Pets in Need Society Year in Review - 2010
Pets in Need Society (PINS)
2010 Annual Review
David Kitson, President
Forward
I would like to point out a bit of plagiarism on my part in the writing of this review and my past reviews. Annette Hornsby, PINS Secretary 2008, wrote the annual review for 2008. Part of her format and writing I have included in this and my past annual reviews. Annette’s elegant writing of our founding history was a brilliant idea as an addition to our annual review not to mention well written. THANK YOU ANNETTE. The history gives readers, new to our organization, the how and why Pets In Need Society was formed. For members the history is a reminder and affirmation of our purpose as an organization. For these reasons I will continue to include our history as part of the annual review and encourage future Presidents to update the history as time goes on and include it in future reviews.
I have also used portions of Deb Sobel-Benham’s and Liz Bell’s Annual Reviews. Thank you both for your writings.
PINS History
Pets In Need Society (PINS) is a total volunteer organization in Meade County that was started in January 2000, and its first wreath festival was held that December. At its inception, a small group of caring and compassionate people met to address the deplorable conditions at the Meade County Animal Shelter. Led by founding President, Karen Kennedy, and Vice President, Deb Sobel, the group quickly organized and planned for a major renovation of the shelter. As word of the group's efforts spread throughout the community, so did the financial and moral support of the private citizens and local businesses. By November 2001, PINS volunteers and supporters had transformed the once neglected, disease ridden dog pound into a functional, clean and healthy animal shelter where residents can recover lost pets or adopt new ones. It took hundreds of hours of volunteer labor and $55,000 of donated funds and materials for the shelter to become a respectable facility for Meade County residents.
As the organization grew, its mission expanded. In 2006, PINS members began working with local county officials to create a comprehensive, enforceable animal care and control ordinance that would establish minimum acceptable standards of care for all animals in Meade County, and prescribe harsh penalties for animal cruelty, neglect or abuse. The ordinance was passed in April 2007.
The Meade County Chamber of Commerce recognized the hard work of PINS by awarding it the Meade County Chamber of Commerce 2008 Community Achievement Award, on April 2, 2008. The award was presented by the guest of honor, Kentucky Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo to PINS representatives, President Liz Bell and vice president, Jennifer Marshall. This award is presented annually in recognition of exceptional volunteer service to the life and welfare of the community.
In July of 2009 Orscheln Home & Farm Store offered PINS the opportunity to show Meade County Shelter animals in the store for adoption. Member and Animal Rescue and Transporter Connie Mullins sprang to the call. She quickly organized transport and volunteers to show and adopt animals at Orscheln. Her efforts resulted in the adoption of over 150 animals in just 6 months.
PINS has become one of the largest nonprofit organizations in Meade County. PINS goal is simple – increase public awareness of animal welfare issues in our communities and reduce the number of unwanted animals entering our local animal shelter. This is being accomplished through an aggressive spay/neuter assistance program coupled with a very effective humane education program. To this end, PINS works closely with the Meade County Veterinary Service and the Midway Veterinary Clinic to provide funds for low cost spays and neuters of dogs and cats. PINS also has an active education program. It utilizes this program to reach out to the community and teach responsible pet ownership and pet care. The programs are demonstrated in the local schools and various community events. Some of these events include the annual Pet festival with blessing of the animals, farm and home safety day, elementary classroom presentations, and Public Library Story time. We will present our message whenever and wherever we are invited to include 4H groups, classrooms, civic organizations, festivals, and TV and radio programs. We are the human voices for the animals in Meade County.
2010 Review
2010 was our 11th year as an organization. With the decline in the economy, money has been tight and charities have been asked to do more with less. In 2010 PINS has not been alone in this struggle. We have spent 7K more on our programs than we have taken in. Yes we went in the hole/over spent/lost 7K. We started 2010 with 30K in the bank and ended 2010 with 23K. 2011 will be a challenging year for PINS. Programs may need to be changed and new fundraisers, grants, or maybe even new programs investigated. Let us move into 2011 with an open mind and willingness to meet these challenges with fresh ideas.
Spay Neuter Program
The 2010 PINS Spay Neuter Program was unchanged from 2009. PINS provided to Meade County residents vouchers of $25 for a cat and $40 for a dog towards spaying or neutering of their pet. The program also issued vouchers to anyone who adopted an animal from the Meade County Animal Shelter for the full cost of a spay or neuter of the adopted animal. The vouchers were only redeemable at the two local veterinaries, Midway Veterinary Clinic and Meade County Veterinary Hospital.
