Greyhound Friends of N.C. Inc.

MINUTES FOR GFNC BOARD MEETING – JULY 25, 2010

BOARD MEMBERS PRESENT –

Dan Griffin, Karen Kemp, Sandy Lucas, Andreas Moser, Bonnie Searles, Rick Montgomery, Bruce Lee, Linda Landry, Shirley Skelton, Barbara Brooks, Christina Newsome

STAFF MEMBERS AND GUESTS PRESENT –

None – this was a closed meeting.

SPECIAL INVITEES PRESENT –

Christine Liga, Janice Opalinski

ABSENT –

Randy Barrow

NOTE: Alisha Navarro and Lory Hartman both resigned from the GFNC Board of Directors prior to this meeting.

WELCOME –

Opening remarks were directed toward the election/re-election of board members. The following board members were re-elected: Karen Kemp, Sandy Lucas, Rick Montgomery, Shirley Skelton, Bruce Lee, Bonnie Searles, Barbara Brooks, Andreas Moser, Linda Landry, Christina Newsome, and Randy Barrow. The following new members were elected to the board: Christine Liga, Janice Opalinski, Amy Reynard (nominated by Rick Montgomery) and Desta Hudgens (also nominated by Rick Montgomery).

ELECTION OF OFFICERS –

The board of directors unanimously elected the following officers: President – Karen Kemp (unopposed as Bruce Lee rescinded his candidacy), Vice President – Andreas Moser (unopposed), Treasurer – Sandy Lucas, and Secretary – Janice Opalinski.

GFNC ORGANIZATIONAL EVALUATION REPORT –

Andreas Moser made a presentation of his study to analyze the GFNC organization. As the board addresses the number of issues cited in the study, agreed-upon improvements and proposals will be shared with the Staff and Volunteers.

The main objectives of this study are to improve relationships between the board, the staff, and the volunteers as well as to improve operations and efficiency and reduce expenditures. Success in these matters will serve to make GFNC a better organization overall. Andreas used the following methods to gather information for his conclusions: interview the staff, interview several volunteers, interview the board of directors, and on-site visits to the kennel to observe operations.

The results of volunteer feedback indicate we need to focus on the following improvements: training (general duties, adoption counseling, and medical care of the dogs), communications (procedures to be used at the kennel, who the board of directors consists of and what they do), interpersonal skills and teamwork, and the reduction of gossip.

Feedback from the staff included the following: generally happy with the board although they think the board should visit the kennel more often; expressed desire to get help with Volunteer Coordination; would like improvements in office furniture, climate control (in the old office), and several building and grounds issues.

Feedback from/about the board yielded the following: all are very passionate about the organization; improvements needed in communications from the Executive Committee; more involvement is needed from more board members; change/new ideas are difficult to get support; the board needs to get more resources for fundraising and grant writing.

The report suggested immediate efforts should be directed to: help the staff become a stronger team and more efficient; provide written operational procedures to the staff and volunteers, and; investigate cost saving measures throughout kennel operations.

Beyond the immediate timeframe, the following issues should be targeted: provide better information about Greyhounds to new adopters; increase and improve communications using new social media tools to promote our cause and increase GFNC’s presence both inside and outside the organization; streamline the use and communication of medications given to the dogs; improve sales of Boutique items (rearrange the office area and look into offering new products and designs).

The report’s conclusion proposed the following: the staff should report to either the President or Vice President and give them one source of direction; the board should develop teams to work on tasks and projects; the President and Vice President should work together to improve communications to other board members and all of GFNC; the board should meet every three (3) months for the near future to discuss and continue work on these issues, and; the board members should use a wide variety of communications to participate in board activities (including meetings even if they cannot attend in person).

DISCUSSION AFTER THE REPORT PRESENTATION –

License Plates – after 2+ years of trying to promote the Greyhound License Plate concept to reach the needed number of commitments to apply with the state, we are still far short of the required 300 (about 70 people have committed thus far). There was discussion to abandon this effort and potentially offer donors their money back (or make a donation to the kennel). Rick Montgomery asked that we give this effort one last “push” since we now have more talent on the board to promote it. A deadline of 12/1/2010 was established to decide the fate of this project. It was mentioned that Project Racing Home had been contacted in the past about this project because the license plate is directed at Greyhound Adoption in general and not specifically GFNC.

GFNC Sign on Oak Ridge Road – Efforts to create a new entrance sign for the kennel have already begun. Linda Montgomery is heading up this project. A new design has been selected, and it should be available in the near future.

Using Facebook for the Dogs – someone mentioned that we might use Facebook to promote the dogs for adoption; it was noted that Billie Mann updates our Facebook link.

Adoption Appeals Team – Barbara Brooks discussed the need to establish an Adoption Appeals Team to avoid situations such as the one with the Greyhound Silk where one person (the President) overruled the adoption counselors and allowed the placement. It was decided that the following persons would be involved with these issues in the future: Bonnie Searles, Bruce Lee, and Shirley Skelton; in addition, Barbara Brooks and Rick Montgomery will be involved if the adoption issue affects a satellite group. Any communications/letters by potential adopters would be directed to this committee for resolution.

Communications – One of the issues highlighted in Andreas’ evaluation of GFNC was the need for improved communications. It was suggested and agreed upon that Andreas will work with the staff to prepare and distribute a weekly update of the kennel operations to include new dogs received, dogs that have gone home, medications to be disbursed and when and by whom they should be done, dogs needing veterinary care, etc.

Enforcing Muzzle Policy at the Kennel – The muzzle policy was revisited, and it was noted that the staff, many volunteers, and many visitors still do not muzzle their dogs. Safety and liability issues were again discussed, and it was decided to reinforce this policy with the staff who will be asked to require volunteers and visitors to muzzle their dogs. Signs will be posted on the grounds, and male and female “GFNC Guest” muzzles will be made available for use if needed.

First Aid Training for Dogs Wanted – The need for volunteers to get first aid training for the dogs was discussed. Barbara Brooks mentioned that the Red Cross does this type of training, and they may be available to make group presentations. This possibility will be investigated further.

Procedures Manuals – Chris Liga will work with Leah Cales and the staff to prepare at least two sets of procedure manuals for easy reference for kennel operations and adoption procedures.

Website Update – Linda Landry updated the status of the redesigned website. She showed the board the new look and functionality of it and advised that it should be ready to launch in a few weeks.

SATELLITE REPORTS –

No formal reports were presented by either Rick Montgomery or Barbara Brooks regarding satellite activity.

OTHER MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS –

It was suggested that the board meet with the staff and volunteers twice a year.

Rick Montgomery will work on fundraising efforts along with Amy Reynard and Desta Hudgens. He indicated that they might be better suited to this because they are not local and are not tied to the daily activities at the kennel.

Barbara Brooks mentioned that Ducky might be able to provide new designs for tee shirts and other items.

Shirley Skelton and Denise Young are looking into making collars on their own to provide more variety to the ones we currently stock.

Requests for grants will be directed to Chris Liga.

Bonnie Searles asked that board meetings have an agenda and stick to it. She also asked that all abide by decisions made by the board.

The next board meeting will be held in November 2010.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:00 PM.