New director, board hope to guide TOPS through sea of troubles
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Bingo games back on track on Thursdays only As part of an effort to get the Top of Ohio Pet Shelter back on track both financially and as a functioning part of the local community, the new leadership team has reduced its weekly bingo games to one per week with higher payouts. The Thursday evening games at Belle Center will continue while the Tuesday games will not, new shelter director Barbara Faulkner said. “We really want to get it strong again,” she said. “Neither one was doing great so we decided to nix the Tuesday bingo and focus on Thursday to make it more successful.” Mel Braga has come on board as the shelter’s bingo coordinator and the games have changed somewhat to be more attractive to players, Ms. Faulkner said. “The pots have changed and we have a $500 coverall game now, which players have wanted for years,” she said. “We’ve tried to revamp it to make it more appealing.” The games will continue to be at the Belle Center American Legion’s Memorial Hall, where they were located for years. Participation in the bingo games that have been a major driver of the pet shelter’s fundraising efforts for several decades fell off after an unsuccessful attempt in 2014 to move the games to the Logan County Fish and Game, which the board learned after making the change was not allowed by state laws that govern nonprofit bingo games. The regular Tuesday and Thursday games started up again in 2015 but were not as well attended after the hiatus, Ms. Faulkner said. Doors open at 4:30 p.m. each Thursday and games begin at 6:30 p.m. But Ms. Faulkner said the shelter plans to conduct other fundraising activities to support operations. Currently there is a Scentsy sale while board president Randy Schmidt expressed an interest in hosting a fundraiser at the Brewfontaine tap room, Ms. Faulkner said. “Our goal is to have a variety of fundraisers to meet different people’s tastes,” she said. “I don’t have anything specific planned at this point, but we welcome any opportunities.” |
It’s been a tumultuous two years at the Top of Ohio Pet Shelter, but leaders are hoping the hire of a new director will move the organization in a positive, forward direction.
Barbara Faulkner, who brings with her not only a love of animals but experience leading nonprofit organizations, was named in December to the top spot that has been primarily filled by acting or past board members since before the most recent round of shakeups reached a boiling point in March 2014.
She said her primary focus as the shelter’s new leader is to mend damaged relationships and repay outstanding debts, but otherwise to put the organization’s troubles of recent years in the past.
“We’re moving forward and not looking backward,” she said. “Everybody knows the shelter has had its fair share of difficulties, but we have got to get past what has happened and move forward.
“First and foremost we need to get our finances in order. We have past debts of a variety of kinds and we are still finding some, but if we could get out from under the past bad decisions, we would be doing OK.
“When I’ve talked to people in the community, they have been honest and a lot of them feel like they have been burnt by the shelter in the past. We are working on rebuilding those relationships. We want people to know that I’m new; the majority of the board is new and we are doing the best we can with the situation we are given.”
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Barbara Faulkner, the new director of the Top of Ohio Pet Shelter, poses with Babycakes, a 9-year-old Pomeranian available for adoption at the shelter. An Urbana resident, Ms. Faulkner brings years of experience helping lead nonprofit organizations to her new role as director of the pet shelter. (EXAMINER PHOTO | REUBEN MEES) |
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