Rotary hosts Debra Sutter as guest speaker
Meeting was called to Order by President Steve Hayes with the Pledge of Allegiance. Gwendy Garner offered the Prayer.
President Hayes introduced his guest, Dr. Joe Molnar. Dr. Molnar is originally from West County in St. Louis. He spent 10 years in the Quad cities. He was particularly interested in our speaker from the Randolph County Humane Society, as he has served on the Board of Directors of the Humane Society in the past.
Vickie Geisen passed out information on the Little Black Dress event, sponsored by the Randolph County Herald Tribune on Saturday, July 28th, at the V.F.W.
Linda Sympson announced that on Wednesday, September 12th there will be a "Meet the Candidates" at the American Legion. There will be County candidates as well as Illinois Senators and Representatives who will have a Question and Answer Session with voters. Have a concern? Bring your questions and get them answered by those who represent your vote in Congress.
Bob Welker announced that he can get 12 jars of diabetic jelly for $24 to donate to the Chester Area Christian Food Pantry as was discussed at the last two Rotary meetings. Everyone agreed.
The speaker was Debra Sutter, Vice-President of the Randolph County Humane Society in Sparta, Illinois.
"Saving Lives One by One"
The Mission of the Randolph County Humane Society is to make a difference in the lives of animals and in the community.
We seek a truly humane society in which animals are respected for their learning ability and value, and where the human-animal bond is strengthened and seen. With everyone's help we continue to save lives one by one."
The Board of Directors of the Randolph County Humane Society hold a monthly meeting. There are 5 Board members. There are approximately 10 volunteers. Debra and President Heidi volunteer approximately 1500 hours a year each. There is also an Event Planner to help raise funds through events during the year. Upcoming events are: Barn Dance, Trivia Night, and their biggest fundraiser - their annual yard sale held the last weekend of September. There is one paid employee who cleans at the shelter and works about 20 hours a week.
Animals arrive at the shelter via County Animal Control as well as Sparta, Chester, and Red Bud.
Currently there are 17 dogs at the shelter.
Randolph County Humane Society is a no-kill facility. They are a 501c non-profit organization. The only time they put down an animal is if the animal cannot be handled by the staff.
The Randolph County Humane Society works with other organizations, such as Pet-Smart, to adopt the pets to families. Last week, 11 cats and 7 dogs were adopted through these other businesses.
Transports are made two ways:
1) Vehicle transports are made every Tuesday to other facilities
2) Air Transports are done by a couple who own an airplane. This couple donates the plane, fuel, and their time to transport animals to other facilities too far to drive to
Debra informed us of the difficulty when an animal is neglected, dumped, or abused. She told us there have been more animal abandonments with the bad economy.
Debra, Heidi, and volunteer staff work diligently and compassionately to help find a home for each animal through pet stores as well as online connections and other agencies.
Randolph County Humane Society has been hit hard by the economy. Debra stated that currently it takes approximately $4,800 a month to keep the facility open. They are operated by donations only. They receive no city, county, or federal funds.
All animals are treated by local veterinarians, who discount the medications and services, to update all the animal shots such as: heartworm, feline leukemia, rabies, and flea treatments. They are also fixed and micro-chipped.
When asked about abused animals, Debra stated the Randolph County Humane Society cannot remove the animal. Removal is done by city and county animal control officers and placed with Randolph County Humane Society. Once they are removed by officials, the shelter can care for the animal.
When asked whether the different municipalities reimburse them for animals they turn over to Randolph County Humane Society Debra stated, "No. We receive no reimbursements from cities or the county that brings animals to our facility".
The compassion and love that Debra, Heidi, the veterinarians, and the volunteer staff show for the animals is a true asset to our county. Please consider supporting the Randolph County Humane Society by giving of your time or financial resources.
Other actions:
Alan Kaisor made a Motion and Gwendy Garner seconded for Rotary to donate $50 to Randolph County Humane Society. Motion passed unanimously.
The weekly drawing was won by Bertha Mae Blechle who was present.