Marcie Renner
Marcie has been an important part of our organization for many years now. She started her volunteerism at Heritage Humane Society in the late 2000’s by helping with some of our events and fundraisers. She then joined our Heritage Humane Society Auxiliary in 2015. Over the past six years, Marcie has done many amazing things for our shelter. She chaired our Make Par for Pets Golf Classic for four years, helped organize many other Auxiliary events and programs, was elected into officer roles including President of the Auxiliary, and so much more. She has devoted so much of her time and energy to helping local homeless pets over the years. Her dedication, hard work, and love for animals are truly inspiring. Marcie recently moved out of state and will eventually be stepping away from the Heritage Humane Society Auxiliary. Her legacy will live on for years to come and we want to thank her from the bottom of our hearts for making such a difference. Thank you.
Words from Marcie Renner:
“Because of my love of animals and the fact that pets need advocates in the community, I felt compelled to become involved with the Heritage Humane Society. I started as a shelter volunteer in the late 2000s, primarily helping with outreach events. Once my employment status changed to part time, I was able to join the Auxiliary in 2015.
With my interest and experience in fundraising, marketing, and event planning and implementation (and the extreme cat allergy I developed that prevented me from going into the shelter!), the Auxiliary seemed like a perfect fit for me. I immediately signed on to help with the annual Make Par for Pets Golf Classic and ended up chairing the event for four years. I was also involved with the bakery booth at the Auxiliary’s Holiday Bazaar which gave me opportunities to make lots of cupcakes—another passion of mine.
Fulfilment of the mission of the Auxiliary—to raise funds for and increase awareness of HHS—is of vital importance to the shelter. I have been honored to play a part in the success of the Auxiliary’s fundraising efforts; last fiscal year, the Auxiliary raised approximately $140,000 for HHS.
The outreach aspects of my volunteering are even more rewarding to me. I really enjoy events like the Dog Street Strut and last year’s inaugural Williamsburg Christmas Market where we can interact with the community on behalf of HHS. I’m sure my friends, colleagues, and even mere acquaintances would attest to the fact that I love to talk about the roles, activities, and successes of the shelter and the Auxiliary.
In addition to providing me with rewarding experiences, HHS also gave me the opportunity to adopt one of my two current dogs, beagle Cooper (whose shelter name was Tanker). Friends of my son found our other dog, border collie Millie, abandoned at Waller Mill Park in the summer of 2012. After unsuccessfully trying to find her owner, we decided she was ours. Knowing that we wanted a companion for Millie, we watched the HHS website for several months. Tanker showed up on the site in November after being found wandering in an apartment parking lot; I went to meet him in person and fell in love when he immediately brought me a tennis ball in the shelter’s play room.
All these years later, Cooper and Millie are not only beloved family members, but also a reminder of the critical role that HHS plays in the community on behalf of abandoned and lost pets. I treasure the friends that I made through my volunteering and am proud of the successes we shared on behalf of the shelter. Although Glenn, Millie, Cooper, and I have moved to the next chapter of our lives—semi-retirement at Smith Mountain Lake—I plan to stay involved with the Auxiliary; in fact we’ve already made a reservation at the local KOA for the weekend of the 2021 golf tournament.
I want to extend many thanks to the staff at the shelter for their help with Auxiliary activities. And mostly, I want to thank the members of the Auxiliary for their incredible commitments of time and talent to pull off the many events that support the shelter’s mission. The last year has been challenging, but I am proud of how we adapted to a new reality and am confident that whatever the new normal looks like, the Auxiliary will continue to be a vital part of the community.”
