NBHA General Meeting

Municipal Building, Hermann Rd. North Brunswick

July 15, 2014 7:30PM

MEETING CALL TO ORDER;  7:40PM – Vince Sheehan

ATTENDEES: Michele Andrea, Sanjay & Bhuvana Bharadnaj, Connie Hambel, Juday Kosiar, Sharon Weinstein-Canavan, Sandra Erickson, Linda Sheehan, Erica Bundy, Eileen King, Annemarie Walters, MaryAnn S, Carol Paszamante, Jay Soloway, Vince Sheehan, Diana Sichta, Susan Keller, Donna Hildreth.

TREASURER’S REPORT: Read and Approved – Dan Smith

MINUTES:Read and approved

EDUCATIONAL PRESENTATION: Diana spoke about Disaster Preparedness for pets. Discussion included hurricane, fire and other disasters. First Aid Kits and other preparations were discussed, as well as resources for you and your pets. It was also noted that J&J has First Aid Kits for sale.

MONTHLY UPDATES AND REPORTS:

Donation Cans & Food Drive – Sandra

New cans were ordered and available now. If you know a store or area business who could keep our donation cans in the location, please let Sandra know! Food Drive- Fed 21 Cats, and 8 Dogs for the month!

CCAT, TNR, Draft Mission/Statement: – Donna

Feedback has been very positive. The target area is in place and lots of kittens have been placed, thanks to Katies Pet Depot and New Beginnings. The program always needs helpers. If you are available, please let Donna know!

Full report is available. – Donna

TNR Training – Cancelled. Will be rescheduled at a later date, TBA.

Cat Food Drive – Michele

July 12, at Stop & Shop. The event was a success. 171 cans of food and 186 lb. of dry food were collected. Sandy and Tucker were a big hit.

Membership Report/Telosa -Cheryl

Memberships are increasing.  Email blasts must be sent to Cheryl or Diana with text.  Please try to send them a week in advance of the event.  Please spread the word about NBHA. LIKE us on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter @ NBHA_NJ

Annual Dinner – Dinner Team

The dinner has been rescheduled until next year. Planning will continue and the news for the event will be announced at a later date.

Finance Report –Sharon

Sharon stressed the importance of staying on point for budget. All committees must stay within the budget. Over-budget spending is unacceptable and must be approved. Budget amounts should be planned at original request.

Milltown Parade – Sharon

The Milltown 4th of July Parade was a great way to introduce ourselves to the community! Dog biscuits and candy were handed out and the participants were very positively received! Partnering with a dog adoption group, in the future, in order for the organization to be recognized was discussed.

Twitter – Join us and TWEET!

Mr Subs – Donna

July 23 from 4-8 – $88 received for the sale event. Mr. Subs would like to host the sale every 3rd Week of the month. Flyers are available. Please share them, if you can. Stop by and have a sub!

Discount Cards- Susan

Total cards sold 138 for a profit of $755. Cards will be available at Road Runner

EVENTS AND NEW BUSINESS

Dog Walk – Michele/Dan

Sponsors were contacted and announced. Currently have 6 Sponsors and 12 vendors from Email alone. Jay is doing the PR. Sandy is working on the web site. August 1 is sponsor deadline. Trifolds are available with registration and will be distributed. Michele would like the dogwalk promoted on Facebook and regular EBlasts. At this time, the team is working on scheduling events and activities. Rutgers Grease truck will be the food vendor. Arrangements are being made. Lawn signs have been ordered and will be available for distribution. A list of locations where the trifolds will be distributed will be available. North Brunswick Mayor has been invited. Tim O’Brian from Good Time Music will be the DJ. Scout groups and youth groups are encouraged to participate! A sign up sheet will be available in August! Please publicize this event widely!

Cat Adoption at Road Runner -Jay.

Road Runner Sports, 501 Shoppes Blvd. North Brunswick, will host a Cat Adoption on July 19 from 1-4.  Refreshments will be provided and gift bags will be distributed.  Please email Jay at JNMuttley2@aol.com if you are able to volunteer.

Volunteer Guidlines and By-Laws – Jay

Jay will meet with committee members to discuss by-laws and volunteer Guidelines in the near future.

Bowling Event – Jay, Cheryl

Date has been set for September 27. More details to follow. The possibility of forming an NBHA league will be discussed in the future.

Dog Walk – Michele, Dan

The Dog Walk will be held on October 5.  The permit was approved.  The budget is $2000. Motion for tote bags instead of T-Shirts for the event was approved.  How to encourage sponsors will be discussed. One suggestion was a “Sponsor Board”. Monthly

updates, and more details to follow.

Feral Cat Day-Shelters, Training -Donna

Feral Cat Day is October 16.  Donna suggested to start a project with youth group, key club, or scouts to construct community cat shelters sometime in August or September.

Contact Info – Diana, Hilary

Please share your contact information as well as your skills, interests, and any suggestions for calendar events with Diana.  Hilary will create a list, as well as a calendar.

OTHER DISCUSSIONS

SNAP-Budget Approved

Michele requested information about any vet or organization that might donate wheelchairs for dogs.  If anyone has information, please share at or before our next meeting.

MEETING ADJOURNED:  9:35PM

Please remember to leave the room the way we found it! Thanks.

IMPORTANT: At NO time should any member speak on behalf of the NBHA in any formal or informal capacity without the prior knowledge and approval of the NBHA Board. This includes any town council meetings, other public forums, media representatives, clubs or organizations, etc.