The Coalition For Change – the group that spearheaded the effort to remove the tyrannical chairman and director of the Connecticut Humane Society – had some positive things to say say about changes they are seeing under the direction of the new director.
Gordon G. Willard took over as director of one of the oldest and best known charities in Connecticut.
- He took over from Richard Johnston who for 20 years ran the institution like a private fiefdom, under a compliant board of directors – half of whom had business relationships with the Society and had little knowledge of issues at the facilities. According to numerous credible former and present employes, Johnston bullied employees, violated his own rules at the facility, hid incriminating evidence from OSHA inspectors, and failed to properly use that tens of millions of dollars in endowments to save more animals. His actions at the society are still under state investigation.
- However, in a letter written by Cathy DeMarco, the head of the group that helped expose Johnston’s actions, she says she is seeing improvements and her group plans more outreach programs with rescue and shelter groups.
- Her letter, printed in full below, does not mention any of the open issues – like the effort to prevent the formation of a union at the facilities. I sent her an email raising questions and will add to this column when she answers.
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Cathy DeMarco
- Her letter:
- I wanted to touch base with all of you to let you know about some recent Coalition activities and news.
First of all, I would like to make sure you are aware of continued changes at CHS. As most of you know, Gordon Willard, the new Executive Director, began his assignment in early August. On August 18th I had the opportunity to meet him when we, along with state representative Diana Urban, were guests on the live Colin McEnroe Show on WNPR. It was a fun and healthy debate and I hope you had the opportunity to listen. If not, you can go the our website:coalitionforchange.info <http://coalitionforchange.info/> to hear it.
Besides the new ED, CHS has also implemented a number of recent changes. You may have heard about the new Euthanasia Panel. This committee continues to meet to discuss the possible euthanasia of animals with behavioral problems. Since we do not have access to these proceedings/discussions, we hope that the members of this panel consistently try to do the right thing for each individual case. At the very least this new procedure is a huge improvement over how euthanasias used to be determined at CHS. For decades, one (usually inexperienced/unqualified) person would be responsible for making these life and death decisions.
A new Rescue/Behavior department has also been created. This department is responsible for reaching out to and hopefully supporting small, local rescues as well as working with out of state groups. The employees in this department are also involved with evaluating the behavior of the animals in the shelter and working with each pet’s issues in order to increase the animal’s chances for adoption. We hope that the individuals in the Rescue/Behavior division are fully trained and competent in these crucial areas.
A new position was created to try and retain staff. This is also extremely important since the turnover at CHS can be alarming! We have heard that new staff has also been hired. Since the shelter had been so understaffed for so long, we are optimistic that more new employees will continue to be hired and the good ones will want to stay!
We are also pleased to report that the Mobile Adoption Bus unit has been seen out and about! After sitting in the parking lot for so long, the staff has again been allowed to take animals in the bus to different events in Connecticut. This is a wonderful step in the right direction. The price of diesel gas was a sorry excuse for not using the bus.
All of the above ideas/issues/concerns (and many more) were presented to the BOD’s sub-committee in a meeting on February 9th in Hartford. I had personally invited a number of rescue groups to attend, even though the board members were opposed to this. Make no mistake: ALL POSITIVE CHANGES that have ocurred in recent months at CHS are a direct result of Coaltion strength and perserverance. Decades went by with no improvement. If certain key members of our group had given up, even when faced with litigation/disciplinary action/ and termination, none of the above changes would have been implemented.
Unfortunately, we do have some upsetting news to report. On September 10th, Tammy Gotowala, an employee in Newington for nearly 9 years, was terminated. Tammy is the 6th Coalition member/union supporter to be fired. She has instructed me to give out her contact info. in case any of you would like to communicate with her.
Tammy can be reached at 860-583-1411 and her email is: tammyg411@yahoo.com. More details will follow as they become available.
In early July, I agreed to assist with the rescue of 11 puppies and 3 adult dogs. With the help of a number of Coalition members I am happy to report that all dogs & pups were quarantined and vetted and all except one have made it into their forever homes. I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank the following people:Mark Sheehan, Lorraine Wetstone, Maureen Lord, Kathy Brainard, Amanda Perry, Ivona Koppel, Debbie Vitale, Rachel Torres, Stacey Baran, Kristen Karchere and Bridget Karchere. It was our first official Coalition Rescue and I hope we can do it again someday….
In the meantime, we have been approached by a number of other rescues/groups/individuals/ who wanted Coalition advice and support. Four are in CT and one is in Chicago! I have been communicating with all of them in the hope of assisting with their reform efforts! It has been exciting and educational. Many groups/shelters etc., even though much smaller than CHS, have very similar problems. We will keep trying!!
All of our Coalition activities take place at the grange (our headquarters in Berlin). I have just communicated with the Hartford ACO about allowing her to store all of the pet food for her pet food pantry (to help feed the pets of people in the inner city who are in dire need of assistance). We will be coordinating that effort over the next few days as well.
Due to all of our continued activity, we have decided to look into applying for our own non-profit status. We would like to expand the mission of the Coalition for Change, to include other groups (possilbly) who may be struggling in some way and could use our assistance.
Please feel free to call me at 860-810-8478 or email me at:cathyde1962@comcast.net to let me know your thoughts on any of the above. Would love to hear from you!
Thanks for your continued support!
Sincerely,
Cathy DeMarco, Founder of the Coalition for Change
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Yes, there have been positive changes within CHS, but the negative atmosphere, unfair treatment of employees, and poor management still remains. I currently work for CHS and I can attest to the fact that there is no more communication between management and employees than there was in the past. One of my co-workers, with whom I enjoyed working, quit today and management said nothing. Only one person was told that this now former employee would not be returning to work. They even refused to tell us that Tammy had been fired. I say that CHS still has a long way to go before it has truly and fully improved as a workplace.
[...] Conn Humane Society Making Progress, Critic SaysConnecticut WatchdogWith the help of a number of Coalition members I am happy to report that all dogs & pups were quarantined and vetted and all except one have made it into … [...]
Hi, can anyone tell me what Tammy’s position was and why she was fired? For someone who is considering working there what would you tell them?
I don’t see change. I see a few people who are trying to be helpful but it’s like climbing the wall of china….I don’t see it happening. As anon mention, there’s a long way to go.
Advice to Anon, Look elsewhere for employment.
Good advice!
Just want to know why an employee of over 9 years was acussed of stealing a puppy from CHS? If this was true, then why did the Newington police clear her of any wrong doing? She also continued her work there for over a month and a half without ever being questioned about it. She also was allowed to take foster kittens home on a weekly basis during this time?
One of the biggest things I would like answers to, is why Kitty was never questioned about 1) Why it took staff 4 days to realize the puppy was missing?
2) Why did it take another 4 days for her to report it to anyone? Sounds to me like someone was set up here? Some have evn said that CHS made this whole incident up for publicity. HMMMM….Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?
As a current employee you would think I would have known about something this important had happened, that I would have been notified by management, but that was not the case. I myself did not find out a puppy had been stolen until people from the public, potential adopters, came in asking questions about the animal. Yet another example of the poor quality in communication.