In 2010 PINS provided funding for 603 animals at a cost of over $26K paid to local veterinaries. This is the second year we have exceeded our goal of assisting over 600 animals. See the report below.
Shelter Support
PINS could not be as effective as they are without the help of the county animal control officer, Tom Brady, and his assistant, Jasper Hardesty. These two men work hard and offer the animals the best living conditions possible. They keep the kennel comfortable and clean, always having the animals ready to be shown to their potential new owners. Over the years, PINS has assisted the animal control office by painting and sprucing up the shelter, to include adding a beautiful mural on the inside walls.
In 2010 PINS held a Shelter Open House. Organized by Connie Mullins, this event allowed the public to enjoy a free lunch, tour the shelter, talk with PINS members and meet the Animal Control Officer and Assistant. The event was attend by over 75 people resulted in the adoption of 6 animals and increase the public awareness of the shelter.
Humane Education
Each year PINS presents a Dog Bite Prevention class to all Meade County 5th Graders during the School’s annual Safety Days. Pat Bowen as in the past years provided this year’s instruction and the values of having your pet fixed to prevent unwanted litters.
Adoption Days
In July of 2009 Orscheln Home & Farm Store offered PINS the opportunity to show Meade County Shelter animals in the store for adoption. Member and Animal Rescue and Transporter Connie Mullins sprang to the call. She quickly organized transport and volunteers to show and adopt animals at Orscheln.
In 2010 Connie’s efforts resulted in the adoption of over 200 animals from the Meade County Animal Shelter.
Fundraising and Events
As mentioned in the beginning of this article, PINS paid over $26,000 to have Meade County dogs and cats spayed or neutered. As PINS is a registered nonprofit organization, all expenses must be raised by the members. To meet the cost of maintaining the PINS programs, many hours are spent by the members preparing for and working at local fund raisers. We have an annual bowling tournament at Lynn’s Pins. The spring and fall yard sales help with our fundraising and we collect items all year for this. Thanks to our members and supporters donating items, PINS earns about $1,000 at each yard sale. A simple way to help PINS all year long is to drop your loose change into one of our collection boxes (a miniature dog house) at 12 various local businesses. Small things add up! Of course, our biggest fund raiser is the annual wreath festival at the courthouse which begins the first Sunday after Thanksgiving. This festival, with its generous business and individual sponsors, earns around $5,000 annually. As you can see, PINS must work very hard to meet the budget each year.
This year we added new fundraisers to help meet the growing demand for our services. Dairy Queen Fundraisers were done twice in 2010 raising over $300 and several new members joined us. Doe Run Inn Fundraiser held every Thursday in October 2010 raised $212 (10% of buffet sales) while enjoying a great Pasta Buffet.
Twice this year President David Kitson was on the local radio station, WMMG 93.5FM Edgewise Program, to promote spay neuter, current fundraising events and allowed listeners to call in with questions.
Officers and Volunteers
Officers for 2010 were President David Kitson, Vice-president vacant, Secretary Pat Bowen & Liz Bell and Treasurer Ellen Allgor. Board of Directors were Deb Sobel, Leslie Humphrey and Don Frenzl. Membership was tracked by Katie Beck and Humane Education was done by Pat Bowen. One other volunteer, but most important position is that of the person who returns the calls on our PINS phone line, Doris Reesor. She returns more than 100 inquires each month and issues the spay and neuter vouchers.
Fortunately, we have an eager group of elected volunteers ready to lead the Pets In Need Society in 2011. Newly elected officers are President David Kitson and Vice-president Duane Cooper, Secretary Liz Bell will keep the minutes, and Mary Beck will post the treasurer books. In addition, board members will be Deb Sobel, Leslie Humphrey and Don Frenzl.
Membership and Meetings
PINS currently has over 100 animal loving, motivated and energetic volunteers. Meetings are held the 4th Monday of every month at Home Plate Restaurant, Brandenburg, KY 40108. Meetings start promptly at 7 pm. Many members come around 6:30 and have supper prior to the meeting. We encourage all members of PINS to attend the meetings, and invite the community to come out and see what we are all about. Dues are only $10 a year, $5 for junior members, and $25 for a business member. Memberships expire in March and if you join now, your membership will be good until March of 2012. Join us and help make a difference in Meade County. For more information, email us President@petsinneedsociety.org, visit our website www.petsinneedsociety.org or call the PINS information line at 270-422-3838.
