Volunteer Recognition
Annual Volunteer Appreciation Celebration
The Annual Volunteer Appreciation Dinner is held annually. Volunteers who have logged 10 hours or more during the previous calendar year are treated to a recognition dinner in their honor.
The Volunteer Appreciation Celebration was held outside at the Potter League for Animals in August 2021. The celebration was held in honor of all Potter League volunteers who logged 10+ hours or more during the 2020 calendar year.
2020 Volunteer of the Year: Melissa Rauch
It doesn’t take long for anyone who meets Melissa or sees her walking through the halls of Potter League to understand why she is so well-deserving of this award. What makes Melissa so well loved, respected, and appreciated at Potter League is the unique way in which she goes above and beyond typical volunteerism to improve the lives of animals in our care and to better this organization as a whole. Melissa goes above and beyond and creates playlists for animals recovering from surgery based on the veterinarian’s musical mood of the day, downloads videos for cat enrichment on her iPad, and laying in the oddest positions in animal rooms to make that specific animal feel more comfortable.
Melissa is a staple of this organization and the staff, animals, and the Potter League have been made boundlessly better by her presence. Thank you for all you do and we are honored to name Melissa as the 2020 Co-Volunteer of the Year!
2020 Volunteer of the Year: Mike Clarke
When you first meet Mike, he’ll most likely have one of the Potter League dogs at his side. Mike is one of our amazing dog volunteers who comes in multiple times a week to give our dogs their much-needed time outside in the pen or the training center. Mike’s passion for helping get PLFA dogs adopted is unparalleled. He walks into the shelter with his camera around his neck ready to take some photos of the dogs in action. He posts on his personal Facebook and all the Potter groups the glorious photos and little, character oriented bios about each dog.
Thank you for all you do and we are honored to name Mike as the 2020 Co-Volunteer of the Year!
2020 Junior Volunteer of the Year: Ella Gilpin
Ella began volunteering at the Potter League when she was just in middle school. And ever since, you can find Ella and her grandmother every Friday in the cat area cleaning cat rooms, condos and small animal enclosures.
Ella is one of our dedicated Team Cat volunteers and we can always count on her to be here. She has a passion for helping our animals and we are so grateful to have her as a volunteer.
It is with great honor that we bestowed the 2020 Junior Volunteer of the Year Award to Ella Gilpin.
2020 Lore Owens Award: Nancy Adams
The Lore Owens award was created in honor of a well-loved volunteer after her passing. This award recognizes and “unsung” hero at the Potter League, so when it came time to select this years winner, it was her quiet emails of cheering our staff on and the I’m coming back as soon as I can during the months long quarantine messages that came to the forefront of our mind. Nancy Adams is one volunteer that always shows up, and yet you almost don’t know she’s there. She is a valued member of Team Dog which is always our biggest need. Morning cleaning of dog rooms may not be the most glamorous task, but Nancy is never without a smile on her face.
Without fanfare, Nancy’s passion for animals is quietly celebrated as she is often spotted sitting with one of our shy dogs in the play-space in between cleaning room. Always ready and willing to drive our animals across the state to a vet appointment, Nancy is a volunteer who is ready to go in any direction we may need help with. This year we were honored to present the 2020 Lore Owens Award to our dear friend, Nancy Adams.