Letters from Executive Director
Dear Friends of Foothills,
What a wonderful way to begin summer, with a renovation to our Adoption Center and the addition of our new Intake Center at FHS! The last two months has been a whirlwind of activity, from business as usual with intakes, adoptions, and rescues to a “bit” of chaos with construction and renovations! All of it has been well worth it though.
As we speed into the summer months, we are now much more organized and ready to help the animals of our community. I would be remiss if I didn’t thank you all for your patience during our construction! I encourage you all to come out, take a look around, adopt a new friend, or simply stop in to say “Hello”. Another word of thanks is well-deserved – to our Volunteers and Board of Directors! It takes everyone, including our community, to make FHS such a wonderful and successful organization!!
My Best, Selena Coffey Executive Director
Click here to view the pictures of the "New and Improved" Foothills Humane Society
Greetings I am writing to introduce myself as the new Executive Director for Foothills Humane Society. After only two weeks on the job, I already feel like I’m at home!
Prior to being chosen for this position, I served sixteen years in local government administration in neighboring Henderson County. I received both my undergraduate degree in social work and my graduate degree, a Masters in Public Administration, from Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC. You may be asking… “How does a person go from local government administration to a non-profit?” For me, the answer was simple and best said by a dear friend, “find a place that makes your soul sing”! I love working with people and have always been tender-hearted for our ‘furry friends’.
My goal in this position, as in my life in general, is to make a difference. With the help of our wonderful staff and Board of Directors, I aspire to improve the lives of the animals in our community by caring for them while they’re with us Foothills Humane Society, advocating for them when they leave us to go to their “forever homes” and helping to implement policies and programs that encourage and support animal welfare in the community at large. With this new position, as the first Executive Director for Foothills, I realize there will be challenges. But with the challenges, I’m certain that there will be rewards, whether in the wag of a tail when one of our dogs meets his new family, a lazy cat relaxing in her new friend’s arms, or the ability to help those who want to have their pet altered but can’t really afford it without our help.
I look forward to meeting folks from the community and welcome you to come to visit us at Foothills. Please stop in a say hello, as I’d love to meet you personally!
My Best,
Selena Coffey
Executive Director
A "Thank You" from out Exec. Director
“To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” ~ Attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson
Dear Foothills’ Dedicated Volunteers,
The quote above has inspired me since the first day I ever read it, many years ago. Whether the author was indeed Ralph Waldo Emerson, or someone else, the inspiration behind it remains unchanged. “To leave the world a bit better” and “To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived…” Those lines resonate so deeply within me. I see you all, Foothills’ Volunteers, when I let these words flow through my mind. You all are amazing!
I see you regularly, doing shelter laundry, walking dogs, cuddling cats, greeting visitors, “On the Road”, at the Thrift Barn, taking pictures for our website, transporting animals for surgeries, planting flowers… the gifts you give are endless and your names are too many to list here. In everything you do for Foothills and our animals, you do it with a generosity of heart, willingness in spirit and a “can do” attitude! Just this week, two of you were instrumental in getting our cherished Ditto into his forever home. While staff was busy with various tasks, two of you (you know who you are), led a young man into our kennels and he found Ditto. When Ditto’s new “best friend” came back to the front to complete the adoption process, another one of you, an Adoption Assistant, talked to the young man about how much she loved Ditto and how excited she was for Ditto, and for his new family!
Believe me friends, I’ve been touched in so many ways by you all during my last few months in the Foothills family. I have seen you leave our little part of the world better and I know beyond a doubt, that more than one life has breathed easier because of you! On behalf of the animals in our care and the Foothills Staff, I want to say an earnest “thank you” to all of Foothills’ Volunteers, including our volunteer Board of Directors!
With Sincere Gratitude,
Selena D. Coffey
Executive Director, Foothills Humane Society