The Windsor/Essex County Humane Society is on a positive path forward - despite some hardships earlier this year.
On October 4, the Board of Directors passed a new by-law to move into a self-governing model, with some updates related to the Ontario Non-Profit Corporations Act.
This change means that voting on items during the board's meetings will be made by board members. Based off the previous structure, at least half of those who had memberships with the Humane Society were supposed to attend any board meetings.
However, the Humane Society has stated that most of those who were members were more interested in volunteer work within the shelter, opposed to the governance.
Throughout the summer a number of changes were made to the board including the firing of executive director Melanie Coulter - who had been with WECHS for 16 years - as well as the previous board chair and vice chair stepping down from their roles.
The current board states that they remain committed to public engagement and transparency during these changes.
Matt Carlini, WECHS Board Chair, says those who were members most often did not want to be on the governance side.
"Effectively if we went to the self-governance model we felt that we still would be able to have high levels of engagement, and we would avoid the risk of having issues with quorum and other governance procedural matters that could restrict the ability of the Humane Society to operate."
He says they still want the public to be involved.
"We still anticipate we will have a significant amount of public engagement. What that means - we're very close to determining that, and we will have another announcement - but the public will have the ability to participate and contribute either through open meetings with us, or through committees."
He says despite what happened over the summer it's important to remember why they do this work.
"This is all about animals, and we have to remember that. And it shouldn't be about a person, or a group, or a single interest group looking for one specific action to be achieved. It really should be about animals and animal welfare."
Carlini says the Humane Society and the board appreciates the patience from the public as they recognize this change has been difficult.
Since the by-law was passed on October 4, membership status has officially changed. Those who are existing members, and those who applied to be a member, have been spoken to by the Humane Society.
Those who purchased a membership, which is a $25 fee, have been given the option of rewards through use of dog parks or discounts on animal food. Carlini says they also gave the option to provide a full refund, or to convert the fee to a donation to the Humane Society.
