New Humboldt and District SPCA President Silvi Hnatiw (far left) discusses and meets with her fellow board members for the first time at the organization's annual general meeting. (Aaron Schulze/northeastNOW Staff)

By Aaron Schulze

New Leadership

“I realized there were positions needing to be filled,”: Humboldt and District SPCA elects new president

Dec 15, 2019 | 1:33 PM

Silvi Hnatiw is originally from the Humboldt and Bruno area, and she’s getting settled back home after nearly 30 years of working various jobs.

She attended the Humboldt and District SPCA’s annual general meeting on Thursday, Dec. 12, having previous SPCA experience when she lived in Inuvik.

The Humboldt SPCA’s board determined they needed a fresh voice for decision making, and by the end of the three-hour meeting, Hnatiw was elected the organization’s new president.

“I wanted to know what I could or couldn’t donate, and I realized there were positions needing to be filled,” Hnatiw told northeastNOW. “I came to the SPCA meeting to see who the people were. I never thought I’d be president. I was looking at fundraising actually.”

Hnatiw attended the meeting because her phone calls to the Humboldt SPCA regarding donations would never be returned. After asking questions and hearing discussion from other board members on how there have been struggles to recruit and retain volunteers for the shelter, Hnatiw confirmed her thoughts on the Humboldt SPCA’s current status as an outsider looking in.

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“There’s definitely a volunteer and staffing problem,” she said. “There have been times where myself and other people I knew would make phone calls and they wouldn’t be returned or returned in a timely matter. That says the staff is getting overworked and there’s a heavy burden on us.”

Hnatiw acknowledged how many diverse personalities are on the Humboldt SPCA’s board and how they, along with their current staff and volunteers, have been working hard to fundraise for a new building and food and supplies for their animals in care.

“The volunteers are working through the goodness of their heart,” she said. “They’re probably losing money or time with their families. Everyone is giving up something personal and I’m thinking what I can give up. I have time. I’m not being torn in all these different directions at the moment. Hopefully I can utilize some knowledge I got out of the meeting.”

With only one meeting and an unexpected presidency appointment under her belt, Hnatiw wants to review the Humboldt SPCA’s finances and continue meeting with her fellow board members before pursuing anything massive.

However, one aspect she wants to change soon is the Humboldt SPCA’s exposure. Which means communicating more with local schools, municipalities, and youth teams and organizations.

“I believe our youth hold the key to so many great things,” she said. “Truthfully, I’m not that great on a computer… but I know there are a lot of individuals out there who are wizards on a computer. There are probably people out there who have allergies that can’t even be coming to the shelter, but maybe they could donate their time behind a computer screen or set up things for media. That’s an area of volunteering we need. Maybe different types of fundraising.

“We have to make the public aware we’re here, what we’re doing, and what we’re facing. I don’t think a lot of the public realizes how traumatic it is on some people. PTSD is real and it doesn’t mean you had to be in a war or something violent, I believe it exists even with our animals that we have to go and rescue. You can’t leave that at the SPCA and go home. We’re lucky we have people caring for that way.”

The end goal for Hnatiw is to put animals in the Humboldt SPCA’s care in a better position to find their forever homes. She and the board look to begin that process in the new year.

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow