and we extended an invitation to her to return. Rev. Jarrod Hunt has offered to perform the blessing for us so long as he is assigned to the area. This year, however, Jarrod was unable to attend due to illness, and Ms. Janet Carden, Associate Pastor of the Brandenburg United Methodist Church did the service for her. She did an excellent job, and I thank her for helping us on such short notice and for conducting such a wonder blessing event. I recommend that we continue to hold our Pet Festival and Blessing of the Animals in the fall.
I had taken the lead on planning and orchestrating the Pet Festival/Blessing of the Animals, and I offer to continue that if the group so desires. I want to thank all the volunteers who worked so hard to make that event a success. It is quite labor intensive, but the folks who attend are always so appreciative of us having the event.
This year was the first year of us creating wreaths and other holiday decorations for sales year round. Several businesses in the county volunteered to display our handiwork, and we took full advantage of it. This has a two fold benefit--it provides a steady stream of income to us, and it keeps our name and efforts visible in the community. I thank those businesses for supporting our efforts--KORT, RL’s Family Fashions, Kenmar Trailers & Meade County Feed Supply, Midway Vet Clinic, and Meade County Vet Service.
To do this year round craft sales, Pat Bowen opened up her home to us once a month for “crafting night”. While we did get many beautiful things made at these events, perhaps the best part of the program was the fellowship we enjoyed as a group. We actually had opportunities to visit with one another and share thoughts and ideas in a relaxed, non-public setting. The downside of our crafting nights is the inches we all added to our waists because of Don Frenzl’s great cooking. I want to thank Pat for inviting us into her home every month for these crafting nights, and Steve for putting up with us. I thank Don for feeding us so well. I hope that we have not overstayed our welcome and that we will continue these monthly rituals.
PINS’ relationship with the county shelter dramatically improved during the past year. Our ACO Tom Brady quickly learned that we can be his best ally and is thankful for all the “behind the scenes” support we give him. This past year we enrolled the shelter in the Pedigree Shelter Adoption Program. That program provides adoption packets for all dogs and cats adopted from the shelter.
When Tom has a really particularly good dog in the shelter that has not been adopted, he contacts us and we work with breed rescues or other rescue or adoption/placement agencies to get the dog out of our shelter. This past year we’ve rescued dozens of dogs--Labs, Goldies, Border Collies, German shepherds, Poodles, Cockers, Yorkies, Pugs, and assorted mixed breed dogs and cats. Instead of animals being put to sleep as soon as their 5 day stay has ended, Tom has been keeping some dogs in excess of 2 months waiting for its rescue or adoption.
There is absolutely no way we could help rescue so many of these wonderful dogs without the devotion and dedication of Connie Mullins. She drives hundreds of miles each week transporting dogs from the shelter to rescue/foster homes. She is truly a guardian angel for all dogs, and we owe her a special thanks for all she does for them. Thank you, Connie. We are honored to have you as a member of PINS.
We’ve worked hard re-writing our county animal control ordinance this year, and I hope that with the new county administration we will see it become a reality. We must now show the new county leaders that we do in fact know what we are talking about when it relates to animal care, and that we are, in fact, “a force to be beckoned with.”
I want to tell you that I have enjoyed being your president for the past 4 years. It has been a challenge, it has been frustrating, and at times very stressful, but at all times it has been so very personally rewarding. I am handing over the reins of control to a very intelligent, competent person. Liz and I have worked very well together for the past several years, and I know that she will continue to lead the group onward and upward.
I want to offer a special thanks to the other officers and board members who have served with me over the years. Our Treasurer -Jean Rayner, who kept us all out of jail and kept the books so meticulously. Our Secretay -David Kitson, who had to keep track of all we said and did, and keep our paperwork correct. Our Vice-president -Liz Bell, who is by far the most creative person I have ever met! I thank Pat Bowen, Don Frenzl, and Marylnne Kitson for their service on our board during the past years.
I am not going anywhere. I am now moving on to to replace Marylnne as a member of the board of directors, and will still be very active in the group and its projects. I just have to take some time for me now. If I don’t clean my house soon the health department will come visiting me. I now will have some time to address a few health issues I have, and more importantly, I hope to have some time to do some fishing -a lot of fishing!.
With all of that having been said, I now will tell you that we have $23,071.48 in our checking account, and still have our major fundraising event of the year next week -Our annual Wreath Festival.
Our organization is, as it has always been, very solid and financially sound. This has to be the best bunch of people to ever assemble under one banner. I thank you for allowing me to be your president for the past 4 years.
We began 2006 with $21,388.18 in the bank. While that may not be a lot of money for some folks, to us it is a fortune. And it represents the efforts and generosity of our members and supporters from previous years. But we did not sit back and bask in the worth or comfort of this balance. Rather, we worked hard all year to raise more funds to meet the ever growing demands for spay/neuter assistance.
In March and April dozens of our members and supporters worked to remove trash and litter from roadsides in the county. Funds were made available by the state for litter abatement, and Meade County offered those funds to local civic, school, nonprofit, and church groups at a rate of $100 per mile. We cleaned 10.8 miles of roadway to earn $1,080. Assisting us in this endeavor were cadets from the Bluegrass Challenge Academy at Fort Knox. Their participation would not have been possible if it were not for Ms. Linda Elsey.
After two days of picking up trash along the roadways, and hearing about what we do to help the animals in the county, those cadets told us that they had learned many things during the project -(1) they would never throw trash out of a vehicle again, (2) they would always make sure their pets were spayed or neutered, (3) people can help in varying ways to make this a better world in which to live -and (4) they felt good working to help the animals. Each of the cadets, and Ms. Elsey, were given a Certificate of Appreciation for their help with this project. I want to again thank Linda for making those kids available to help us. Also helping with our roadside cleanup were three teenage members of a family who needed help getting 8 dogs spayed/neutered. The mother of the family said she didn’t have much money, but she certainly had 3 kids who could help for a day to offset the costs of their animals’ surgeries. That is a perfect example of a family in need helping animals in need.
After we’d worked so hard on the roadside cleanup projects -the volunteers were fed by two wonderful ladies. The first day we were invited into the home of Ms. Rose Welch and fed like kings. The second day we were treated to a huge pot of delicious homemade chili made by Ms. Kay McGehee. I want to again thank these women for helping us with this fundraising project. I believe the litter abatement program is a great way for us to earn money for the organization, and I think that if the program is offered again, we should participate.
Our twice yearly yard sales have become not only a fundraiser for us, but seem to be a social event of sorts in this community. Folks look forward to attending, socializing, and capitalizing on the “good deals” we offer. Not only that, but more and more people are donating items to our sales to help us raise money. In fact, one of our storage sheds is already full for the spring yard sale, and I’ve been contacted about several large furniture items that will be donated in the spring.
The success of our yard sales is directly attributed to a special group of dedicated volunteers. Without fail, we can always count on folks like Becky, Amanda, Claudia, Duane, Jean, Nita, Crissey, Marylynne, Don, Sherry, Gary, and of course, Mr. Yard sale Himself -David Kitson. We just simply cannot think of having a yard sale without David being there to “hawk the merchandise”. I thank all of those volunteers and any others who I may have missed. Together we have developed an organized system for set up, operations, and breakdown. I also want to thank my Aunt Kay and Aunt Rose for all the time and work they do in preparation for the yard sales. These two ladies spend an entire day sorting the donations and combining like items so that we can do our set up and tear down in just minutes. It allows us to know what we have and what “special treasures” and high dollar items have been donated.
Not only do our yard sales bring in thousands of dollars a year for us, they also provide a media for public awareness and education. Without fail, someone who comes to our yard sale will learn about our spay/neuter program and will call the next week to get a voucher. I hope that we continue to have our yard sales so long as the public continues to support them.
One of the pitfalls in being involved in an animal welfare organization is that we tend to do a lot of things for the animals, and less WITH the animals. Thank goodness we have some members in our group who have gone out of their way to change that. Heather Mann and Linda Elsey have, for two consecutive years organized and conducted a 5K Run Your Tail Off event designed specifically to get people and their dogs involved in something fun. From designing and acquiring the t-shirts for the event, to publishing and circulating flyers announcing the event, from getting sponsors and prizes, to participating in the run itself, they have done it all. Heather has assured me that she loves doing this and will continue to “take charge” of the 5k run for us. Heather, Linda, thank you so much for all you do to help us help the animals. Your young energy and enthusiasm is an inspiration to some of us older, more mature members.
Our second largest fundraiser of the year is always our Raffle. Thank God for the many local businesses who donate items for the raffle, and for Southwest Airlines and their love for and support of animals. But no matter how many businesses would support our raffle, we could not have a raffle without the personal efforts of Crissey Burtt. I know it takes hours of work to get this event all worked out every year, and I thank Crissey for her dedication to the cause and her efforts with making the raffle such a great fundraiser.
In October we once again held our Blessing of the Animals & Pet Festival--a celebration of the love, joy, and companionship that animals bring to our lives. With a theme of “Fabulous 50’s” this year, we saw several poodle skirts, penny loafers, pony tails, and rolled up jeans. While attendance was down this year, I think all who attended had a great time. I was able to get lots of prizes for the contests and for door prizes, and we made sure that nobody left the festival without a prize.
