While the Humane Society of Southwestern Michigan Board has reported launching their search for an interim Executive Director, four former employees of the organization have reached out asking me to share personal statements made by each regarding the current situation.
Here are the statements of each of the four, followed by the latest from the organization’s board:
This is the statement of former employee Kiley Dunlap:
I would like to begin by thanking the community and our loyal supporters for their overwhelming support not only now but over the nearly decade and a half that I was employed at the shelter.
This was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made in my lifetime. It was a pleasure working with Jill and my fellow employees and I would like to take the time to thank them as well, we became a family. Any one whom knows me knows that the shelter was not just a job, but a lifestyle and the life blood of Jill, myself and the other employees.
I have personally experienced prior corruption within the Shelter/Board of Directors prior to Jill becoming the Executive Director and cannot condone the toxic behavior of the current Board. We collectively are not willing to take steps backwards after we’ve come so far, from working in a cockroach and mice infested shelter who’s bank accounts were in the red to a brand new building which has been paid off in one year and a surplus of funds in the bank (under Jill’s leadership).
As the Vet Assistant I worked 6 days a week sometimes more than 40 hours, sometimes taking sick or injured animals to my home to care for them overnight without a second thought. I’ve had numerous sleepless nights and countless tears over why this happened. We all have so many questions regarding why the Board felt the need to change the way we operated and the allegations of “irregularities” is outrageous!!!!
To my knowledge none of the current Board members have any knowledge of animal welfare nor the regulations put forth by the Department of Agriculture to keep their license. Their behaviors have put our life’s work in jeopardy.
First I would like to point out that when Jill first started at the shelter it was in shambles, nothing was handed to her. No one sat her down and explained things she had to figure it out for herself, all the way down to our previous applications for adoption., etc… Not to mention the fact that both Alissa and I were told (prior to Jill becoming the Director) that our bank accounts were in the red and we may not get paid for coming to work (but we still came). Once Jill became the Director we became stable again.
Throughout my time at the shelter we worked in the worst of the worst but Jill took the time to build trust in the community and forge positive relationships in turn securing enough donations to build us a new building (which was paid off in one year), while also raising the funds for day to day operations while still in the old building. Furthermore at the point in time when Jill resigned from the shelter there was enough money to operate the new shelter for an entire year, through a pandemic none the less! This is nonsense and the longer it goes on the worse it gets. pleading to our supporters please rally, if this continues there may not be a shelter to come to in the future!!
Unfortunately without the help of the community and no one overseeing the Board they can do whatever they want. I would also like to point out that they are violating their own bylaws of the board, by telling Jill how to run the shelter and medaling in day to day operations. I would like to ask the Board what we were doing wrong? What experience they have running a shelter? Whom is paying for the lawyers now involved? Do they know what’s considered a violation for the Department of Agriculture? Do they know that their 501c3 status can be revoked? How long do you legally have to hold a stray animal before it can be adopted out? More specifically Ron Klemm why would you suggest to sue your own hard working employees or your own organization over a logo($100,000 none the less)?
There are so many issues here I don’t even know where to begin! Our supporters and are community are the only way to stop this injustice!!!! Please keep asking questions, please get these people to resign before its too late.
Kiley Dunlap
This is the statement of former employee Alissa Saul:
First I would like to express my gratitude and thanks for all the support from Shannon and everyone in the community that has stood by our side. After 14 years of dedicated service myself along with 4 others made the hardest decision to walk away. We did this because we were tired of working under the toxic leadership of the current board of directors.
Like you I also have questions. Like why would you want to get rid of an executive Director that had accomplished so much? Why would you make it so hard for her to do her job and criticize her when she does ya good job, like raising $277,000 during a pandemic? (And yes there is proof and myself, along with my fellow coworkers had a hand in helping raise that money.)
