Leaders retreat

Best Friends depends on its volunteers. Indeed, we couldn't do all the good work we do for animals without them.

Come July 22, Best Friends' volunteer team leaders will gather at our sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, for a long weekend to get to know each other better, and to help Best Friends celebrate our 25^th anniversary.

Click here to check out all the cool events planned at the sanctuary during the Best Friends Week.

It is the second time team leaders have gathered at Best Friends for a retreat of their own.

"It's designed to both recognize our team leaders for their hard work and also engage them even more in the mission of Best Friends Animal Society," says Tiffani Hill, volunteer manager for Best Friends' Community Programs and Services. "We gather for a long weekend that includes opportunities for them to get a behind-the-scenes tour of the sanctuary and meet and learn from department managers, directors and founders."

Team leaders serve from their homes as mentors to volunteers in their cities, counties and states, Hill says. Ambassador team leaders help lead events and fundraisers, and Network team leaders manage one or more Best Friends Network communities. There are also team leaders who have Best Friends Puppies Aren't Products teams on the ground, helping to spread the word about puppy mills and their connection to pet stores that sell puppies.

Team leaders expand the capacity of Best Friends' staff to recruit, train, supervise and recognize the thousands of volunteers who support Best Friends in their local communities. Most of them have full-time jobs and many of them volunteer with their local rescue groups in addition to volunteering with Best Friends, Hill says.

Best Friends has more than 50 volunteer team leaders and almost 40 of them are expected to attend this year's retreat. For many, it will be their first visit to the sanctuary in southern Utah's beautiful red rock country.

Their long weekend will include chats with Best Friends founders, meetings with department managers, sanctuary tours and lunch and dinner get-togethers.

Sandi Cain has been a team leader for the Best Friends Network's California community for more than a year and a Best Friends volunteer for two years.

"I'm the orchestra leader," says Cain, a freelance writer by trade who lives in Orange County. "I help recruit county representatives, help the resource people and try to expand what we cover in the news."

Among other duties, Cain assigns volunteer writers to cover animal welfare stories in California.

She made her first visit to Best Friends back in July 2008.

"It was great. We spent the afternoon at the finishing school for the kitties, took the tour and had lunch there. It was a full day, but a rewarding day."

This will be the first time Cain has traveled to Best Friends for a team leader retreat.

"I'm looking forward to meeting some of the people I only know electronically, and to talk about the challenges people have and get ideas from each other," she says.

By Sandy Miller

As part of Best Friends’ 25th anniversary in 2009, our goal is to double our membership, so we can double our efforts to bring about a time when all companion animals have a forever home. What can you do to help? Give the Gift of a Best Friends membership to family and friends.