The Animal Communicator was a huge success. There was never a time when she did not have a person in her booth seeking advise and information about a special pet. She was very impressed with our group and our community. She asked if she could come back next year, and we extended an invitation to her to return. Rev. Jarrod Hunt has offered to perform the blessing for us so long as he is assigned to the area. This year, however, Jarrod was unable to attend due to illness, and Ms. Janet Carden, Associate Pastor of the Brandenburg United Methodist Church did the service for her. She did an excellent job, and I thank her for helping us on such short notice and for conducting such a wonder blessing event. I recommend that we continue to hold our Pet Festival and Blessing of the Animals in the fall.
I had taken the lead on planning and orchestrating the Pet Festival/Blessing of the Animals, and I offer to continue that if the group so desires. I want to thank all the volunteers who worked so hard to make that event a success. It is quite labor intensive, but the folks who attend are always so appreciative of us having the event.
This year was the first year of us creating wreaths and other holiday decorations for sales year round. Several businesses in the county volunteered to display our handiwork, and we took full advantage of it. This has a two fold benefit--it provides a steady stream of income to us, and it keeps our name and efforts visible in the community. I thank those businesses for supporting our efforts--KORT, RL’s Family Fashions, Kenmar Trailers & Meade County Feed Supply, Midway Vet Clinic, and Meade County Vet Service.
To do this year round craft sales, Pat Bowen opened up her home to us once a month for “crafting night”. While we did get many beautiful things made at these events, perhaps the best part of the program was the fellowship we enjoyed as a group. We actually had opportunities to visit with one another and share thoughts and ideas in a relaxed, non-public setting. The downside of our crafting nights is the inches we all added to our waists because of Don Frenzl’s great cooking. I want to thank Pat for inviting us into her home every month for these crafting nights, and Steve for putting up with us. I thank Don for feeding us so well. I hope that we have not overstayed our welcome and that we will continue these monthly rituals.
PINS’ relationship with the county shelter dramatically improved during the past year. Our ACO Tom Brady quickly learned that we can be his best ally and is thankful for all the “behind the scenes” support we give him. This past year we enrolled the shelter in the Pedigree Shelter Adoption Program. That program provides adoption packets for all dogs and cats adopted from the shelter.
When Tom has a really particularly good dog in the shelter that has not been adopted, he contacts us and we work with breed rescues or other rescue or adoption/placement agencies to get the dog out of our shelter. This past year we’ve rescued dozens of dogs--Labs, Goldies, Border Collies, German shepherds, Poodles, Cockers, Yorkies, Pugs, and assorted mixed breed dogs and cats. Instead of animals being put to sleep as soon as their 5 day stay has ended, Tom has been keeping some dogs in excess of 2 months waiting for its rescue or adoption.
There is absolutely no way we could help rescue so many of these wonderful dogs without the devotion and dedication of Connie Mullins. She drives hundreds of miles each week transporting dogs from the shelter to rescue/foster homes. She is truly a guardian angel for all dogs, and we owe her a special thanks for all she does for them. Thank you, Connie. We are honored to have you as a member of PINS.
We’ve worked hard re-writing our county animal control ordinance this year, and I hope that with the new county administration we will see it become a reality. We must now show the new county leaders that we do in fact know what we are talking about when it relates to animal care, and that we are, in fact, “a force to be beckoned with.”
I want to tell you that I have enjoyed being your president for the past 4 years. It has been a challenge, it has been frustrating, and at times very stressful, but at all times it has been so very personally rewarding. I am handing over the reins of control to a very intelligent, competent person. Liz and I have worked very well together for the past several years, and I know that she will continue to lead the group onward and upward.
I want to offer a special thanks to the other officers and board members who have served with me over the years. Our Treasurer -Jean Rayner, who kept us all out of jail and kept the books so meticulously. Our Secretay -David Kitson, who had to keep track of all we said and did, and keep our paperwork correct. Our Vice-president -Liz Bell, who is by far the most creative person I have ever met! I thank Pat Bowen, Don Frenzl, and Marylnne Kitson for their service on our board during the past years.
I am not going anywhere. I am now moving on to to replace Marylnne as a member of the board of directors, and will still be very active in the group and its projects. I just have to take some time for me now. If I don’t clean my house soon the health department will come visiting me. I now will have some time to address a few health issues I have, and more importantly, I hope to have some time to do some fishing -a lot of fishing!.
With all of that having been said, I now will tell you that we have $23,071.48 in our checking account, and still have our major fundraising event of the year next week -Our annual Wreath Festival.
Our organization is, as it has always been, very solid and financially sound. This has to be the best bunch of people to ever assemble under one banner. I thank you for allowing me to be your president for the past 4 years.
Next
|