By By Sheila Blackmon/The Meridian Star
Jan. 10, 2001
Lauderdale County residents elected officers and board members for a local Humane Society organization Tuesday night taking a major step toward getting established.
Causeyville animal activist Cheryl Walton, who has done much toward organizing the group, said she can't hold an office because she is a registered breeder with the American Kennel Association.
Stephanie Lee was elected vice president, and Liz Harris is the organization's new secretary. Harris served in office for a previous Humane Society here about 10 years ago. She said that organization may have failed it lacked volunteers.
Eight board members were elected and have tentatively scheduled their first meeting for Jan. 23 at Shoney's Restaurant. The group also put together a four-member building committee which Walton heads and a five-member fund-raising committee.
Allison Hamilton, a junior at Southeast Lauderdale High School who volunteered for the fund-raising committee, said she hopes to get people at her school involved.
She said a good fundraiser for the Humane Society might be having a dog show and charging entry fees. Another member of the group suggested charging people to put their foot or hand prints or even their pets' paw prints in the concrete slab of the shelter when it is built.
Walton said her committee will first create a pledge form with a place for a signature to solicit material donations, then continue to go door-to-door. Walton has drawn a rough draft of the building plans.
Neal said the Humane Society's next meeting on Feb. 13 will be more formal. The officers and board members will conduct the meeting and take reports from the committee chairmen. The meeting will be held in the supervisors' board room at the county annex building.
Sheila Blackmon is a staff writer for The Meridian Star. E-mail her at sblackmon@themeridianstar.com.