Shelter Report to Board of Directors February 2010
Staff: Kathy Brainard walked off the job January 28,2010. On January 29th she turned in her key and signed the documentation of her resignation. Reason for leaving: Inability to support the mission of PHS.
Amanda Blethen has been hired as a member of the cleaning staff. She is a resident of Potsdam and has been volunteering on a regular basis for the past year. Recommendation to Personnel Committee and Board- Employ Amanda as a part-time cleaner & part-time receptionist at minimum wage/35-40 hours per week.
Interns:Alysia Wells (SUNY Canton) and Jessica Slapar (SUNY Potsdam) are interning in order to fulfill requirements for Bachelor’s degrees in Veterinary Management and Biology, respectively. Their duties encompass all aspects of general shelter operations and management.
Clarkson Work Study:Students returning this semester are Michaella Farese and Keenan Gillard. New to the program is Ryan Hogan. Michaella is a fantastic with customer service, adoption counseling and general office assistance. Keenan specializes in adoption counseling and behavioral modification and Ryan has become the new king of the play yard, assists with temperament testing and is proving to be quite handy at building & equipment maintainence. Two additional students may be joining the program in the next month.
Community Outreach:
Public School Projects:Morganne Wheeler(Honors student at St. Lawrence Univ) is working with an BOCES special needs class from Potsdam Central School. They visit the shelter every Wednesday morning for an hour. Activities include art projects promoting adoptable dogs 7 cats, visiting with the animals, learning about animal body language & animal care.
Potsdam Central School K-Kids will be visiting the shelter Feb. 15th,18th & 19th as part of their community service.
Hospice of St. Lawrence Valley: Betsy Kelly, a grief counselor, and I have met to explore the possibility of PHS teaming up with HSLV in order to provide services to hospice clients with pets.
St. Lawrence Co. Chamber of Commerce’s March 23rd “Spotlight” Event: I will be making a short PHS promotional presentation to approximatly 80-90 chamber members from around the county.
Donation: Charles McDermott and an associate from C&S Companies of Syracuse stopped by the shelter on the 10th of this month to present us with a check for $500.00. This donation was the result of a promotional survey conducted by C&S Cos. On behalf of the Potsdam Airport.