PAWS ACROSS HAWAII  E Newsletter

Edition No. 2 

March  2004

 “It’s About the Animals”

Our next meeting will be Saturday, March 27  10:00 to 1:00 LDS (Mormon) Church at the top of Kalani Street (“Hamburger Hill”) in Kona

Well, we had a wonderful turnout for our January 31^st meeting at Tutu’s House in Waimea.  We had 51 people!  Paws Across Hawaii has great potential in joining our efforts for the benefit of our animals.  Look how far we have come in only two meetings, and considering our first meeting was just to get together and meet each other.

We had a first draft of a directory available, despite my computer crashing prior to my final printout.  Luckily I had a prior draft in my trash can so I was able to have a first draft directory.  Ah, the wonder of computers.  The directory and how it will be presented is still under construction.

We began our meeting with the very funny cat herders commercial and it helped herd us into our meeting.  After a quick review of the last meeting (which was also our first meeting), we reiterated our grounds rules of remembering the reason we are gathering: “It’s about the animals.”  We came because we have a common goal of helping our island’s animals.  So we must leave our egos behind and put the animals first!

We had brief introductions and announcements followed by our guest speaker Amy Lannan.  Amy gave us an insightful and informative history of the beginnings of animal welfare on the Big Island.  She won our hearts with her inspiring words and her caveat of always remembering to keep our sense of humor.  She also reminded us that we are all going to make mistakes, but we shouldn’t be afraid to do things.  I am sure many of us will want to hear from Amy again.

There was a discussion about changing the name of the group because there was some concern it may compete with Paws University in Kona.  In the end, the group decided to stay with Paws Across Hawaii as most people liked the name and did not feel that it would pose a problem.  I have since reserved the name with the Department of Commerce and Consumers Affairs so that it will be available if and/or when we decide when to incorporate.

We are all trying to move forward at a workable pace within our already super busy schedules.  With so many groups and individuals, it won’t always be possible to accommodate everyone’s desire immediately, but we are trying hard to build a strong foundation.  As the first step toward building a true working group, Franny Kinslow suggested that we focus on a special project which can offer varied levels of participation and areas of interest for everyone.  She presented several ideas for promoting Love-A-Cat Month in June 2004, including adoption, education, identification, and more.  Committee sign-up sheets were available (the committee lists so far are attached).  All are welcome to attend the Love-A-Cat committee session at the next Paws meeting if they are still considering signing up.

Paws Across Hawaii will allow people to participate at whatever level they choose.  Everyone who has a sincere desire to work together for the animals is welcome to attend.  As individuals, we may not always agree with each other, but we ask that no one target or resent the attendance of a specific person or organization.  We also ask for whatever level of commitment you can give, from simple input and attendance at meetings, to chairing a committee you feel strongly about, and anywhere in between.  All contributions are recognized and appreciated!

Committee Work

Due to size of our island, the heart of our work will take place at the committee level, and phone calls and email can accomplish a lot.  But recognizing the need to meet together face–to-face and also to be able to recruit new committee members, we will devote a portion of our future meetings to committee gathering time.

A big chunk of our March meeting will be committee work for Love-a-Cat Month.  Below is just a rough idea and subject to change and improvement.  We are looking at having similar committees grouped together.

IF YOU ARE ON A COMMITTEE PLEASE COME TO THE MEETING ALREADY PREPARED WITH YOUR IDEAS AND/OR SUGGESTIONS!

First Session  10 a.m.  – 11:00 a.m.  First session will be our general meeting, networking, announcements, and visioning. 

Second Session  11:00 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.  Committee/Networking Time/Social Time.  We will give the committees break time to grab a food plate then gather to do some committee work.  The focus this meeting will be on Love-A-Cat Month committees.

12:15 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.  The last 45 minutes will consist of committees reporting ideas back to the larger group.  The next meeting will be planned.

 

There is a copy of a flyer sent as a separate attachment that can be printed out and posted around your area.

PAWS ACROSS HAWAII  IS ABOUT EMPOWERMENT. 

There is much work that needs to be done.  Our animals can use all the help they can get.

REMEMBER: BE PAWS-A-TIVE!  WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Aloha