CAT hosted a Hawaiian Luau themed celebration for its volunteers on Sunday, August 30, to thank them all for the hard work and loving devotion they each give to the cats and kittens. (View photos here)
CAT presented these top volunteer recognition awards:
(voted on by the volunteers)
Angie Britton is the Coordinator of CAT’s adoption outreach center at the Tanasbourne PetSmart, where she monitors the health of the cats on site, coordinates the volunteers working there, counsels potential adopters, and positively represents CAT to the public.
Kathy Strom trains new CAT volunteers, teaches volunteers a Cat 101 class, and mentors new adoption counselors. You’ll see her at practically every CAT event and at the shelter every Sunday with a huge smile as she helps clients find the right cat for them.
Barbara Padden has been with CAT since 2001 and done practically every volunteer job imaginable to help the kitties. She designed CAT’s system for filing adoption paperwork and currently works with a group of volunteers to keep it all organized.
Marcia Guerin is known as one of the hardest working volunteers at CAT. She fosters kittens, provides care to the cats at CAT’s adoption center at the Wilsonville PetSmart, represents CAT at many local events, picks up donated food for the Cat Food Bank, and is generally the first volunteer to respond when there is a unique volunteer opportunity
(selected by CAT Staff)
Ray Zak. If it’s Wednesday, you’ll find Ray at CAT quietly and expertly taking care of any and all maintenance issues. One CAT staffer recently remarked that if it weren’t for Ray, the shelter would probably be falling down. Well, that may not be exactly true, but Ray does take care of all those little nuisance maintenance issues. He repairs broken locks, replaces light switches, hangs shelves and banners, installs doors, and so much more.
Dalma Franulovic not only makes great suggestions, she’s right there carrying them out. When she’s not helping folks find their perfect kitty at the Tualatin PetSmart, she might be deep cleaning a cat room at the shelter to get all the walls and corners perfectly clean. She also conducts the Meet Your Match feline assessments, which is the first step at CAT for a kitty to find a new home. And she opens her home to adult cats needing time away from the shelter to heal from illness or injury.
(for the most volunteer hours)
Barbara Pirk is another CAT volunteer who is at the shelter so much, you’d think she were paid staff. Barbara is the right-hand woman of CAT’s very successful foster program, performing many of the administrative duties essential for keeping the program running so well. Barbara also shares her creative talents by hand making signs, awards, cards, and other things CAT uses to promote programs in the community.
Linda Thomas took home her first litter of foster kittens in 2006 and has not slowed down since. She opens her heart and home to dozens of kittens and cats throughout the year, providing them a safe place to grow or heal until they can be adopted. She also mentors other CAT foster volunteers, giving them support and encouragement. There is no “empty” nest at Linda’s house!