July 14, 2006

VVAW- Alert Status 7/14/06

Topics:

1. Meet the VVAW Board; new members elected; bios of all Board members

2. Don’s article which appeared in Cooperative Living

3. Meetings planned in the next few weeks

4. Proposed VVAW initiatives for 2007

5. Upcoming VVAW meetings for you to attend

See below for details.

We are pleased to announce that Debra Griggs and Peyton Coyner have been elected to the Board of VVAW and VAW. Mollie McCurdy has assumed the role of Board Member Emeritus.

We thought you would like to know something about your Board members. Their bios, in alphabetical order and provided by each Board member, are below and will also be on the VVAW website.

Lillian grew up in Cicero, IL, graduated from Northwestern University, and taught in Wilmette, IL, prior to moving to California. In San Francisco, Lillian received her MA and continued teaching in both Oakland and San Francisco. After raising three children, she started her executive search firm, Clancy Associates. Animals have always been part of her life. She and her husband, Don Marro, moved to Virginia in 1995, bringing with them their family of pets. Learning about the incredible number of pets that die yearly for lack of homes prompted the establishment of what has become Virginia Voters for Animal Welfare, a group she and Don co-founded. Lillian and Don live in Fauquier County with a cat and a large group of rescued dogs.

Peyton is a semi-retired engineer from the ship-building industry.  He has had dogs all his life and has been involved in all aspects of his local rural (Nelson County) Humane Society for over 25 years.  He is on the boards of several political and environmental volunteer organizations , edits & publishes a Sierra Club newsletter, crafts stained glass, canoes, and has had some success with the Style Invitational, a humor writing contest in the Washington Post.  He is married, has 3 rescue dogs and is an 8^th generation Virginian.

Debra is a native of West Virginia, attended Converse College, Radford University, Memphis State University, did post-graduate studies in Vienna, Austria and was an accomplished dramatic soprano, performing in the United States and Europe.  She gave up singing because, at heart, she is a "homebody" and her passion for music evolved into a passion for causes.  She is a Past President of the Junior League of Norfolk-Virginia Beach and served on the board of the Association of Junior Leagues International – an organization committed to improving the lives of women, children and families.  Debra was a founding member and Chair of the Ryan White CARE Consortium at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, a collaboration of AIDS service providers which ultimately was the catalyst for millions of dollars in grant monies for the region to serve those infected and affected by AIDS.  She was also the founder of Animal Rescue of Tidewater, ART, a rescue and advocacy group in Tidewater and the founding Chair of The Animal Welfare Coalition of Hampton Roads which conducted the first ever comprehensive assessment of needs and services for animals and their caregivers, presented in 2002 in Norfolk’s City Council Chambers as "The State of Animal Welfare in Hampton Roads".  She currently serves on Norfolk’s City Council appointed Animal Welfare Review Board and is the Managing Broker of the RE/MAX Allegiance office in Norfolk.  Debra lives with her husband Steve in Norfolk with their beloved once-stray dogs, Fred & Ginger, along with a host of fosters who continually pass through their home.

Don Marro grew up in New Jersey and graduated from Rutgers University with a BA and MBA. Don’s work experience was mostly at Sony with some Northern Telecom mixed in, in marketing and general management positions, and later at several entrepreneurial ventures including MicroPro, HotelTech, Surpass Software, and Software Technology SA. Most recently, Don has been a real estate investor, animal welfare activist and co-founder with his wife, Lillian Clancy, of VVAW.

Cindy Ingram grew up an army brat. Her interest in animals began in early childhood when her Fisher Price farm set was her favorite toy and her day care was on a miniature farm where the children were all taught to respect the animals and be thankful for the gift of food they provided. Cindy moved to Clarke County when she married her husband Timothy in August, 1997, and now runs her own bookkeeping business from an office in Paeonian Springs. She became involved in animal rescue when a neighbor’s house was foreclosed and cats began roaming her yard looking for food. Cindy was able to rescue some, including Casey, who died about a year later. Cindy promised Casey she would start a rescue group in her name and so Casey’s House was formed the following May. Casey’s House, between the shelter itself and foster homes, cares for 64 cats.

