To Whom It May Concern:
I am excited to be writing to you as the new Board President of the Federated Humane Societies of Pennsylvania (“Federated”). I would like to take an opportunity to invite you to join (or rejoin!) our organization as we embark on an exciting and challenging 2020 and move the Federated in a new direction.
As many of you know the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (“Agriculture”) awarded the contract for Humane Police Officer training and continuing education to another entity and has not yet approved a contract with us for continuing education classes. This challenge has been met as an opportunity by our board of directors. We hope to grow the Federated in to something bigger than an educational service provider you hear from once a year. Our goal is truly become a voice for Pennsylvania shelters and rescues by establishing a significant presence at our state capital while continuing to provide affordable and accessible training and networking opportunities to our members.
This year our conference will be more centrally located in Altoona Pennsylvania at the Casino at Lakemont Park on April 27th and 28th. The location is approximately 2 hours from Pittsburgh and 3 hours from Philadelphia. While, we cannot guarantee we will be able to receive approval from Agriculture for continuing education credit for this year’s conference as Agriculture has now moved to a lengthy approval process for courses, we can guarantee a great conference with great speakers and information that will be helpful to members. Most importantly this year members will be hearing more about lobbying initiatives that will be led by the Federated and we want YOUR input. We will have facilitators to discuss what legislation is important to you and what legislation you would like to see changed. We hope to have this as a central piece of the conference going forward.
Federated is a membership organization and we intend to engage with members further to ensure this organization is meeting the needs of the shelters and rescues in the Commonwealth. In the coming weeks, look for our new and improved newsletter and more information about the conference, speakers, and exhibitors. In addition, I will be traveling around the state and hosting gatherings with members and those interested in membership. Be sure to sign up for a gathering and look for those dates in the newsletters!!!
We are looking forward to engaging with and growing our membership as we move towards a fantastic conference in April.
Best,
Amy B. Kaunas
Board President
Federated Humane Societies of Pennsylvania