HUMANE SOCIETY CHANGING; MORE BUSINESSLIKE OPERATION SOUGHT

The Humane Society of Southeast Missouri has a new administrator and a new direction, said the president of its board of directors, Larry Tidd.

The board hopes the restructuring will create a more businesslike operation of the Humane Society, he said. The change follows months of struggling to keep the animal shelter's doors open.

Nancy Richards has begun work as administrator of the agency, a newly designed position.

Tidd said: "We are starting to turn the corner. Nancy is working very hard to organize things and standardize our procedures and our basic business operations. That is a large step for us.

"We're basically setting up for kind of a reorganization and redefinition of job functions," said Tidd. "This is a very positive step.

"The administrative position we have put in is a little broader stroke," he said. "She's got to know the animal portion, but she also has to have a business sense,

IP0,0deal with public and help assist in awareness programs and outreach programs."

IP1,0In the past, he said, the shelter manager basically ran the shelter, took care of animals and scheduled workers.

"In the new organizational chart, we will at some point end up with another person who will be the animal care supervisor," Tidd said.

He said another position will be created for fund raising and outreach.

Tidd said the new positions have not been filled and may not be for several months.

"We're going to have to grow into that financially," Tidd said.

"The Humane Society has always operated on a shoestring budget," he said. "We are trying to stabilize financially to the point we know we are not going to go out of business."

Over the past few years, the agency was often spending more money than it took in. But the agency turned the funding corner when local governments began contributing to the operation of the shelter.

"We've been working for some time with area governments like Scott City, Perryville, Cape Girardeau, Jackson the various towns and communities that utilize the service of the shelters," Tidd said.

"Those organizations have recognized that the Humane Society shelter is providing a service, and then decided to provide some support."

Work is still continuing with the area governments to establish a schedule for donations, Tidd said.

"This is an ongoing thing," Tidd said. "It's gradually been getting better through steady efforts."

Charlotte Craig, Humane Society board of directors vice president, said, "We have begun to stabilize financially but we're not out of the woods yet."

"It was a calculated risk to hire an administrator and not a shelter manager," said Craig. "And it will probably take us a year to start getting what we want to do. But we really want to begin operating the shelter more like a business."

Tidd said: "We are trying to become more like a business at the shelter. I think we're at a point now that we're headed that way. The changes we have planned will enable us to reach out and help make more people aware of the shelter and what it does for the area."

The new administrator, Richards, said: "Right now for me it's a learning process. In the past I have run a business, but this is my first experience with animals, except those I've raised. We're trying to get a handle on the paper work and the adoption process."

Richards said one of her top priorities is upgrading the image of the Humane Society. "Right from the start, we are working to keep the shelter a lot cleaner," she said.

"I also want to incorporate a more businesslike atmosphere at the shelter," Richards said. "Even the title administrator is a step up from manager."

She said the shelter needs to be renovated, the reception area improved and staff needs to be hired to provide better service to people going to the shelter looking for a pet.

"That all comes with more money," she said. So additional and more systematic fund raising is a goal.