Kim Kincheloe has been an animal lover and "rescuer" all her life, something she inherited from her mother. She currently has 9 dogs and 3 cats – all rescues. In the mid-80’s, she and her mother became involved with an "official" animal rescue organization, The Pet Assistance League. Through that organization, they rescued and rehomed hundreds of animals. In 1999, they formed their own organization, Lionhearts, Inc., and with cooperation from Spotsylvania County, opened a low-cost spay/neuter clinic serving the Fredericksburg area. Since then, they have spayed and neutered over 17,000 animals. Kim has also served on the Economic Development Authority for Spotsylvania County for 10 years, and is currently the chairman.

Patrick Weakland was born in Pennsylvania and moved to Washington, DC, then Virginia in 1955. He has lived in Warsaw, Richmond County, VA since 1999. He is retired from commercial aviation as a pilot of 31 years and remains active in general aviation. He is a volunteer for the Westmoreland County Animal Shelter and has adopted from Essex, Orange, and Richmond/Westmoreland counties in Virginia. He has been with Virginia Voters For Animal Welfare since its beginning, and founded the Northern Neck Chapter of VVAW in early 2005.

and, Board Member Emeritus:

Mollie McCurdy graduated from George Peabody College for Teachers in Nashville, Tennessee in 1960, and taught in Fairfax County, Virginia until 1965. Mollie became a cruelty investigator in Fairfax and Loudoun Counties from 1971 to 1982. She also worked with the Fairfax Animal Welfare League and the Fairfax Humane Society. Molly moved to Calvert County, Maryland in 1983 and founded Animal’s Best Friends and became a Humane Investigator there. She also served on the Tri-County Animal Shelter Advisory Board, appointed by Calvert County Commissioners, from 1986 until 1992. She is a founding member of VVAW and does private animal rescue in the Augusta County, Virginia area. Mollie shares her home with five dogs and two cats, all rescued.

Don wrote an article about excess companion animals which was just published in Cooperative Living, a magazine published for the member-consumers of 12 electric cooperatives in Virginia with a circulation of over 360,000. We reprint it here with the permission of the Cooperative Living and will also be sending it to many Virginia newspapers as a letter to the editor or an editorial piece.

Please click here to read the article.

Tell us your thoughts about the article and any suggestions for next steps to keep the issue alive.

a. VVAW Board will meet 7/30/06

b. VVAW will continue to meet with VFHS

c. VVAW will be meeting with officers of VACA, likely in August

d. ASPCA and HSUS is organizing a meeting of many Virginia animal welfare groups at our suggestion; it is to be held by the early part of September

e. VVAW will present to the VDACS Board on 8/24/06 in the Harrisonburg area; topics VVAW will present include:

When VDACS determines it, we will provide the time and location of the meeting for those who want to attend and support.

We will send out an alert after the next Board meeting (7/30/06) which will let you know the legislative focus the Board chooses as appropriate for the upcoming General Assembly session.

a. Once you have received the proposed initiatives for 2007, we want to hold four regional meetings before 11/1/06.

b. The meetings will be in Charlottesville, Roanoke, Newport News, and Fairfax County.

c. Please make suggestions about Saturday vs Sunday for a meeting, and alert us to any specific weekends to avoid. We will attend all these meetings, and some Board members will as well. We hope you will find the time to do the same, even though the drive may be considerable or the time difficult to find.

d. There is a great deal to do, and attendance at a meeting will give you a good idea about how you can help. We count on each one of you to do as much as possible.

Thanks.

Lillian Clancy and Don Marro

new address: 3318 Bust Head Road; The Plains, VA 20198

new phone: 540-253-5309

new fax: 540-253-5607