I also question these allegations about finding “irregularities”. I was the staff member that made the deposits and balanced our checkbooks, etc…all of the work I did was then checked over by the Kruggel Lawton firm. I never had access to the bank accounts other than to put money into it. Yes there were checkbooks and a debit card but any expenses that were made or any checks that were written were sent to Kruggel. We paid them to write our vendor checks and keep tabs on our bank accounts. So if there are irregularities found I question the fact that our treasurer and his firm were the ones on the bank accounts and had access to move money around. Which seems like a huge conflict of interest.
I was there before Jill when it was a kill shelter and would never wish that experience on anyone. I stood by Jill and her belief that the shelter could be better and it was that passion that drove the shelter to where it is today. A safe, new, facility for the homeless and abandoned animals in our community. These toxic monsters destroyed something that so many of us worked so hard to build. They have no idea what it takes to work day in and day out in an animal shelter. In fact they wanted us to work more and harder! I already worked 6 days a week, over 40 hrs a week for 14 years! How much harder can I work? I loved my job but the direction they are taking the shelter in is something I can not stand up for. I ask our community to continue to ask questions and demand these terrible people resign because I’m not sure with the current board at the helm our shelter will prosper.
Alissa Saul
This is the statement of former employee Taylor Michael:
I volunteered at the shelter for 4 years and I worked there for 7 years. During my years at the shelter, I’ve always admired and looked up to Jill because she was so committed to the well being of the animals, her staff and just the shelter in general. She was so hands on! She was more than a director. We know those animals like the backs of our hands because we’ve spent more hours at the shelter than we have at our own homes in our normal lives.
Leaving was painful and heartbreaking but we couldn’t stand by and watch a board full of people who have no experience in animal welfare swoop in and make decisions they weren’t educated enough to make. We cannot work and do what we do best, with the current board. Why hasn’t Ron made an actual statement about what’s going on at the shelter? It’s the community’s shelter. They donated the money so we could care for for the less fortunate. They donated the money because they believed in us and what we were doing. They deserve transparency and they deserve to have a voice in this matter.
The shelter was my family and the community is a part of that. We love those animals and all we want is for them to be happy, loved and cared for. We all cared about the shelter deeply and the accusations that have been made towards Jill are ridiculous. She put 100% of her energy into that shelter for the last 13 years and it was and is her passion. The shelter wouldn’t be where it is today without her dedication to the animals and the community she cares for so much. I will continue to look up to her because she’s done nothing wrong. I will continue to support her because we believe in creating a shining beacon of hope for the less fortunate and that was our dream together. We are standing up for what we believe in and what’s right for the animals. Don’t ever give up hope on something you believe in. We love our community and we loved our shelter.
The current board needs to step down so we can get back to doing what we do best and so the community can have their shelter back. The shelter they donated to, the shelter they helped create. If Ron cared about the animals and the overall well being of the shelter, he would step down and set his ego aside. If Ron cared to learn about the shelter, he would have put in the effort months ago but he never did. None of them know what goes into the day to day operations of a shelter and honestly, none of them seem like they even want to know. They want to attend their board meetings and that’s about it. Ron never even set foot in the shelter when it was on Crystal Ave in Benton Harbor. He has no idea the amount of work it took to get us where we are today. Jill was literally loading the moving van herself on the day we moved to the new shelter. She was by our side through all of it and then Ron walks in and acts like he knows better than someone who’s lived this life for 13 years? And then he doesn’t even have the respect to listen to what she has to say? Mind blowing.
We’ve asked for your support many times over the years but I’m asking again. Please keep fighting for those animals and that shelter. Demand he step down so the shelter can thrive again. Demand we get a board of people who will work with us, not against us.
Thank you, Taylor Michael
This is the statement of former employee Xay Somsanith:
I am writing this letter in support of the employees that resigned from the Humane Society of Southwestern Michigan. I am the former Communication Specialist for the organization, and worked with the individuals mentioned in this letter for a little over a year. The intent of this letter is to provide the account for the sudden resignation, and to provide examples of the actions taken by the Board of Directors, which ultimately led to the loss of these five employees.
