GPA Houston Monthly Membership Meeting Minutes.pdf · GPA Houston Monthly Membership Meeting Sunday, October 22, 2017 The Noble Center 1:00 PM MEETING MINUTES Attendees: Arden Tucker

GPA Houston Monthly Membership Meeting Sunday, October 22, 2017

The Noble Center 1:00 PM

MEETING MINUTES Attendees: Arden Tucker Pat Freytag Mark Brooks Jennifer Winters Julie Caprette Chris Ford Sherrie Kent Marlane Bernardo (via Facetime)

Guests: Sandy Herman Jeff Tucker Nancy Brooks Jessica Ford Sharry MacLaren Bev Points Missy Parton Sarah Parton Megan Rice Antero David Marin Jennifer Marin Brent Winters John Kruizenga Francis Kruizenga

Meeting Commenced: 1:10 pm Welcome – Arden welcomed the many new guests to the meeting Meeting Minutes: Last meeting minutes not available. Officer Elections: Nominations for President: Arden Tucker was nominated by Marlane Bernardo, to continue as president for the next 3 years. Due to only 1 nomination, vote taken by membership. Almost unanimous acceptance. One sole dissent was by Jeff Tucker. Motion carried. Nomination for Secretary/VP: Pat Freytag was nominated by Sherrie Kent to serve for the next 3 year period. Due to only 1 nomination, vote taken by membership. Unanimous acceptance. Nomination for Treasurer: Sherri Clark was nominated by Sharri MacLaren, to serve for the next 3 year period. Due to only 1 nomination, vote taken by membership. Unanimous acceptance. Congratulations to the new executive board of GPAH. Treasurer’s Report: September 2017 – Net Income for the month is negative due to high expenses. Revenue was received from Individual donations, corporate donations, 2018 dues and merchandise sales

Expenses

• Expenses beyond normal monthly items included:

• Copier Maintenance fee will be reimbursed as copier is dead. Will not be using their copier anymore, to be replaced. Chris Ford researching new copier.

• Medical costs: Higher due to bringing in more dogs. Dogs

• Now have 26 dogs in program

• 2 dogs still need spay/neuter

• 1 dog in isolation: Roger Dodger. Marlane Bernardo volunteered to sponsor his heart worm treatment.

• Currently 21 dogs in kennel

• Adoptions Total: 44 to date this year (2016 total was 42) Adoptions, Applications

• 23 applicants pending

• 7 of them are probably non-viable

• 5 need cat friendly EVENTS/FUNDRAISING

• 2018 Membership Drive: Sharry MacLaren reported that the printing of letters and envelopes is complete and notices will be going out this next week. Estimate is that there will be between 300-400 reminders. Discovered that the old PO Box was still on the database and several notices. Zach will need to correct all these.

• Woof Gang Bakery has invited GPAH to participate in their Howl-O-ween Pawty on October 28. GPAH can be either inside or outside the store. Hours are 11-2. Mark Brooks checked out the venue and commented it was a “PRIMO” venue.

• Facebook Auction: Is scheduled for November 5th to November 12. Sherri Clark is chair coordinator, has completed the photos and is working on getting it set up. Posting of the auction will go on the Facebook and newsletter.

• Golf Tournament: George Beutell is researching where this event can be held. Wanting a course more north side of Houston area. Depending on the facility, we will still be required to provide 2 meals during the day (lunch and dinner). It was discussed to return it to the fall time frame. Several reasons given were competition from competing companies ie: Boy/Girl Scouts, Hurricane Harvey damage, and others. We will really need to push to get new sponsors for this event. Will get flyer made for all to start passing out once a firm place/date have been determined.

• LuLaRoe Fundraiser: Jennifer Winters will be holding a fundraiser where portion of all sales during this period will be donated to GPAH. LuLaRoe will match all funds going to GPAH. Dates for the fundraiser will be 10/30 to 11/05.

• WoofTrax? Not on website for info

• Santa Photos: Mark Brooks. The date is set for getting family/dog holiday photos. December 3 from 1-3 pm. This will coincide with a holiday open house. Photographer will put photos on a thumb drive for folks to take home and do with them as they wish.

Jennifer Winters moved to adjourn and Chris Ford seconded the motion. Approved. Adjourned 2:30 pm

GPA Houston Monthly Membership Meeting Sunday, July 23, 2017

The Noble Center 1:00 p.m.

MEETING MINUTES

Attendees: Guests: Arden Tucker Jessica Ford Pat Freytag Brent Winters Jennifer Winters Julie Caprette Mark Brooks Sharry MacLaren Kathy Henry Sherri Clark Chris Ford Sherrie Kent Meeting Commenced: 1:05 pm

Welcome - Arden welcomed Sherrie Kent as the newest member of the GPAH Board of Directors Question before main agenda – is the dog flu still around and a problem for events

• 1 confirmed case at the dog show

• Vets are still seeing cases come in Meeting Minutes – June Minutes

• Printed copies of the minutes were passed out for review during the meeting

Mark moved to approve the minutes and Chris seconded the motion. Approved Treasurer’s Report – April 2017 - Net Income for the month is positive

• Income o Corporate donation from John Dalton Racing o Received donations for the Greyt Wellness Fund and the General Fund including

a large donation of $14,300 from Gillman Subaru Southwest’s “Share the Love” event

o Additional revenue was received from adoption fees, 2017 dues and merchandise sales

• Expenses o Expenses beyond normal monthly items included:

▪ Higher than normal payroll costs including cost for 2 office managers (Lisa and Jessica overlap) during training period and cost for maintenance work due to suspected spider issue

▪ Payroll tax higher than normal because of extra payroll (see above) and $1900 that IRS says was owed for October-December 2016. CPA is looking into this.

▪ Costs for collars that was later reimbursed

May 2017 - Net Income for the month is negative

• Income o Corporate donations from Amazon Smile, John Dalton Racing, and Amazon.com o Received donations for the Greyt Wellness Fund and the General Fund o Additional revenue was received from adoption fees, 2017 dues and

merchandise sales


▪ Cost of building the outdoor shed (later donated back with additional company matching)

▪ Office supply cost for vacuum cleaner that was later reimbursed ▪ Boarding costs while treating for suspected spider problem

June 2017 - Net Income for the month is negative

• Income o Corporate donations from Tesoro Foundation and Lularoe o Received donations for the Greyt Wellness Fund and the General Fund o Additional revenue was received from adoption fees, 2017 dues and

merchandise sales


▪ Costs for Spring Auction site ▪ Payroll was high because of 3 pay periods during the month and extra

kennel help (Sarah and Rikki overlap) Questions about suspected spider bites and treatments. Vet figured out that the likely cause of the tissue damage in our dogs was a reaction to the Babesia treatment injection, not spider bites. Sherrie Kent moved to approve the treasurer’s reports and Mark seconded. Approved. Finance & Investment Reports – 1st Q 2017 Kenny prepared a variance report comparing 1st Q 2017 to 1st Q 2016, 1st Q 2017 to 4th Q 2016, and 1st Q 2017 to 2016 Average

.

• 1st Q 2017 to 1st Q 2016 o 1st Q 2017 has positive net income while 1st Q 2016 is negative. This difference

is primarily due to the timing of the December matching fund drive – whether funds were deposited in December or January.

o Medical expenses were higher in 2016 because more new dogs came into the program at that time.

• 1st Q 2017 to 4th Q 2016 o 1st Q 2017 has positive net income while 4th Q 2016 is negative. o Increased payroll cost and payroll tax due to injury of kennel master and the

need to hire additional personnel to care for dogs especially before/during move.