2010 Annual Review
David Kitson, President
Forward
I would like to point out a bit of plagiarism on my part in the writing of this review and my past reviews. Annette Hornsby, PINS Secretary 2008, wrote the annual review for 2008. Part of her format and writing I have included in this and my past annual reviews. Annette’s elegant writing of our founding history was a brilliant idea as an addition to our annual review not to mention well written. THANK YOU ANNETTE. The history gives readers, new to our organization, the how and why Pets In Need Society was formed. For members the history is a reminder and affirmation of our purpose as an organization. For these reasons I will continue to include our history as part of the annual review and encourage future Presidents to update the history as time goes on and include it in future reviews.
I have also used portions of Deb Sobel-Benham’s and Liz Bell’s Annual Reviews. Thank you both for your writings.
PINS History
Pets In Need Society (PINS) is a total volunteer organization in Meade County that was started in January 2000, and its first wreath festival was held that December. At its inception, a small group of caring and compassionate people met to address the deplorable conditions at the Meade County Animal Shelter. Led by founding President, Karen Kennedy, and Vice President, Deb Sobel, the group quickly organized and planned for a major renovation of the shelter. As word of the group's efforts spread throughout the community, so did the financial and moral support of the private citizens and local businesses. By November 2001, PINS volunteers and supporters had transformed the once neglected, disease ridden dog pound into a functional, clean and healthy animal shelter where residents can recover lost pets or adopt new ones. It took hundreds of hours of volunteer labor and $55,000 of donated funds and materials for the shelter to become a respectable facility for Meade County residents.
As the organization grew, its mission expanded. In 2006, PINS members began working with local county officials to create a comprehensive, enforceable animal care and control ordinance that would establish minimum acceptable standards of care for all animals in Meade County, and prescribe harsh penalties for animal cruelty, neglect or abuse. The ordinance was passed in April 2007.
The Meade County Chamber of Commerce recognized the hard work of PINS by awarding it the Meade County Chamber of Commerce 2008 Community Achievement Award, on April 2, 2008. The award was presented by the guest of honor, Kentucky Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo to PINS representatives, President Liz Bell and vice president, Jennifer Marshall. This award is presented annually in recognition of exceptional volunteer service to the life and welfare of the community.
In July of 2009 Orscheln Home & Farm Store offered PINS the opportunity to show Meade County Shelter animals in the store for adoption. Member and Animal Rescue and Transporter Connie Mullins sprang to the call. She quickly organized transport and volunteers to show and adopt animals at Orscheln. Her efforts resulted in the adoption of over 150 animals in just 6 months.
PINS has become one of the largest nonprofit organizations in Meade County. PINS goal is simple – increase public awareness of animal welfare issues in our communities and reduce the number of unwanted animals entering our local animal shelter. This is being accomplished through an aggressive spay/neuter assistance program coupled with a very effective humane education program. To this end, PINS works closely with the Meade County Veterinary Service and the Midway Veterinary Clinic to provide funds for low cost spays and neuters of dogs and cats. PINS also has an active education program. It utilizes this program to reach out to the community and teach responsible pet ownership and pet care. The programs are demonstrated in the local schools and various community events. Some of these events include the annual Pet festival with blessing of the animals, farm and home safety day, elementary classroom presentations, and Public Library Story time. We will present our message whenever and wherever we are invited to include 4H groups, classrooms, civic organizations, festivals, and TV and radio programs. We are the human voices for the animals in Meade County.
2010 Review
2010 was our 11th year as an organization. With the decline in the economy, money has been tight and charities have been asked to do more with less. In 2010 PINS has not been alone in this struggle. We have spent 7K more on our programs than we have taken in. Yes we went in the hole/over spent/lost 7K. We started 2010 with 30K in the bank and ended 2010 with 23K. 2011 will be a challenging year for PINS. Programs may need to be changed and new fundraisers, grants, or maybe even new programs investigated. Let us move into 2011 with an open mind and willingness to meet these challenges with fresh ideas.
Spay Neuter Program
The 2010 PINS Spay Neuter Program was unchanged from 2009. PINS provided to Meade County residents vouchers of $25 for a cat and $40 for a dog towards spaying or neutering of their pet. The program also issued vouchers to anyone who adopted an animal from the Meade County Animal Shelter for the full cost of a spay or neuter of the adopted animal. The vouchers were only redeemable at the two local veterinaries, Midway Veterinary Clinic and Meade County Veterinary Hospital.