First, the board had little to no regards for the safety of the staff during COVID-19. The board disagreed with our safety protocols of having appointment based adoptions, and instead, pressured our director to open up to the public. Their reasoning was based on how the public might perceive this new operational procedure, and not based on general safety guidelines outlined by the CDC. Instead of listening to the staff on the efficient and effective nature that appointment based adoptions was having on total adoptions (in 2019, 369 animals were adopted, and in 2020, despite of the pandemic, 340 animals were adopted), they were more concerned about the “optics” of not being fully open when the 2020 statistics showed that adoptions were still around the average yearly total of 400 animals. The director made the decision to continue to operate in this manner for the sake of the general public’s health, and the health of the staff of eleven. She knew that the potential exposure to the staff from this disease, and if a member was infected, could have a negative effect on the care that would be provided to the animals. Two of the board members seem to have a “laissez faire” attitude around COVID-19 due to already being infected with the disease, and continued to pressure the staff to move away from an appointment based process.
Second, the staff was able to raise over $277,000.00 in 51 days in spite of numerous in-person events being cancelled outright due to the pandemic. Instead of congratulating the staff, they were chastised about the wording within the press release on the radio and in the newspaper. They were upset that the media, and no fault of the staff, sensationalized the shelter needs, and demanded that all press releases now need to go through the board when this was never an issue in previous situations. Once again, their lack of knowledge and understanding of the state of the organization during these unprecedented times and its needs, was far less important than the “optics” of their performance as a board and the feedback they were getting from their friends/neighbors were of more concern to them.
Third, the board threatened the staff with a lawsuit of $100,000.00 to any individual that was insubordinate on the use of a new logo that they had designed themselves without any consultation from the staff. The staff is not in any financial position to withstand a litigation of that nature, and the board should have known that a lawsuit of this manner would actually be against the organization itself. They were actually attempting to threaten and sue the organization they are supposed to be assisting.
There are many more examples of the board’s decision that would have a negative impact on the shelter. Wanting to extend open hours at the shelter on a staff that already works 6 days and is at the shelter 24/7 with no holidays, is proof of inconsideration for the individuals and lack of knowledge on how the shelter operates. The desire to have in-person meetings and events when the COVID-19 pandemic is still looming, is another disregard towards the employees’ well being. The current board is not fit to lead, let alone operate an animal shelter. The lack of knowledge, and not to mention the lack of empathy, are reasons for this board to resign and be replaced. We are hoping that the support of the community will allow this to come to fruition, and reinstate the staff that felt so inclined to have to resign due to the toxicity of these individuals.
Thank you for any assistance provided.
Sincerely,
Xay Somsanith
Former Communication Specialist
Humane Society of Southwestern Michigan
Here is the latest statement, press release, from the Board of Directors:
The Board of Directors of the Humane Society of Southwestern Michigan is making sure the day-to-day operations of the Yeager Family Pet Shelter will continue at the level expected by our donors and the general public. In order to make this happen, we are in the process of searching for an interim Executive Director. The interim Executive Director will oversee the day-to-day operations until a permanent Executive Director is hired.
Here’s a brief summary on how the Board of Directors will be operating the shelter in the near term with the help of our kennel techs:
- We are now scheduling appointments for visits with animals.
- All visitors must adhere to COVID guidelines; face-masks are required and social distancing as much as possible.
- Appointments will be spaced out in both the dog and cat areas.
- The adoption process will be explained to interested parties at scheduled appointments.
The Board of Directors would like to thank all the donors and the general public who continue to support the activities of the shelter. We are very grateful to continue to receive donations on a daily basis; our forever friends are depending on you for continued support. Our goal is and has always been the welfare of our animals. We thank you all who continue to support our cats and dogs as they wait for their forever homes.