• 1st Q 2017 to 2016 Average o 1st Q 2017 has positive net income while 2016 Average is negative. o Corporate donations were lower in 1st Q 2017 o Timing of the December matching fund drive is another large difference –

whether funds were deposited in December or January. o Increased payroll cost and payroll tax due to the injury to the kennel master and

the need to hire additional personnel to care for the dogs.

2nd Q 2017 Kenny prepared a variance report comparing 2nd Q 2017 to 2nd Q 2016, 2nd Q 2017 to 1st Q 2017, and 6-months ending 6/3017 vs. 6-months ending 6/30/2016

• 2nd Q 2017 to 2nd Q 2016 o Both time periods have negative net income but 2017 is larger. o Payroll is a large part of the difference due to injury to kennel master and

additional kennel help plus overlapping job timing. o Another major difference is that medical expenses were higher in 2017 because

more new dogs came into the program at that time.

• 2nd Q 2017 to 1st Q 2017 o 2nd Q 2017 has negative net income while 1st Q 2017 is positive. o More private donations in 1st Q 2017 from December matching fund – offset

somewhat by large donation from Subaru “Share the Love” event received in 2nd Q 2017.

o Medical expenses are higher in the 2nd Q 2017 due to more dogs in the program. o Primary difference is increased payroll cost and payroll tax due to having two

employees for office manager during training period, additional kennel help to work on spider problem and other kennel issues, and extra pay period during June.

• 6-months ending 6/3017 vs. 6-months ending 6/30/2016 o Both periods have negative net income; however, 2017 YTD is less negative. o Corporate donations were higher in 2016 period. o Private donations were much higher in 2017 due to timing on December

matching fund (deposited in December vs. January) and a larger check from Subaru “Share the Love” event.

o Medical expenses are higher in 2017 due to more dogs in the program. o Increased payroll cost and payroll tax in 2017 due to the injury to the kennel

master and the need to hire additional personnel to care for the dogs. Dogs

Dog Status

• 27 dogs in the program.

• 7 dogs are available

• 1 dog with adoption pending

• 2 dogs are in foster-with-intent (Minerva and Murphy)

• Zayden is in foster but there is a possibility of adoption

• 8 dogs are in the middle of the vetting process.

• 9 dogs are permanent fosters

• We need more dogs and have the space in the kennel

• Discussed how many additional dogs we would be able to take

Adoptions, Applications

• 33 adoptions so far in 2017 plus 2 foster-with-intent and 1 foster with potential for adoption.

• 17 applications at this time o 7 applicants are members wanting another greyhound and 3 of these

currently have fosters/foster-with-intent. o 3 are approved but waiting on cat/kid friendly or prior pet o 7 are in process - needing either first office visit, home visit or references.

Events / Fundraising

April Murphy Painting Party

• Will be held August 13th from 10-2

• Cost is $99 and April will donate $50 back to GPAH

• We will also receive prints to use in our auctions. Microchip Status

• The microchips have arrived o Our portal has been set up and we are learning how to input the data o Brent Winters will implant the microchips – Thursday or Friday are the

best days for him to volunteer to come to the kennel Fecal testing and Microscope Donation

• GPAH received a wonderful donation of a microscope from Dr. Derrick (Glenwood Falls). A huge thank you to Dr. Derrick and to Brent Winters who works with Dr. Derrick and arranged for the donation.

• Sandy has already sent a thank-you note to Dr. Derrick from GPAH

• We will be able to start testing our dogs (especially for hookworms) at the kennel instead of paying $35 per test at the vet.

o Jennifer Winters has been trained to use the microscope and to identify specific worms. She will train other kennel/office personnel and Brent will be available for consultation on questionable cases.

o This periodic testing should help with our persistent hookworm issue and identify dogs that need additional treatments

o We will set up a site for photos of the fecal results to visually track whether a dog is improving

Pre/Post Adoption Hookworm Protocol

• Discussed what GPAH’s policy should be regarding recent adoptions of dogs that were hookworm positive at adoption time. These adoptions were prior to our understanding of how persistent the hookworm problem was.

• At least 6 adopters (probably more were affected) notified us that their dog tested positive for hookworms during their initial vet visits.

• If GPAH is notified about a hookworm problem in a recently adopted dog: o Offer to give a donation receipt for the amount spent at vet on treatment o GPAH will pay for the treatment if asked to do so

• Policy going forward will be to give any remaining treatments of Advantix Multi to the adopter. Also we will include an addendum to the contract listing the new hookworm treatment protocol that we are following at the kennel.

Hookworm Treatment for GPAH Yards

• Discussed whether or not there were any treatments to get the hookworms out of the soil in our play yards

o Jenn and Brent Winters are trying a natural product on their yard to see if it will eliminate the hookworms. It requires several treatments so they will monitor it and report back as to the effectiveness of the treatment.

o Discussed the cost of the treatments and whether we might be able to get a discount for a rescue group.

o Since we are continuing to get dogs in that are very likely infected with hookworms, how will that effect the yards if we elect to treat them.

o How to we determine in the yards are actually infected with hookworms o Agreed to table until next month

Advantix Multi Costs

• We are currently paying $1000 for 72 treatments. o Product is only available from a vet o Dr. Wall is selling it to us at his cost

• Discussed a possible fundraiser for purchasing this similar to what we have done for dental chews, etc.

Vet Appointments – Discussed how we are using our free and discounted vettings

• Dr. Lowenstein at Braescroft has free vettings remaining and we use them for male neuters (not cryptorchids). They charge $50 for lab work. Arden and Mark can help with transport.

• Dr. Baird has totally free vettings remaining – males only (not cryptorchids). Kim Harrison can help with these.

• We currently have 5 females to spay. Dr. Wall gives a discount – total costs for spay are $750 - $800.

Dog Flu

• Dog flu is still around so our storefronts at places where other dogs are present will continue to be canceled. We will reevaluate periodically.

• Discussed venues where we could have storefronts without potential risk to our greyhounds i.e. Subaru and Orvis. Maybe No Label Brewery.

New Merchandise for Sale

• We have new decals for our gift shop plus numerous items acquired by Sherrie Kent through her travels to greyhound events around the country.

Landscaping Budget

• Sharry MacLaren has generously offered to take care of landscaping around the Noble Center

• Funds will be needed to pay for the plants. Sharry can purchase plants during sales but needs to know how much to spend.

• Sherri Clark moved to budget $250 for landscaping. Mark Brooks seconded the motion. Approved.

Sherri moved to adjourn and Arden seconded the motion. Approved. Adjourned at 3:07

GPA Houston Monthly Membership Meeting Sunday, June 25, 2017


MEETING MINUTES

Attendees: Guests: Arden Tucker Jessica Ford Pat Freytag Jennifer Winters (phone) Mark Brooks Marlane Bernardo (Facetime) Joe Bernardo (Facetime) Kathy Henry Sherri Clark Chris Ford Meeting Commenced: 1:17 pm

Treasurer’s Report – Not available at this time Welcome to Chris Ford – Arden welcomed Chris Ford as the newest member of the GPAH Board of Directors Finance & Investment Report –2016 vs. 2015 - Kenny prepared a variance report comparing Year-End 2016 to Year-End 2015.

• Revenue - 2016 significantly low to 2015 o Only a portion of the December matching fund was in the account by year-end o GPAH did not hold a big fundraiser in 2016

• Expenses o Salary expense was higher primarily because of the injury to the kennel master

and the need to hire additional personnel to care for the dogs o Vet expenses were lower because not as many dogs came through the program

• Discussion about why our accounts were earning such low interest rates. Checking into whether the money in the savings accounts could be shifted to other investments earning at least the1% interest rate offered at other banking institutions.

