Letter: Humane Society in need of local support
To the community,
Our local Humane Society needs our help. Day in and day out our local Humane Society answers the needs of people who have lost their cat or dog or those who have been forced to move to a place where their pets are not allowed. They host spay and neutering clinics to help with over population and other pet inoculation issues.
This past Christmas I saw them giving out pet food to those who were too poor to feed their pets.
Recently the Humane Society themselves became the ones needing the help. A loss of money due to an [alleged] embezzlement situation has left them in a bad financial situation. The South Tahoe Chamber already had a golf tournament scheduled for this August with the Humane Society selected as our designated charity. While we hope that people will sign up to golf or become sponsors, the need is much more immediate. They need us all to help them now.
Members of our board, including our Executive Director Tamera Wallace and our treasurer Julie Wright and myself, have met with members of the the Humane Society board. We are convinced that they have corrected any issues that may have allowed indiscretions. Our chamber stands solidly in support of the Humane Society. We urge our chamber members and any members of the community to donate what you are able to help them become restored. Please help them out with donations of cash, pet food or even with change for the puppy banks you see at local stores.
The national Humane Society does not give funds to the local chapters. It is up to us to support our own. The pets and strays in our community need our help.
Duane Wallace, South Tahoe Chamber of Commerce president
Unfortunately the horses have left the barn. Why should the board be trusted now to show fiduciary responsibility?
And now our companion animals in need will suffer.
Defenseless populations, old people, youngsters, animals etc are always subject to abuse.
A ‘conservator’ should be appointed to handle the financial affairs of the Humane Society.
This is truly a sad situation for the animals that will be impacted from what appears like one person’s greed and from the naiveté of other well-intentioned individuals’.
In regard to naiveté, it should be noted that the above request for donations has been made by the President of “the little guys Chamber” [as JoAnn Conner called it] whose wife happens to be that organizations Executive Director. That organizational structure clearly could be construed as having a lack of separation of powers which can provide an opportunity for impropriety. There’s certainly no appearance of being above reproach there.
Your books should be open to the public after an immediate certified financial audit. The audit should go back at least seven years or more considering the massiveness of the theft. Lots of disinfecting sunshine will be needed before the supporters of the Humane Society will feel comfortable giving their money and energies.
What was the bank account or similar investments worth at years end for the last ten years?
As others have noted, there’s a long history of people abusing a good cause by attaching their name to it, and trying to make the narrative, “If you care about cause (xyz) give us money!” And then where that money goes….?
On the national level I refer you to the Wounded Warrior project.
Locally, who remembers the fundraising cruises for the local Human Society back in the early 2000’s? It was to save their building. A building they ended up later selling for over $300k.
Claire Fortier back then wrote a Tribune Ed. about that whole fishy deal.
The HS is in a whole for over $100K? Use the building sale proceeds I say!
A business certainly could not get away with “We lost a lot of money, so just give us more!”
But now we’re supposed to be assured the proper controls in place? How can that be when the circumstances per this author are still just alleged? If the facts of the missing dollars aren’t certain, shouldn’t we then at least wait until the police investigation is complete?
Maybe restitution can be made? Maybe it’s not embezzlement, and the financial hole is elsewhere?
I believe the remnants of the local HS now mean well. But I further believe we are far from having a clear understanding of the financial mismanagement. Especially with the past track record. There should be no rush from our community to just blindly fill in this financial hole.
This organization should fold up lock,stock and barrel. A new organization needs to be built from the ground up with completely new board and executive director. Otherwise the organization will just never have the credibility it needs.
A sad situation for sure.