Tourtillott relocated from Vancouver, Washington, where he served as executive director of the Humane Society for Southwest Washington for over five years. During that time, Tourtillott and the HSSW board of directors completed a multimillion-dollar capital campaign and undertook the design, construction, and completion of a long-awaited, 30,750 square-foot animal sheltering facility.

“I’m very proud of what the board members and I were able to accomplish by engaging the southwest Washington community in our mission,” says Tourtillott. “I look forward to establishing the same kind of effective relationships with the Cedar Valley Humane Society’s board, staff, and volunteers, as well as the wonderful people of Cedar Rapids and the surrounding communities.”

Originally from Colorado, Tourtillott began his career as a volunteer kennel worker at the Denver Dumb Friends League, a large non-profit animal welfare and sheltering organization. Soon afterwards, the DDFL hired him to clean kennels and assist with adoptions, their spay/neuter clinic, and triage.

From there, Tourtillott joined the Denver Zoo as a zookeeper, working primarily with birds and primates; became involved in a Loggerhead Shrike recovery project for the San Diego Zoo; and was retained as a project manager at a GIS company.

After five years as project manager, he combined his management and business skills with his interest in animals and became the executive director of the Humane Society of Cascade County in Great Falls, Montana. Two years later, he joined the Humane Society for Southwest Washington as their executive director.

“I find great satisfaction in producing positive results for both animals and people,” Tourtillott says.

Kirsten Eddins, president of the Cedar Valley Humane Society’s board of directors, says that Tourtillott has exactly the right blend of experience to continue the organization’s forward momentum.

“We are extremely pleased to have Chuck Tourtillott as our executive director,” says Eddins. “His leadership experience will be invaluable to our organization’s growth over the next several years.”

Tourtillott holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in zoology from the University of Northern Colorado. He also studied geographic information systems at the University of Denver. He is a member of the Society of Animal Welfare Administrators and the American Humane Association.

The cocker spaniel has been at Kirkwood since January 30, when the Cedar Valley Humane Society’s animal care staff transported her to the animal health technology department for an ultrasound.

“After the ultrasound confirmed that the dog was pregnant, we turned over her medical care to Kirkwood,” says Bob Citrullo, Executive Director of the Cedar Valley Humane Society. “Kirkwood is a calmer environment for her to have puppies in, and it provides a great learning opportunity for the students.”

According to Anne M. Duffy, RVT, professor and veterinary technician program coordinator at Kirkwood Community College, the puppies were born Sunday evening beginning around 8:00 p.m. One puppy is buff; the others are black. The mother dog and all the puppies are doing well. The puppies will remain at Kirkwood until they are at least eight weeks old and ready for adoption.

The Cedar Valley Humane Society is seeking monetary donations to help cover ongoing veterinary expenses of the rescued cocker spaniels. Donations can be made at www.cvhumane.org or mailed to the Cedar Valley Humane Society, 7411 Mount Vernon Road SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 52403.

Mackenzie Paulson, DVM, prepares to examine the teeth of Reno, aka Cocker Spaniel #9.

Bob Citrullo, executive director of the Cedar Valley Humane Society, and Lyndee Fuessley, animal care supervisor, transported the 15 Cocker Spaniels from Des Moines to the Cedar Valley Humane Society.

“We’re happy to provide assistance to the ARL,” says Citrullo. “Taking in 88 animals at one time can cause a strain on resources for any organization, so when the ARL asked us if we could provide additional shelter, we were more than happy to help.” Citrullo adds that the call came at a good time for the Cedar Valley Humane Society, because the shelter currently has several open kennels.

“The welfare of the animals is obviously our top priority,” says Citrullo. “Our immediate goal is to make them clean and comfortable and take care of whatever their medical needs are.” All of the dogs will be examined for medical issues and treated as necessary. More information will be available after the animals’ health has been assessed.

To help these dogs, the Cedar Valley Humane Society is seeking monetary to help cover their ongoing veterinary expenses. Donations can be made at www.cvhumane.org or mailed to the Cedar Valley Humane Society, 7411 Mount Vernon Road SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 52403.

The goal is to make the Cocker Spaniels healthy and ready for adoption when the time comes, says Citrullo. Currently there are 15 dogs already available for adoption at the Cedar Valley Humane Society.

Jeff Hamilton, president and CEO of ESP International, presents Executive Director Bob Citrullo with a check to support the homeless animals at the shelter.

At January’s staff luncheon, Jeff Hamilton, president and CEO of ESP International, presented Executive Director Bob Citrullo with a check to support the homeless animals at the shelter.

Throughout the year, the staff at ESP International held friendly competitions between departments to collect donations for the fund. They also attended several of our fundraising events. The ESP team was the top team fundraiser for Woof Walk.

ESP International has been serving the OEM market for over 40 years. ESP is a global and domestic supply chain specialist for seals, rubber products, plastics, cast and forged metal product.

Ten-year-old Jordan Sanders held her second annual holiday fundraiser for to support the animals at the Cedar Valley Humane Society. Jordan baked four kinds of treats and sold them to family, friends, and co-workers. The yummy flavors and festive holiday packaging made them a huge hit! She raised more than $300 to donate to the animals. For last year’s fundraiser, Jordan designed and created Christmas tree ornaments.