• Discussed using the building fund to pay for the rental expense at the Noble Center

• Discussion about when we will have a copy of the lease for the Noble Center for the board to review

Meeting Minutes – April Minutes

• Printed copies of the minutes were passed out for review during the meeting and sent by email to Marlane and Joe and Jennifer

Mark moved to approve the minutes and Pat seconded the motion. Approved pending sign-off by Joe Bernardo of discussion about minimum operating account balance

Dogs Dog Status


• 9 dogs are available

• 2 dogs have pending adoptions

• 7 dogs are in the middle of the vetting process.

• 9 dogs are permanent fosters

• John Dalton was scheduled to bring in more dogs but had to make a trip to Ireland and the transport is delayed

• Discussed bringing in dogs from the CTW kennel – more of their dogs seem to be cat and small dog friendly

• Mark offered to transport dogs if needed

Hookworm Problems/Protocol

• We are still having a problem with hookworms in the kennel dogs and with newly adopted dogs. Many of the dogs coming in from the Florida tracks have hookworms.

• At the kennel the dogs get Strongid dewormer every two weeks

• Dr. Wall researched and suggested using Advantix Multi heartworm preventative treatment (also treats for intestinal parasites) for 3 months along with the Strongid treatments. GALT is also using Advantix Multi as they too are getting in dogs from Florida.

• Discussed whether or not there were any treatments to get the hookworms out of the soil in our play yards

• Arden asked if we were paying for the treatments for new adopters who found out their dogs had hookworms. Discussed several options:

o Should GPAH notify new adopters about the potential problem and offer to pay for treatment

o Should GPAH offer to pay if notified by the new adopter about the problem or offer a charitable deduction receipt for the amount they spent on the treatment

o Should GPAH not be responsible for costs related to hookworm treatments on newly adopted dogs

o Agreed that GPAH should pay if notified or offer to give tax receipt. No decision on whether or not GPAH should be proactive in notifying new adopters about the problem and offering to pay.

Vet Appointments – Discussed how we are using our free and discounted vettings

• Washington Heights - does not have any spaces for free vettings for two months

• Highway 6 – surgeon is out of town

• Dr. Young – will be able to use Dr. Huddleston’s clinic to do surgery for GPAH once he is back from Canada

• Sunset – are they giving free vettings or discount only

• Check into using all our free vettings that we can before going to discounted only. Which vet costs are the lowest considering regular price and percent discount?

Adoptions, Applications

• 28 adoptions so far in 2017 plus 3 that are in process of adopting

• 18 applications at this time o Three of the applicants are in the process of adopting/FWI o One appointment canceled yesterday that would have been an adoption o Most applicants need cat or small dog friendly or at least apartment safe


Spring On-Line Auction – Recap

• Do not have final numbers available today but we made about $3500

• Shipping was donated Dog Flu

• Decision has been made to cancel our booth at the Houston Dog Show because of the risk of our pets contracting canine influenza

• We will also cancel events that are held at pet stores or other venues where the virus has a higher potential of spreading

• Plan is to cancel the events for the rest of the summer or until more is known about the spread of the virus

• We will put a notice in the newsletter about cancellations, listing symptoms, and information about the vaccines ( 2 shots)

Lularoe Pop-Up Party Recap

• GPAH got a $277 donation

• 12-18 people attended

• Sandy provided very nice refreshments Microchip Status

• Home Again has been bad about getting back to us with information

• Petlink has been much more responsive and we will proceed with using their service

o Several options with choices of number of chips (25-125) and number of universal scanners (1 or 2). Cost ranges from $9 to $16 /chip

o We will have our own portal o GPAH will be the guardian so we will always receive notices about the

dog o Lifetime registration o No transfer fee o Have been in business since at least 2008 – even if they don’t stay in

business we would be able to register on a free site o Stuebner Airline recommended them

• Arden made recommendation to begin chipping, Sherri seconded the motion. Approved

• Question about whether we will allow our vet tech volunteer to microchip pets belonging to our members. Pat will research liability issues

Tag Bags

• Marlane will get with Sandy and do more research about options

• Gritty came in with a silicone rubber tag holder that prevents the tags from jingling. Arden will research price of these.

Instagram

• We now have our Instagram account

• Add link to newsletter, YouTube, Facebook

Sherri moved to adjourn and Mark seconded the motion. Approved. Adjourned at 2:27

GPA Houston Monthly Membership Meeting Sunday, April 23, 2017


MEETING MINUTES

Attendees: Guests: Arden Tucker Sherrie Kent Pat Freytag Sandy Herman Jennifer Winters Jessica Ford Mark Brooks Chris Ford Marlane Bernardo (phone) Holly Ford Joe Bernardo (phone) Brent Winters Kathy Henry Julie Caprette Sherri Clark Meeting Commenced: 1:03 pm

Treasurer’s Report – February 2017 - Net Income for the month is positive

• Income o Corporate donations from Amazon Smile, John Dalton Racing, Chevron and

Amazon.com o Received donations for the Greyt Wellness Fund and the General Fund including

significant amounts from the year-end matching funds o Additional revenue was received from adoption fees, 2017 dues and

merchandise sales o There was a question about Amigo’s adoption fees being only $60 by credit card

but his adoption was paid by cash and credit card so full payment was received


▪ Higher than normal costs for kennel supplies – still finding items we need for new kennel setup

▪ Annual fee for E-grey newsletter ▪ Our last AT&T billing

March 2017 - Net Income for the month is negative

• Income o Corporate donations from Phillips 66, Chevron, Safeway (Randall’s) and Williams

Co. o Received donations for the General Fund o Additional revenue was received from adoption fees, 2017 dues and

merchandise sales.

• Expenses – normal monthly expenses Mark moved to approve the treasurer’s reports and Arden seconded the motion. Approved. Joe brought up having a minimum account balance required (~3 months operating expenses). If the account drops below that amount, the board must decide whether to start a fundraising campaign, evaluate curtailing costs, change the amount required, or possibly disband the organization. Pat will look at what 3 months operating costs will be and we will discuss again.

Meeting Minutes – February and March Minutes

• Printed copies of the minutes were passed out for review during the meeting Jennifer moved to approve the minutes and Mark seconded the motion. Approved Dogs

Dog Status


• Four dogs are coming in next week

• Three dogs have pending adoptions – Kruse, Jelly and Marcello.

• Recently small dog tested and several dogs passed (Jedi, Aviator, Sweetheart, and Lucky) so we will be able to start placing them with applicants who have been waiting.

• We will add a new image symbol to our website for dogs testing OK with smaller dogs >20#

• Jelly needs a dental before adoption is finalized.

Current Adoptions, Applications

• 15 adoptions so far in 2017 plus 3 that are in process of adopting

• 15 applications at this time o Three of the applicant are in the process of adopting o Five are current members o Nine need cat or small dog friendly or at least apartment safe


Spring On-Line Auction – Currently running (April 17th – 24th)

• Current bid total is at $1770 with 56 active bidders

• Discussed places to put auction notices and information to get more bidders.

• Talked about how to get unique items that will sell better in our auctions. Sherrie Kent is going to attend the NGA event soon and will look at merchandise and talk to vendors.

Houston Dog Shows – July 19-23

• Mark volunteered to set up and take down the booth

• We do not have any volunteers signed up yet to work the shifts in the booth

• May newsletter will include a “save-the-date” for the dog show

Microchipping/Lepto Vaccines

• Information on recommendations and procedures for microchipping and leptospirosis vaccines was collected from some of our main veterinary providers and from other greyhound adoption groups then sent out to board members by email. More than a majority of board members voted to add microchipping and leptospirosis vaccines to the services we provide for our dogs.

