MINUTES
NBHA General Meeting
February 8, 2016
Municipal Building, Hermann Rd. North Brunswick
CALL TO ORDER
Cheryl Vitow- 7:30PM
ATTENDEES
Chery Vitow, Judy Kosier, Connie Hambel, Leslie Earle, Michele Andrea, Lisa Coletta, Susan Keller, Linda Sheehan, Vincent Sheehan, Carol Pazamont, Barbara Bagileo, Jocelyn Caffrey, Beth Meichenbaum, Nicol Gumbas (SP?), Jay Soloway, Jackie G. Minder, Erica Bundy, George Costa, Donna Hildreth, Dan Smith
REPORTS:
Treasurer Report for Month of January:
Revenue $1495.37; Expenses $1032.15; full report is available upon request.
Food Bank Program:
Sandra Erickson will no longer be handling the Food Bank. We thank her for her service. Sandy dropped off food donations at Cheryl’s. We are looking to find someone to manage the food program and for volunteers to pick up food at the drop off sites – Katie’s Pet Depot, Magyar Bank (cat food only), Stop & Shop, and Shoprite. Currently, Michele Andrea picks up food at Magyar Savings Bank. Leslie Earle will pick up at Shoprite. Vince Sheehan will let us know when food can be picked up at Katie’s Pet Depot. We need people to pick up at Stop & Shop. We are looking into possibilities of donating food to a local food bank. We do not have a current list of recipients for the food bank, but we will be developing one.
Donation Cans:
We are in process of taking inventory of all donation cans. We will be taking stock of which cans do best and decide future placement.
Community Cat Program:
Since the inception of the CCP in 2013, we have helped 520. In 2016, we helped 263 cats. We continue to conduct TNR training with People for Animals, and collect cat food for distribution to community cat caretakers. We also installed shelters at the Pilot Project and other areas. Full reports were distributed and read at the meeting. Full report is available upon request.
50 Feral Fix – NBHA is collaborating with HarnessLife.org and People for Animals to fix 50 community cats on Monday, February 22 at the People for Animals Robbinsville clinic.
The CCP received 3 grants in 2015: $1000 from the Meryl & Christopher Lewis Foundation in honor of Jane Castoro; $100 from HarnessLife.org for TNR. In January 2016, The Garden State Cat Club donated $300 for the NBHA CCP to build and distribute winter shelters, which will be distributed this year.
Super Cat Adoption Day:
Lisa Coletta reported that we will not be doing a Super Cat Adoption Day in 2016. NBHA will be spending time rebuilding this and other programs. When we first started SCAD, we were the only group doing this. Now there are several groups conducting this. We also need to put together a marketing and public relations plan beyond the immediate Brunswick area. We hope to be back with an even better SCAD in 2017.
Spay Neuter Assistance Program:
Each year, NBHA distributes $1,000 to 10 rescues and shelters for spay/neuter. The funding year for SNAP begins in August. Since August 2015, we have fixed 30 dogs and 83 cats. Updates will be provided monthly.
Membership:
We welcome Leslie Earle as the chair of our Membership Committee. Basic membership if $10.00. Membership is, along with attendance requirements, must be current to vote.
Public Relations:
Erica Bundy has agreed to help out with public relations; however, because of her busy schedule, she will need help. We need to build contacts with the press. We also need to develop a comprehensive public relations and marketing strategy. We discussed the possibility of reaching out to corporations to see if any of their marketing and PR staff would be interesting in donating time to NBHA as part of community service hours.
By Laws : The by-laws are still being revised. An updated version will be circulated at the March meeting, and a special meeting will be scheduled for discussion and voting.
OTHER BUSINESS:
Annual Report: Cheryl is working on the annual report. Program organizers are submitting information.
Website Update: Dan Smith will be updating the website. Sandra Erickson will no longer be updating the page. We thank her for her service. Leslie Earle is working on a revision for our website.
CURRENT EVENTS:
Comedy Night Update: Michele Andrea reported that we have 24 sponsors for our Comedy for a Cause Fundraiser on March 6. Tickets are available online at www.NorthBrunswickHumane.org, at Katie’s Pet Depot. For more information, call Michele at 732 713 3532. Tickets are $40 each and include dinner and a show. Ticket sales have been slow. Flyers were given out for distribution at point of sale in businesses.
NBHA Rummage Sale & Flea Market: Dan Smith will be organizing the flea market. The date set is Saturday, May 14. A $700 budget was approved. We will need to purchase some storage space.
NBHA Annual Dog Walkathon: Michele Andrea announced that the dates for the dog walk are Sunday, October 2 (a rain date has been set for Sunday October 16.)
DINE TO DONATE & FUNDRAISERS:
Fiddleheads Fundraiser – $133 Thank you, Fiddleheads!
Pampered Chef – $64
Thank you, Leslie Earle, for organizing these two fundraisers.
NEW BUSINESS:
Edison Shelter – The Edison Shelter had put out a call for cat food. However, it was noted that they posted that they received enough donations. NBHA continues to encourage its members and supporters to donate food and supplies to their local shelter.
COMMITTEES:
HAPPY 13TH ANNIVERSARY: This meeting marked NBHA’s 13th Anniversary. Michele Andrea brought a beautiful and tasty cake to celebrate the occasion. On this occasion, we commit ourselves to rebuilding, reorganizing and strengthening all our programs, developing committees, and building membership. By the end of 2016, we hope the following committees will be fully implemented.
Education Committee – Education is an important part of our mission. Vince Sheehan and Diana Sichta are organizing presentations, hopefully at the North Brunswick Library.
Program Committee – We would like to develop a committee that will examine programs that NBHA can promote and conduct.
Historian – We need to resume documenting our history and growth.
Public Relations Committee
Membership Committee: Leslie Earle will chair.
Fundraising Committee:
Thank you, Michele Andrea, for the delicious and beautiful anniversary cake!
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business the meeting was adjourned. Our next General Meeting will be on
Monday, March 14 at 7:00 PM at the Municipal Building.