Rebecca Moehn, Jesse Bevins, and Grant Beck enlisted the help of friends, family, and co-workers to collect blankets for our shelter dogs. In just two weeks, they had collected 50 fleece blankets! The blankets will help make the dogs a little cozier in 2012.

Employees at Rockwell Collins collected food, treats, toys, and other goodies to give to our shelter sweeties. They also made a thoughtful monetary donation.

A HUGE thanks to these kind folks, as well as everyone else who kept our shelter sweeties in their hearts this holiday season. Our animals surely do benefit from your generosity!

Citrullo relocated from Baton Rouge, LA, where he was executive director of Cat Haven, a nonprofit feline shelter. Since retiring from the U.S. Army, Citrullo held leadership positions at the Humane Society of South Mississippi in Gulfport; the Arizona Humane Society in Phoenix; Boggs Mountain Humane Shelter in Clayton, GA; and the Ruth Steinert SPCA in Schuylkill County, PA. He also successfully operated his own dog boarding and grooming facility in Pine Grove, PA, for seven years.

“We are extremely pleased to have Bob Citrullo at the helm. The breadth and depth of his experience will be invaluable in continuing the forward momentum of this organization,” says Bernie Lettington, president of the Cedar Valley Humane Society’s board of directors.

In his previous positions, Citrullo established a variety of programs to educate and promote responsible pet ownership, spaying and neutering of pets, adoptions of animals and reduce the need for euthanasia in the community.

“While at the Arizona Humane Society, I was responsible for placing over 23,000 animals with adoptive families each year,” says Citrullo. “I’m very excited to be using my shelter management and animal welfare knowledge to benefit the homeless, abused, and neglected animals of Linn County. Together, with the members of this community, we will be able to make a positive and sustainable difference in the lives of these animals.”

Citrullo holds a nursing degree as part of his military service. He is a member of the Society of Animal Welfare Administrators and the American Humane Association. He and his wife, Debbie, share their home with two Basset Hounds, Gunner and Ivy.

Rachel Tabron of Ambroja Photography receives the Governor's Volunteer Award from Governor Branstad.

Rachel Tabron of Ambroja Photography was honored on June 24, 2011, with the Governor’s Volunteer Award for her volunteer work with the Cedar Valley Humane Society and other animal welfare organizations across Iowa.

Rachel dedicates countless hours each month to capturing the personalities of our shelter sweeties with her camera. Her gorgeous photographs help us get homeless animals into forever homes just that much faster! Hats off to you, Rachel, for being so generous with your time and talent!

Mount Vernon Middle School students Kyli, Cale, and Kristen deliver donations to Jan Clarke, Communications Director of the Cedar Valley Humane Society. (Not pictured: Sarah)

A small-but-mighty group of Mount Vernon Middle School students collected donations for the Cedar Valley Humane Society. Not only did Kyli, Cale, Kristen, and Sarah go around town collecting items like blankets, food, treats, collars, and toys, they held a challenge between classrooms at school. The winning classroom got an ice cream party! In addition to the donated goods, the students raised more than $400 to help homeless animals in our care. Way to go!

Julie Hiemstra of Alliance Claims Solutions (left) presents donation to Jan Clarke, Communications Director of the Cedar Valley Humane Society.

Alliance Claims Solutions held a couple of fundraisers this summer to raise money to donate to the Cedar Valley Humane Society! Employees paid to wear jeans the entire month of June, plus they held a cookout. All this brought in $900 to help purchase food and medicine for the homeless animals in our care. Thanks, Alliance Claims Solutions!

The survey will be available online at the following link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PNKXJPQ. This important survey will be available until July 6.

Anyone who has participated in any programs or events of the Cedar Valley Humane Society is asked to provide thoughtful responses, as are supporters and other informed citizens. Participation is critical to generate sufficient data to identify and prioritize issues key to the continued growth and development of the organization.

Results from the survey will help the Cedar Valley Humane Society’s board of directors better understand public perception about the 110 year-old organization, which serves the Linn County area and is primarily funded by private donations.

“The Cedar Valley Humane Society’s staff, volunteers, and board of directors are tireless, passionate people dedicated to caring for homeless, abused and neglected animals. Our jobs require us to speak and act on behalf of those who cannot speak or act for themselves,” said Interim Executive Director Jan Clarke. “It takes tremendous resources to provide food, medical care, and shelter to these animals. It’s imperative the community understand our brand and our mission so that they can support the cause generously and with confidence.”

In addition to the physical care and refuge offered to homeless dogs, cats, and other small companion animals, the Cedar Valley Humane Society provides obedience training, microchip implantation, end-of-life services, and humane education programs.

United Way Day of Caring volunteers helped with pet cemetery maintenance on May 12, 2011.

“Our goal is to keep the cemetery beautiful and well-maintained, so that visitors have a positive experience when they come to pay tribute to their beloved pets,” says Zach Melton, executive director of the Cedar Valley Humane Society. “We got a head start on cemetery maintenance from United Way Day of Caring volunteers, who came out and trimmed and edged the markers and weeded the flower bed.”