• Microchipping o Two options on purchases of microchips

▪ Option 1 – chips only ▪ Option 2 – chips and registration

o We will go with Option 2 and order the package with 50 chips to start (pricing for 25-350 chips per year is $14.99/chip). Technology changes so we decided not to order additional chips at this time.

o Discussed having a member who is a vet tech insert the chips or having them placed at the vet. Considered whether or not there is any liability for the member if they are doing the procedure as a member of GPA, not as an employee of a veterinary hospital. Brent Winters volunteered to do the microchipping for GPAH.

• Leptospirosis Vaccines o Discussed the protocols used by the vets who recommended the vaccine. o Our dogs will be receiving the vaccine at Animal Clinic of the Woodlands

(our main GPA vet). o Their procedure is to give Benadryl, then give the leptospirosis shot in the

morning, then the dog should be watched for the rest of the day for signs of reaction to the vaccine such as localized swelling at the site or more seriously, anaphylaxis. The booster vaccine will be given at the appropriate later date.

o GPAH office will check our vet records to see if any of the current dogs already had the lepto shot as part of their earlier vaccines. If they have not and do not have a pending adoption (the dogs need to be with us long enough to have the vaccine and the booster), we will vaccinate them.

Adoption Fees

• Sandy Herman provided a summary of what other adoption groups are charging for application fees, adoption fees and what services they provide prior to adoption

• Based on Sandy’s research and the additional vaccine and microchipping that we will be doing, the board voted to increase the adoption fee to $300 for a dog under 8 years old and $175 for a senior over 8. This is in addition to the application fee of $25.

• The new fees will go into effect for applications received after May 1, 2017

• During her research Sandy also found information from the adoption group’s websites on “Anesthesia Protocol for Greyhounds”, “Children and Greyhounds”, and “Your New Greyhound: A Quick Start Guide”.

o The executive committee and adoption committee will review these to see if we want to try to get permission to use them in:

▪ Adoption packets ▪ First office visit folders ▪ On our website

Office Manager/ Kennel and Office Staff Meeting

• Jessica Ford has accepted the position of office manager and has started her training

• She will officially take over for Lisa on May 19th.

• The kennel and office staff will meet once a week on Tuesday morning.

Lularoe Pop-Up Party

• Sunday May 21st from 3-5pm

• Lisa Monterrosa and Jennifer Winters will host the event at the Noble Center

• A large inventory of clothing will be available for purchase

• A set $/piece of clothing will be donated to GPAH and Lularoe will match the amount donated

Tag Bags

• Marlane Bernardo offered to sponsor a project to provide tag bags to adopters – she would donate the first $200 worth of bags to be given to adopters at the time of adoption

• We are finding that some adopters do not keep tags on their dogs at all times even though it is a stipulation in the contract

• One of the reasons they give for not keeping the tags on is that the tags are noisy – tag bags alleviate that issue

• Discussed some of the potential issues of using the tag bags o whether or not it creates the potential for catching on something and

choking the dog, especially when crating o how many tags will fit in the bag

• Discussed recommending flat “Boomerang” tags instead for adopters who do not like the jingle of tags

• Also talked about having more “tag collars” available for purchase in our gift shop

• Sandy and Marlane will do more research on the options

Jennifer moved to adjourn and Mark seconded the motion. Approved. Adjourned at 2:39

GPA Houston Monthly Membership Meeting Sunday, March 26, 2017


MEETING MINUTES

Attendees: Guests: Arden Tucker Sherrie Kent Pat Freytag Sharry MacLaren Jennifer Winters Jessica Ford Mark Brooks Chris Ford Marlane Bernardo (phone) Sherri Clark Meeting Commenced: 1:02 pm

Treasurer’s Report – Not available Meeting Minutes – February Minutes – not available Dogs

Dog Status

• 29 dogs in the program. 9 of these are Permanent Fosters including newly arrived Rosehill; 13 dogs are in the process of evaluation and vetting.

• Kruse has been returned due to an upcoming move to England and he is being fostered with intent.

• Elias has been returned after being adopted yesterday. Adopters were afraid of him because of growling.

• Sonoma’s gums are inflamed and she is now on antibiotics. Her teeth will need to be brushed more often if possible. When she had her dental, the vet said she already had some bone loss even though her teeth were solid. Any potential adopter needs to be willing to take special care of her teeth.

• Jelly is in a foster home and doing well with separation anxiety training.


• 12 adoptions so far in 2017 but 1 was returned so now 11 adoptions

• 2 foster-with-intent and 2 pending adoption if dog is cat friendly (Sherri will foster Lucky after spay to cat test)

• 15 applications at this time o A few prior adopters waiting on the right dog to fit with their current animal

situation. o Others are in process


Spring On-Line Auction – April 17th – 24th

• 135 items have been at least partially loaded. Approximately 100 are complete.

• Sherrie is having an issue with the software accepting special characters i.e. quotation marks in the titles. Recommended simplifying the task by removing them for this auction.

• Once items are loaded, they will need to be renumbered to spread items throughout the auction rather than lumping them by category. Mark offered that Nancy would be willing to help with the renumbering.

Subaru Share the Love

• The check presentation will be on April 6th at 2pm at the dealership

• Most of the regular monthly storefront volunteers will be attending with their greyhounds plus Pat and Mark.

• We will be receiving about $14,300, almost double what was donated last year.

• Arden will notify Sonya Denisuk, who was instrumental in getting this storefront started about the large donation.

• We discussed ideas of a thank-you gift for Subaru. Arden will contact April Murphy to see if she can modify one of her prints to include Subaru logos etc.

• We will include the notice about the event and donation in the May newsletter following the check presentation.

New Parking Lot Signs

• GPAH received official Greyhound Parking signs for our front parking lot courtesy of member Addie Viel.

Pets in the Park – Kingwood Recap

• It was a long day but a good one with lots of interest in the dogs.

• GPAH was approached about having a storefront at Pet Ranch in Kingwood o We would need a coordinator for this o Will put a notice in the next newsletter to see if there is anyone willing to

be in charge of this Microchipping

• Discussed adding microchipping to our GPAH protocol o Arden reported that Brave Bully Rescue uses a service called Found

Animals to register their dogs. The dogs stay with BBR as the primary owner but the adopter can also register with them. Their service is free and can be used with a service like Home Alone.

o Microchip technology has improved dramatically in recent years and universal scanners now allow almost all chips to be read by any scanner

o GPAH had problems in the past with Home Alone not giving out the information needed to contact the owners.

o We need to find out who is responsible for the paperwork required to register the dogs. Many vets file this when the chips are implanted; but we need to find out about yearly registration and if it is needed.

• We will contact different vets and other adoption organizations to find out more information. Once the information has been gathered, the board will vote on whether or not to microchip our dogs.

• If we decide to microchip, we may need to pass on those fees by charging a higher adoption fee – maybe $300.

• We will investigate what fees other groups are charging

Leptospirosis Vaccines

• Jennifer asked GPAH to consider vaccinating our dogs for Leptospirosis o Concern not just for the dogs in the kennel but also the humans who are

working with the dogs as Lepto can spread to humans. o Feels there is more potential for contact with Lepto infected animals being

in a more wooded/rural area than when we were in the Galleria.

• Discussed a lot of pros and cons about vaccinating, but there appears to be a great deal of disagreement within our group and even among vets as to the importance and safety of the vaccines.