In 2010 PINS provided funding for 603 animals at a cost of over $26K paid to local veterinaries. This is the second year we have exceeded our goal of assisting over 600 animals. See the report below.
Shelter Support
PINS could not be as effective as they are without the help of the county animal control officer, Tom Brady, and his assistant, Jasper Hardesty. These two men work hard and offer the animals the best living conditions possible. They keep the kennel comfortable and clean, always having the animals ready to be shown to their potential new owners. Over the years, PINS has assisted the animal control office by painting and sprucing up the shelter, to include adding a beautiful mural on the inside walls.
In 2010 PINS held a Shelter Open House. Organized by Connie Mullins, this event allowed the public to enjoy a free lunch, tour the shelter, talk with PINS members and meet the Animal Control Officer and Assistant. The event was attend by over 75 people resulted in the adoption of 6 animals and increase the public awareness of the shelter.
Humane Education
Each year PINS presents a Dog Bite Prevention class to all Meade County 5th Graders during the School’s annual Safety Days. Pat Bowen as in the past years provided this year’s instruction and the values of having your pet fixed to prevent unwanted litters.
Adoption Days
In July of 2009 Orscheln Home & Farm Store offered PINS the opportunity to show Meade County Shelter animals in the store for adoption. Member and Animal Rescue and Transporter Connie Mullins sprang to the call. She quickly organized transport and volunteers to show and adopt animals at Orscheln.
In 2010 Connie’s efforts resulted in the adoption of over 200 animals from the Meade County Animal Shelter.
Fundraising and Events
As mentioned in the beginning of this article, PINS paid over $26,000 to have Meade County dogs and cats spayed or neutered. As PINS is a registered nonprofit organization, all expenses must be raised by the members. To meet the cost of maintaining the PINS programs, many hours are spent by the members preparing for and working at local fund raisers. We have an annual bowling tournament at Lynn’s Pins. The spring and fall yard sales help with our fundraising and we collect items all year for this. Thanks to our members and supporters donating items, PINS earns about $1,000 at each yard sale. A simple way to help PINS all year long is to drop your loose change into one of our collection boxes (a miniature dog house) at 12 various local businesses. Small things add up! Of course, our biggest fund raiser is the annual wreath festival at the courthouse which begins the first Sunday after Thanksgiving. This festival, with its generous business and individual sponsors, earns around $5,000 annually. As you can see, PINS must work very hard to meet the budget each year.
This year we added new fundraisers to help meet the growing demand for our services. Dairy Queen Fundraisers were done twice in 2010 raising over $300 and several new members joined us. Doe Run Inn Fundraiser held every Thursday in October 2010 raised $212 (10% of buffet sales) while enjoying a great Pasta Buffet.
Twice this year President David Kitson was on the local radio station, WMMG 93.5FM Edgewise Program, to promote spay neuter, current fundraising events and allowed listeners to call in with questions.
Officers and Volunteers
Officers for 2010 were President David Kitson, Vice-president vacant, Secretary Pat Bowen & Liz Bell and Treasurer Ellen Allgor. Board of Directors were Deb Sobel, Leslie Humphrey and Don Frenzl. Membership was tracked by Katie Beck and Humane Education was done by Pat Bowen. One other volunteer, but most important position is that of the person who returns the calls on our PINS phone line, Doris Reesor. She returns more than 100 inquires each month and issues the spay and neuter vouchers.
Fortunately, we have an eager group of elected volunteers ready to lead the Pets In Need Society in 2011. Newly elected officers are President David Kitson and Vice-president Duane Cooper, Secretary Liz Bell will keep the minutes, and Mary Beck will post the treasurer books. In addition, board members will be Deb Sobel, Leslie Humphrey and Don Frenzl.
Membership and Meetings
PINS currently has over 100 animal loving, motivated and energetic volunteers. Meetings are held the 4th Monday of every month at Home Plate Restaurant, Brandenburg, KY 40108. Meetings start promptly at 7 pm. Many members come around 6:30 and have supper prior to the meeting. We encourage all members of PINS to attend the meetings, and invite the community to come out and see what we are all about. Dues are only $10 a year, $5 for junior members, and $25 for a business member. Memberships expire in March and if you join now, your membership will be good until March of 2012. Join us and help make a difference in Meade County. For more information, email us President@petsinneedsociety.org, visit our website www.petsinneedsociety.org or call the PINS information line at 270-422-3838.