He adds that as part of the regular grounds maintenance, Cedar Valley Humane Society staff or volunteers will routinely remove and discard items that, in their judgment, have become faded or unsightly.

In case of inclement weather, the cleanup will take place the following day. All items removed during the spring cleanup will be discarded.

“We can no longer offer stray animal sheltering and pick-up services to incorporated municipalities throughout Linn County without having a service agreement in place,” said Zach Melton, executive director of the Cedar Valley Humane Society. “It’s not a responsible operating plan and leaves us well short of realizing the accomplishment of our organizational mission.” According to Melton, it is an industry best practice for animal welfare organizations to have formal agreements with the municipalities they serve.

The Cedar Valley Humane Society has been providing animal control services to Linn County for more than a decade. During the 2010 renegotiation of Linn County’s animal control contract, Melton discovered that the previous contract only covered the cost of sheltering animals from unincorporated Linn County. “The existing contract in no way covered the costs of animals found within or brought in from the various incorporated municipalities,” said Melton.

As a result, Melton began negotiations with individual municipalities throughout Linn County. “For municipalities that have entered into agreements, the intake of stray animals will look no different than in the past. However, citizens who bring us stray animals from within the city limits of a municipality not under contract with us will be directed back to their respective city halls for further guidance,” said Melton. He added that, in the absence of a service agreement, the Cedar Valley Humane Society is not permitted to shelter those animals.

As of April 30, the municipalities with signed service agreements are Central City, Fairfax, Mount Vernon, Palo, Robins and Walford.

“The only city at this point to decide to handle the services on their own has been Center Point. For the remainder of the municipalities, negotiations are underway and should be wrapped up by mid-May,” Melton says.

For further information on how these changes may affect a specific municipality, contact the Cedar Valley Humane Society at (319) 362-6288.

Jeff Hamilton, president and CEO of ESP International, presents Executive Director Zach Melton with a check for $2,500.

The Cedar Valley Humane Society is honored to be selected as ESP International’s 2011 ESP Charity of the Year.

At the March staff luncheon, Jeff Hamilton, president and CEO of ESP International, presented Executive Director Zach Melton with a $2,500 check to support the homeless animals at the shelter.

The staff at ESP International also staged a friendly competition between departments to see which could collect the most pet food. All told, the employees donated 1,089 pounds of food for our shelter animals.

ESP International employees collected 1,089 pounds of pet food to donate to the shelter.

In addition, they donated six flat-screen computer monitors.

We offer a HUGE thank you to the wonderful people at ESP International. We couldn’t do all that we do without the assistance of good people like you!

ESP International has been serving the OEM market for over 40 years. ESP is a global and domestic supply chain specialist for seals, rubber products, plastics, cast and forged metal product.

The Iowa Register of Accountability is a voluntary listing of charitable nonprofits that have committed themselves to continuous improvement by using the Iowa Principles and Practices for Charitable Nonprofit Excellence as general guidelines. Its purpose is to show Iowa and the nation that Iowa nonprofits make a concerted effort to implement efficient, effective and ethical operations. This voluntary listing was conceived as an alternative to a national accreditation system of all nonprofits which had been proposed in Congressional hearings.

“Our new hours will make it more convenient for families to come out and meet animals available for adoption,” says Zach Melton, executive director of the Cedar Valley Humane Society. “Being open seven days a week also will allow us to respond faster to certain situations, such as a lost pet.” 

As usual, staff members generally are available to accept donations in the morning.

Nick and Jordan Sanders with Executive Director Zach Melton.

Jordan Sanders showed some entrepreneurial holiday spirit by making Christmas tree ornaments and donating all the proceeds to the Cedar Valley Humane Society. She created 104 handmade ornaments with glass beads and sold them for a total of $116, which she presented to Executive Director Zach Melton. Her brother, Nick, also wanted to do his part, so he donated money from his allowance, as did Jordan. All told, the family donated more than $160 to help the homeless animals at the shelter. Thank you to Jordan and Nick for making our holiday spirits just a little brighter!

ITC executives present Cedar Valley Humane Society representatives with check from golf outing. From left: CVHS director Brent Oleson; Linda Blair; CVHS president Bernie Lettington; Doug Collins; CVHS executive director Zach Melton; Jon Jipping; and Cameron Bready.

Employees of ITC Midwest raised more than $3,000 at their annual golf outing in late September 2010. Joseph L. Welch, chairman, president, and CEO of ITC, personally matched the employees’ fundraising efforts to bring the total to nearly $7,000. ITC Midwest is a strong supporter of animal welfare organizations, and the Cedar Valley Humane Society is very fortunate to be a beneficiary.

Headquartered in Cedar Rapids, ITC Midwest employs approximately 75 people in the area and across its service territory. ITC Midwest owns and operates high voltage electric transmission lines and substations in portions of Iowa, Minnesota, Illinois and Missouri. As the nation’s only fully independent electric transmission company, ITC focuses on operating, maintaining and improving the electric grid to improve its reliability and efficiency.