• Determined that we do not know enough about the current vaccine, vaccine protocols, prevalence of the disease in our area, and the need to vaccinate.

• We will contact some of our primary GPAH and personal veterinarians, other greyhound groups (GALT/Fast K9’s), TGA/NGA, and John Dalton to get more information about their policies and recommendations.

• Arden will compile the information once we have talked to the various parties and the board will vote.

Houston Dog Shows – July

• Marlane offered to be the volunteer coordinator for the dog show again this year if we did not have someone locally willing to do the job. Since no one from Houston has offered to be in charge, Marlane will coordinate from New Hampshire.

Office Manager Position

• Lisa Monterrosa will be moving to Colorado and we will need to find a new office manager for GPAH.

• The job opening will be listed in the next newsletter along with a job description.

Crafting Group

• GPAH now has a crafting group that is currently making note cards with greyhound themes out of recycled facial tissue boxes.

• Samples of the cards were passed around.

• We will be selling these in the office gift shop, online gift shop, and in auctions.

• They have already had a request for sympathy cards.

• They can use additional tissue boxes, especially in pastel colors.

Jennifer moved to adjourn and Arden seconded the motion. Approved.

GPA Houston Monthly Membership Meeting Sunday, February 26, 2017


MEETING MINUTES

Attendees: Guests: Arden Tucker Sherrie Kent Pat Freytag Julie Caprette Jennifer Winters Jessica Ford Mark Brooks Chris Ford Kathy Henry Sherri Clark Meeting Commenced: 1:09 pm

Treasurer’s Report – January 2017 - Net Income for the month is negative

• Income o Corporate donations from Chevron and Amazon.com. o Received donations for the Greyt Wellness Fund and the General Fund. o Additional revenue was received from adoption fees, 2017 dues and

merchandise sales. o Note: December Matching Funds were posted in February


▪ Higher than normal costs for kennel supplies – hardware for new kennel ▪ Protatek fees were higher because of 10 new dogs

Mark moved to approve the treasurer’s reports and Sherri seconded the motion. Approved. Meeting Minutes – January Minutes

• Minutes were sent out prior to the meeting and also reviewed during the meeting Jennifer moved to approve the minutes and Mark seconded the motion. Approved Dogs

Dog Status

• 28 dogs in the program. 9 of these are Permanent Fosters, 6 are available and the others are in the process of evaluation and vetting.

• Many of the new dogs have hookworms. We are starting a new protocol of giving Strongid every other Monday. All new dogs will receive a dose upon arrival.

• Farley was adopted this week.

• Hugo is now adoption pending.

• Abby and Party Girl both are in heat so spays will be delayed. Party Girl also has giardia and hookworms.

• Jelly has been returned due to separation anxiety and eliminating in the house. He was being crated for 12 hours a day. His corns need work.


• 5 adoptions so far in 2017

• 22 applications at this time o 5 prior adopters o Some applicants are very excited and being a bit too persistent in wanting

a dog now. o We finally have some cat and small dog friendly greyhounds so we can

start working through our list of applicants that have been waiting. Events / Fundraising

Noble Center Open House Recap

• Over 150 people attended

• Kennel tours were a hit. Everyone wanted to see the new space (and see the new dogs).

• Very successful event. Everyone who attended was complimentary and happy for GPAH.

Spring On-Line Auction

• The event will be held beginning 9am April 17 and ending 9pm April 24th. We are using a different company this year called biddingowl.com

• Sherrie has loaded 44 items so far and has 18 more ready to go. Each item must be loaded separately so it is time consuming. Sherrie is trying to determine if there is any easier way.

• Discussed having a maximum number of about 100 items for this first time.

Subaru Share the Love

• We will receive the check from Subaru next month but we do not know the amount.

Vet Experience by Member

• One of our members reported a poor experience with a vet that is on the GPAH recommended vet list. The member was given the name of another GPAH vet in their area and are very pleased with the second vet.

• GPAH receives free spay/neuter and dental services from the first vet and has not had any issues.

• The vet will stay on the GPAH recommended list and new adopters living in that part of town will be given names of additional vets near them.

Pets in the Park – Kingwood – March 11th

• This event was Kingwood Barkfest where we have a had a booth in prior years.

• It will be on the same day as our monthly Old Town Spring meet and greet that Mark coordinates.

• Mark will coordinate the Kingwood event and try to find someone to fill-in for him on OTS or cancel OTS for this month.

Texas A&M Vet School Open House – April 1st

• Kathy will not be able to chair the event this year

• March 10th is the deadline for deciding if we will participate this year. If we do not have a coordinator by then, we will cancel for 2017.

Social Media

• Jessica Ford brought up using Instagram to promote our kennel dogs. Pictures and videos will bring more attention to us and let people get to know the dogs better than just one photo on our website. Jessica will get us set up with a fan page and take photos while working at the kennel.

• The new GPA Houston Member Forum on Facebook will be featured in the March newsletter.

Bath Brigade

• The first bath brigade at the Noble Center will take place on March 18th starting at 10am.

• Missy Parton and Jessica Ford will be the coordinators.

• People wanting to participate will need to contact Missy ahead of time. They will need to sign a waiver, go through orientation, and children must be at least 13 years old and accompanied by their parent or legal guardian.

• Dogs will be bathed, brushed, have ears cleaned, teeth brushed and walked on leash

• We plan on making this a monthly event and then try to organize regular volunteer Saturdays without the baths.

Sherri moved to adjourn and Arden seconded the motion. Approved.

GPA Houston Monthly Membership Meeting Sunday, January 22, 2017


MEETING MINUTES

Attendees: Guests: Arden Tucker Jeff Tucker Pat Freytag Sherrie Kent Jennifer Winters Lisa Monterrosa Kathy Henry Jessica Ford Sherri Clark Chris Ford Mark Brooks Nancy Brooks Marlane Bernardo (phone) Joe Bernardo (phone) Kim Harrison Meeting Commenced: 1:12 pm – 1st Board Meeting held at the Noble Center

Treasurer’s Report – Three months of financials October 2016 - Net Income for the month is negative

Income o Corporate donations from Chevron, Kroger and Amazon.com. o Received donations for the Greyt Wellness Fund and the General Fund. o Additional revenue was received from adoption fees, 2017 dues and

merchandise sales.

Expenses o Expenses beyond normal monthly items included:

Higher than normal costs for kennel drugs because of the move Boarding costs paid to Best Friends – needed more than our allotted

space at their kennel Costs paid to GALT for transportation of 4 dogs we received from Florida Higher employee costs due to extra people needed during kennel

master’s surgery and recovery period

November 2016 - Net Income for the month is negative

Income o Corporate donations from Amazon Smile, Thermofisher, Hale Pet Door, NGA,

Amazon.com, and Safeway (Randall’s). o Received donations for the Greyt Wellness Fund and for the General Fund. o Additional revenue was received from adoption fees, 2017 dues and

merchandise sales.


Higher tax preparation fee - new CPA Workman’s Comp fees for kennel master injury Boarding costs paid to Best Friends – needed more than our allotted

space at their kennel Higher employee costs due to extra people needed during kennel

master’s surgery and recovery period

December 2016 - Net Income for the month is positive

Income o Corporate donations from Shell, John Dalton Racing, Chevron, Lubrizol

Foundation, iGive, Kroger Share Program and Amazon.com. o Received donations for the December matching fund drive, and for the General

Fund. o Additional revenue was received from adoption fees and merchandise sales.


