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Humane Society Director Steps Down, Cites Family

Posted on: Thursday, 7 October 2004, 06:00 CDT

Kate Geranios is in her last week of work at the head of the Missoula Humane Society with her heart in two places.

Her eight years at the private, nonprofit organization and six years as its executive director cultivated her perennial love for animals, she said in an interview, Monday. She has led the Humane Society more than halfway through a $15 million capital campaign to build a new shelter.

But she also has a young daughter at home to raise, and she has realized she can't do both.

"The organization and the job right now really require somebody who can give 120 percent," she said. "I just can't do that with a 15- month-old child."

Geranios thought "long and hard" before she let the board know she would step down but continue with the campaign as a volunteer.

"I honestly feel it's the best decision for me, for the shelter and for the campaign," she said.

The Humane Society bought the 6,000-square-foot former Moose Lodge on four acres on U.S. Highway 93 South in the summer of 2002. Its campaign to remodel and add on to the building to make a new, modern shelter to replace its deteriorating building next to the sewage plant has reached $825,000 in donations and pledges. It needs a dedicated push now to start this winter on the first phase of the remodeling adding on a dog kennel area - and stay on track for the Humane Society to move in this spring.

"Really, that's what it is," Geranios said. "I've got two babies."

On Monday, the plastic tarps that the staff has hung over the dog kennels to collect rainwater from the leaking roof sagged heavy with water from the overnight rains. The 41-year-old building is literally cracking into pieces, and the Humane Society has to move to allow for the expansion of the Missoula Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Humane Society board president Terry king said Geranios' departure feels like a daughter leaving home.

"She was, and is, a godsend for the animals and for the Humane Society," he said.

"We get things done because of Kate," he said. "And the animals do better because of Kate."

Geranios became director at a time when the public perceived the Humane Society as unfriendly to would-be pet owners. Geranios and the board revamped the adoption process.

"Instead of looking to see if somebody is good enough to have an animal," she said, "we look at what kind of animal is best for a person and a family."

She also worked to find and buy a site or building for a new shelter and prepared the organization for the giant capital campaign, then launched it and nurtured it to the home stretch.

Now, she said, "I'm just kind of changing my role, going from paid staff to volunteer."

She'll stay on the building committee and the campaign committee as a volunteer, she said. She will also work a while with the new director for a smooth transition.

The board is reviewing about 20 resumes, King said, and will accept more until Monday, Sept. 20.

Geranios wound up in Missoula after she graduated with a degree in speech and communication at Southern Illinois University. She and a college friend threw a dart on a map of the West, and it landed on Missoula. She got a job as an animal caretaker at the shelter and planned to work for a year and then go to graduate school.

She wound up working her way up the organization, getting married and having a daughter.

"When I got here, I didn't even know you could have a career affecting the lives of animals, short of being a vet," she said.

King is not worried about the capital campaign, he said, especially with Geranios easing the transition to a new director. He has been involved in the progress toward a new shelter for 12 years, he said, and the campaign is now well in hand.

"I am convinced we will move in this spring," he said. "Absolutely."

"I'm a firm believer that no one is irreplaceable in life," he said. "But replacing Kate will be tough. Big shoes."

On Thursday, the organization hopes to raise $15,000 with its annual Bone Ball, to be held in the Caras Park Pavilion. The event includes pet contests and raffles.

Geranios for now is focused on the immediate future, spending time with her daughter - and her husband, two cats and two dogs.

"The time that I've spent here has just been incredible," she said. "I've met so many people and worked with such a great staff.

"It's bittersweet to leave. I look forward to the time with Sophia. But I'll miss having this as part of my everyday."

Copyright The Missoulian Sep 14, 2004

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