Office supplies including stationery and other items with new address Event supplies – magnets etc. New kennel beds Higher employee costs due to extra people needed during kennel

master’s surgery and recovery period (new kennel and volunteers are helping lower this number)

Mark moved to approve the treasurer’s reports and Arden seconded the motion. Approved. Meeting Minutes – October Minutes

Minutes were reviewed during the meeting Mark moved to approve the minutes and Jennifer seconded the motion. Approved Dogs

Dog Status

26 dogs in the program. Four are available and the others are in the process of evaluation and vetting.

Many of the new dogs have Babesia and hookworms.

Dino and Jack have finished their Babesia treatments. Gumdrop and Amigo will get their first Babesia shots in the upcoming week.

Greta was adopted yesterday

Stray dog, Whitney, is in a Waco shelter. On hold until February 12th. Will know more about this situation later.

Hope to get our Saturday volunteer program started again soon and monthly bath brigades


45 adoptions to date in 2016

2 adoptions so far in 2017

24 applications at this time o 5 prior adopters o 11 approved waiting on the right dog o Others are in process – not all need small dog or cat friendly so they may

be able to take some of our higher prey drive dogs that have been with us for a long time.


Noble Center Open House

Many people have signed up to attend.

Many people have volunteered to help o Sherrie Kent is overall coordinator of the event.

o Sandy Herman - food o Nancy Brooks - decorations o Jennifer Winters – kennel tours – tours will be scheduled every 15

minutes o Sherri Clark – guest book and welcome table o Mark Brooks – greeting and directions

Raffle o Raffle for large screen TV – separate tickets o Raffle for baskets

Liquor basket Coffee basket Dog basket

Kathy Henry has 4 totes of collars that she would like to bring to sell at the event. GPA will get all funds above the $8 that Kathy paid for the collars. She will price them at $15 “Party Special”. She also has older collars that she will donate to GPA – probably sell for $10. We will figure out where to set up a table for her and details on the donations.

Boarding at the Noble Center

Boarding is probably about a year away.

We need to get the kennel operations running smoothly before taking on boarding

Run For the Racers Recap

Lisa Davila finished the Houston Marathon, meeting her goals and raising $1600 - $1700 for GPA Houston through Facebook pledges. Her friends and family also donated money that she will send on to us.

December Matching Funds Program

Very successful program with over $24,000 donated in December. $20,000 will be matched by an anonymous donor.

Subaru Share the Love Event

The event has ended; but we will not know the amount GPAH will receive for another month or two.

Vet Runs for Spay/Neuter

A lot of discussion about how to use the free spay/neuter/dental donations we receive from vets who are now a long distance from the kennel.

o Some members might be able to transport o Some may be able to foster overnight or longer o Need to have a list of which vets offer free services

Lisa Monterrosa will compile a list of vets with free vettings and coordinate with members who can transport/foster at those vets

Sherri moved to adjourn and Mark seconded the motion. Approved.

GPA Houston Monthly Membership Meeting / Annual Meeting Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Tracy Gee Community Center 6:30 p.m.

MEETING MINUTES

Attendees: Proxies held for: Arden Tucker Kim Harrison Jennifer Winters Sherri Clark Pat Freytag Kathy Henry Marlane Bernardo (phone) Ken Freedman Mark Brooks Meeting Commenced: 6:41 pm

Treasurer’s Report – September financials approved – Mark 1st motion, Arden, 2nd.

Notable costs:

Tax Preparation of Form 990

Event Supplies – giveaways for advertising

Transportation mileage reimbursement to volunteers for help in transporting dogs

Reimbursement of overpayment for Golf Tournament

AT&T expense was for two months Kenny requested financials for July & August so he could do quarterly analysis. Meeting Minutes – Minutes from September approved. Mark 1st motion, Jennifer 2nd. Officer Term Extensions – Pat requested a vote to extend the current officers’ terms for one year due to the upcoming changes with the move. Mark 1st motion; Marlane, 2nd. Officers agreed and extension was approved. Dogs

Dog Status

26 dogs in the program, 10 of whom are permanent fosters. Will not be taking in any new dogs until after the move

Pending adoption for Cubby; Boo in Foster with Intent

Lady Bug’s spay will be last for 2016 in preparation for move



25 applicants - not all are viable o So many applicants need cat, small dog or child friendly dogs; we do not have the right

dogs for them at this time. Events / Fundraising

Golf Tournament cancelled in September due to lack of players and sponsors; believe the economy especially in the oil & gas industry played a large part in not being able to get the support that we’ve had in the past. Will entertain having tournament in 2017 if conditions improve.

Office & kennel move scheduled for week of November 14th.

November 1st newsletter will announce move and thank Best Friends for years of support Adjourned at 7:30 pm

Mark moved to adjourn and Jennifer seconded the motion. Approved.

GPA Houston Monthly Membership Meeting Tuesday, September 20, 2016 Tracy Gee Community Center

6:30 p.m.

MEETING MINUTES

Attendees: Guests: Arden Tucker Les Loushin Pat Freytag Joe Bernardo (phone) Mark Brooks Jim Shofstahl (phone) Kenny Freedman Jennifer Winters Kathy Henry Marlane Bernardo (phone) Sherri Clark Meeting Commenced: 6:30 pm

Report on National Annual Meeting – held September 17 in Austin, TX GPA National President, Jim Shofstahl, and our representative, Joe Bernardo, gave a report on the annual meeting.

Executive Secretary election – Lisa Paulson

Next year Vice-President and Treasurer offices will be up for election

Attendance o 16 Chapters had representatives attend the meeting o 14 Chapters were represented through proxy votes

Update on new Chapter Development Committee

Marlane Bernardo will be a new member of the Finance Committee

There are two new sub-chapters o GPA Senior Sanctuary of Delaware o GPA Volusia County Transport (Daytona) – Resolution for a decision on 6/1/17

about Volusia County becoming a full chapter not a sub-chapter

Bylaws – haven’t received a lot of feedback yet. Hope to get it sent to the Directors soon. The bylaws are a thin document on top then everything else is work instructions. Hope to have bylaws approved by the 2017 annual meeting

Next year’s meeting will be September 22-24 in Minneapolis.

Resolutions at the meeting o Move National Meeting to every 2-3 years – Tabled – Feedback that it is nice to

have connections with other chapters every year o Bring back the rule that chapters cannot be within 50 miles of each other except

Transport Adoption Senior Sanctuary

Monthly newsletter – need to make sure officers of GPAH are receiving it. They are now using Google Groups. Trying to move things to a Cloud based system.

New Compliance Officer is Rory Goree.

Treasurer’s Report – Reports for June, July, and August 2016 June 2016 - Net Income for the month is negative

Income o Corporate donations from WoofTrax, Chevron, Amazon.com, and Kroger Share

Program. o Received donations for the General Fund and the Greyt Wellness Fund o Additional revenue was received from adoption fees, 2016 dues and

merchandise sales.


Additional booth at dog show Annual contract for copier maintenance Boarding – paying for additional kennel space at Best Friends when

GPAH space is full. Annual liability insurance premium Higher vet bills – surgery for Vergil’s tail amputation

July 2016 - Net Income for the month is positive

Income o Corporate donations from Chevron and Amazon.com. o Received donations for the Greyt Wellness Fund and for the General Fund. o Additional revenue was received from adoption fees, 2016 dues and

merchandise sales.


Annual insurance premiums for Auto and Worker’s Comp August 2016 - Net Income for the month is positive

Income o Corporate donations from Amazon Smile, Chevron, Amazon.com and Safeway

(Randall’s). o Received donations for the General Fund and the Greyt Wellness Fund including

donations from the Ducky Dunk fundraiser and partial donations from the Spring Auction.

o Additional revenue was received from adoption fees, 2016 dues and merchandise sales.


Auction shipping charges (billed out to winning bidders). Tax preparation fee (CPA became ill and another CPA had to take over

the account) GPA National annual membership dues (dependent upon how many dogs

are adopted out). Mark moved to approve the treasurer’s reports and Arden seconded the motion. Approved.

Finance & Investment Report – 2nd Q 2016 - Kenny prepared a variance report comparing 2nd Q 2016 to 2nd Q 2015, 2nd Q 2016 to 1st Q 2016, and 2016 YTD to 2015 1st 6 month actual. A lot of the variance in this analysis is due to the timing of the receipt of December matching funds

2nd Q 2016 to 2nd Q 2015 o Overall net income is very similar.

2nd Q 2016 to 1st Q 2016 o 2nd Q 2016 and 1st Q 2016 both have negative net income but 2nd Q 2016 is less

negative. December matching funds for 2015 were paid in December 2015 so revenue for 1st Q is low.

YTD 2016 to 2015 1st 6 months o YTD 2016 and 1st 6 months actual 2015 both have negative net income. 2015 is

less negative primarily because the December matching funds were booked in December 2015 instead of in January 2016.

Meeting Minutes – Minutes from June 2016 and July 2016 were both sent out before the meeting and approved. Dogs

Dog Status

26 total dogs. 8 are permanent fosters. 18 for adoption - only 2 are cat friendly.

Kelly will move off of the permanent foster list – now a regular adoption.

Two new dogs are coming in – 8 ½ and 11½ years old - will be in quarantine because shots are not up-to-date.


36 adoptions to date in 2016 o Many of our applicants need small dog or cat friendly dogs and many of

the dogs in the program have high prey drive. o Joe Bernardo brought up the possibility of “trading” dogs with GALT or

another adoption group that has a surplus of low prey drive dogs.

26 applications at this time o 11 prior adopters o Other applicants moving through the process


2017 Membership Drive

Notice about membership renewal will be in the October newsletter

Houston Marathon Fundraiser

One of our members, Lisa Davila, is running in the marathon and would like to raise funds for GPAH. Can donate a flat $ pledge or a dollar/mile pledge

Discussion about whether to split the fundraiser with another group to bring in additional donors. Decided this should be Lisa Davila’s choice.

Lisa would like to have running clothes with GPAH logo; Marlane to research.

Adjourned at 8:10 pm

Mark moved to adjourn and Jennifer seconded the motion. Approved.

GPA Houston Monthly Membership Meeting Tuesday, July 19, 2016


MEETING MINUTES

Attendees: Arden Tucker Jennifer Winters Kathy Henry Marlane Bernardo (phone) Sherri Clark Meeting Commenced: 6:30 pm

Treasurer’s Report – Not available at this time Meeting Minutes – Not available at this time Dogs

Dog Status

Dahlia is possibly going to be adopted by the son of the woman who found her as a stray.

Wilma is still healing from her broken knee – no running allowed

Boo is still in foster-with-intent

Vergil’s tail is now healed

Arya pulled out one of her nails in the kennel

Cabo appears to have an eye disorder and will see Dr. Swanson

Hugo is a double cryptorchid so we will have to use one of our premier vets for his surgery.

Rosie is likely going to be adopted this week.in

An 11 year old female, Sara, is being surrendered to us soon.

Tres still has a bad case of hookworms and giardia.


30 adoptions to date in 2016 o 1 adoption appointment tomorrow o 2 possible adoptions on Saturday

24 applications at this time o 7 prior adopters o 13 applications in process


Houston World Series of Dog Shows – July 22-24

We still have a few holes in the schedule where volunteers are needed.

Mark and Nancy will set up the booth for us.

Jim Kent Memorial Ducky Dunk Recap

Water was very cold but it was a lot of fun

Event raised over $10,000 (not counting any matching funds)

Considering doing this again next year – maybe the last week of June.

Next year we may have it where people can pledge in honor of a person or their pet.

Golf Tournament – October 14th at Southwyck

We already have our first team and our first hole sponsor

Tickets will be on sale soon through the gift shop

Some prizes for the auction have already been purchased including a 60” television.

Fall Auction

Auction is postponed until next spring Coffee Fundraiser

A member’s sister is selling coffee that is ground and packaged near Brenham.

A 1# bag sells for $16.99 and has free shipping

GPA will receive 10% of the purchase

We are using 4 of the 6 “Stella” art pieces on the packaging.

The sales are through eBay. Adjourned at 7:05 pm

Kathy moved to adjourn and Jennifer seconded the motion. Approved.

GPA Houston Monthly Membership Meeting Tuesday, June 21, 2016


MEETING MINUTES

Attendees: Guests: Arden Tucker Jennifer Winters Pat Freytag Sherri Clark Marlane Bernardo (phone) Kim Harrison Mark Brooks Meeting Commenced: 6:40 pm

Treasurer’s Report – Reports for March, April, and May 2016 March 2016 - Net Income for the month is negative

Income o Corporate donations from G E Foundation and Amazon.com. o Received donations for the General Fund. o Additional revenue was received from adoption fees, 2016 dues and

merchandise sales.


Food for the membership party 2 months of AT&T bills and service for modem

April 2016 - Net Income for the month is negative

Income o Corporate donations from Phillips 66, Chevron, iGive, NGA, Amazon.com,

Safeway (Randall’s) and Kroger Share Program. o Received donations for the Greyt Wellness Fund and for the General Fund. o Additional revenue was received from adoption fees, 2016 dues and

merchandise sales.


Quarterly tax preparation Cost of “Rainbow” T-shirts (all have been sold)

May 2016 - Net Income for the month is positive

Income o Corporate donations from Amazon Smile and Amazon.com. o Also received a corporate donation of $7,188.72 from Subaru for their “Share the

Love” event held mid-November through year-end. o Received donations for the Greyt Wellness Fund and for the General Fund. o Additional revenue was received from adoption fees, 2016 dues and

merchandise sales.


Fee for the booths at the July Dog Show. Annual E-Grey subscription

Mark moved to approve the treasurer’s reports and Arden motion. Approved. .

Meeting Minutes – Minutes for prior meeting were sent out and approved earlier by email. Dogs

Dog Status

Boo and Ja Ja Boonie are in foster-with-intent

Wilma slipped on the floor and has a broken knee

Tres has been found and is staying with his foster family. Very thin with injuries and parasites.

Cabernet and Audi may board during July 4th foster period if we cannot find a foster family for them



19 applications at this time o 9 approved o 10 pending o Many prior adopters wanting another dog

Finance & Investment Report – 1st Q 2016 - Kenny prepared a variance report comparing 1st Q 2016 to 1st Q 2015, 1st Q 2016 to 4th Q 2015, and 1st Q 2016 to 2015 Average. A lot of the variance in this analysis is due to the timing of the receipt of matching funds for December 2015 vs. December 2014.

1st Q 2016 to 1st Q 2015 o 1st Q 2016 has negative net income vs. positive net income for 1st Q 2015. The

main difference is that the December matching funds for 2014 were paid in January 2015 and the matching funds for 2015 were paid in December 2015.

1st Q 2016 to 4th Q 2015 o 1st Q 2016 has negative net income vs. positive income for 4th Q 2015.

December matching funds for 2015 were paid in December 2015 so there was a large private donation seen for the 4th Q 2015 instead of being booked in the 1st Q of 2016 as in the previous year.

1st Q 2016 to 2015 Average o 1st Q 2016 has negative net income vs a slight positive for the average of 2015.

This was again primarily because of the December matching funds were booked in December 2015 instead of in January 2016.

Building Fund - Discussed if there are any restrictions related to the GPA Building Fund. Based on our search of GPA’s records, there is not a legal document associated with this fund. It is a “rainy day” fund and it appears that the money does not need to be used for construction of a new building. Board Membership - Jennifer Winters submitted her application for board membership. After reading her application, the board unanimously approved her application. Welcome Jennifer.


Jim Kent Memorial Ducky Dunk

Will be held on July 4th in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of North Hampton, NH

Marlane and Joe Bernado will brave the cold water to raise funds for GPA in memory of Jim Kent.

Already have pledges of approximately $1600.

Houston World Series of Dog Shows

GPA will have a booth at the event and needs volunteers (with or without your greyhound) – July 22nd, 23rd, and 24th.

New Storefront – Natural Paws in Vintage Park Shopping Village (249 & Louetta)

This will be a new event for GPA and will be held each month on the 3rd Saturday of the month.

Gilman Subaru Storefront

Because of the new Natural Paws storefront on the same day, we will need to see if we can get additional volunteers for Subaru.

Will try to switch the time to 2 hours instead of 3 hours.


Mark moved to adjourn and Arden seconded the motion. Approved.

GPA Houston Monthly Membership Meeting Tuesday, March 15, 2016


MEETING MINUTES

Attendees: Arden Tucker Pat Freytag Sherri Clark Marlane Bernardo (phone) Kathy Henry Mark Brooks Meeting Commenced: 6:35 pm

Treasurer’s Report – Report for December 2015 Net Income for the month is positive

Income o Corporate donations from Giving Works, GE Foundation, Chevron, iGive,

Amazon.com, TGA Grant and Kroger Share Program. o Received donations for the Greyt Wellness Fund and for the General Fund. o Additional revenue was received from adoption fees, 2016 dues and

merchandise sales.


Posters for Gillman Subaru, two months fee for Rite Response, and charges for boarding at Best Friends (higher than normal number of dogs in program)

Sherri moved to approve the treasurer’s report and Mark seconded the motion. Approved. .

Meeting Minutes – Minutes for prior meeting were not available Dogs

Dog Status

There are currently 25 dogs in the program including 7 permanent fosters, 12 available and 6 with vetting in progress.

Reggie was adopted

Gordo is in foster with intent

Geaux Geaux was adopted

Jolie had additional x-rays on her leg and they have been sent to Dr. Wall

Henna was recently returned



22 applications at this time


April 16th – Three events

No Label Brewery “Pups and Pints” Event – Katy TX

Gillman Subaru Storefront

Texas A&M Vet School Open House

Spring Auction

We will decide the exact date when Sherrie Kent returns from vacation.

Tim Heller is helping to check the descriptions for accuracy.

Limited Edition T-Shirt

We have new limited edition t-shirts on order. Pat showed the new design. Golf Tournament

Discussion about Gillman Subaru being a possible sponsor for the golf tournament.

Bylaws

Joe Bernardo is involved with revising the National GPA bylaws and will get a copy of those revisions to us as soon as they are available. GPA Houston will start working on our bylaw revisions after reviewing the national changes.

Some potential changes being discussed for GPA Houston are allowing spouses to serve on the board at the same time and changing the minimum number of board members.


Arden moved to adjourn and Sherri seconded the motion. Approved.

GPA Houston Monthly Membership Meeting Tuesday, January 19, 2016


MEETING MINUTES

Attendees: Arden Tucker Pat Freytag Sherri Clark Kim Harrison Marlane Bernardo (phone) Kathy Henry Meeting Commenced: 6:50 pm

Treasurer’s Report – Report for November 2015 Net Income for the month is negative

Income o Corporate donations from Amazon Smile, Halliburton, Hale Pet Door, Chevron,

and Amazon.com. o Received $1376 (partial total) from the 2015 online auction o Received donations for the Greyt Wellness Fund and for the General Fund. o Additional revenue was received from adoption fees, 2016 dues and

merchandise sales.


Constant Contact terminal and boarding at Best Friends (higher than normal number of dogs in program)

Sherri moved to approve the treasurer’s report and Arden seconded the motion. Approved. .

Meeting Minutes – Minutes for October and November were sent out prior to the meeting. Arden moved that the minutes be approved and Kim seconded the motion. Approved. Finance & Investment Report – 4th Q 2015 Kenny prepared a variance report comparing 4th Q 2015 to 4th Q 2014, 4th Q 2015 to 3rd Q 2015, and 12 months ending 12/31/2015 to 12 months ending 12/31/2014.

.

4th Q 2015 to 4th Q 2014 o Both quarters have positive net income; however 2014 had a larger gain primarily

because of large private donations from the golf tournament fundraiser. o Medical Expenses were lower in 2015

4th Q 2015 to 3rd Q 2015 o Positive net income for the 4th quarter but negative for the 3rd Q. o Larger private donations in the 4th quarter because of the matching fund drive.

12 months ending 12/31/2015 to 12 months ending 12/31/2014 o Both periods have positive net income with 2014 about 20% higher. o Private donations were more in 2014 because of the golf tournament. o Large difference in payroll and payroll taxes because of an additional employee

in 2015. Kenny also prepared graphs for the period 2006 to 2015. Graphs show GPA has had positive income for the year since 2010 even though medical costs have been increasing.

Dogs Dog Status

There are currently 30 dogs in the program including 9 permanent fosters and 1 on medical leave.

Four pending adoptions: John, Felix, Astrid and Speed.

Kaskey was returned.

We lost permanent foster Nina due to seizures.

We have 11 new dogs (6 female, 5 male) in the program that are going through vetting.

Will do small dog testing next week

The breeder says Diaz and Nova are small dog and cat friendly but they went wild at the vet when they saw small animals.


56 adoptions in 2015. Have 4 adoptions to date in 2016

23 applications at this time – 7 are current members wanting another dog. Events / Fundraising

No Label Brewery “Pups and Pints” Event – Katy TX – December 19th Recap

It was a nice day and GPA had 10-12 dogs.

A lot of people came by to visit our dogs

A non-animal group had a raffle at the event so we will consider doing this in the future.

A loose greyhound was walking around near the highway and a group of GPA volunteers found the owner and gave him good information about taking care of his dog and not allowing her to run loose.

We will try to get on their schedule again in March or April Member Appreciation Party February 7th 2016 – Houston Farm & Ranch

The party will be from 11:30 – 3pm – ending a little earlier because of Superbowl.

We will have a silent auction instead of a live auction this year.

Volunteer awards have been shipped and Kathy Henry will announce the winners. Sherri will do the welcome to the event.

We are having 36 limited edition T-shirts made to sell.

Nancy Brooks is taking care of the table decorations and Sandy Herman is preparing the goodie bags.

Gulf Greyhound Park Closing

We received boxes from the track containing their adoption records so that we will be able to help identify found/lost dogs adopted from GGP.

We also got 15 racing silks, a baby bed in the shape of a race car, chairs and tables and material that Sherrie Kent is using to make coats for greyhounds.

Golf Tournament

Our 2016 Golf Tournament is set for Friday, October 14th 2016 at Southwyck. They are charging us the same price as in 2014.

December Matching Funds

Very successful matching funds program - surpassed 2014 totals. Adjourned at 7:30 pm

Kim moved to adjourn and Arden seconded the motion. Approved.

GPA Houston Monthly Membership Meeting Minutes.pdf · GPA Houston Monthly Membership Meeting Sunday, October 22, 2017 The Noble Center 1:00 PM MEETING MINUTES Attendees: Arden Tucker

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