Maranda Weathermon's departure from the Circle of Friends Humane Society brings the outgoing executive director mixed emotions. "It's kind of bittersweet. It's kind of sad," she said on Wednesday, her second-to-last day on the job. "Over the last year, I've really grown to be part of this community. My staff, I'm proud to say, we've grown by leaps and bounds." Weathermon has been the executive director since early 2015, working with society leaders to launch a range of new programs and initiatives. But in the face of a slew of demands, Weathermon said she felt she had to spend more time with her family-a husband and three young children.
"It was a really hard decision, though, because the shelter (has been) my second home," she said last month. "But they're going to make good decisions and move on from there." Weathermon's departure leaves an important gap to fill, and shelter officials are beginning to figure out how they'll do it. Weathermon said that Rachael Bergman, the society's shelter manager, will serve as interim executive director-just like she did before Weathermon's arrival. Leslie Rethemeier, president of the society's Board of Directors, said a job posting for the open position already has gathered a handful of resumes-both from around the country and the Grand Forks area-and will continue to receive them through June 15. "We are looking for experience in management, experience in nonprofits, financial management, grants, and we are hoping for some additional courses or stuff in more of the nonprofit sector," Rethemeier said. "Obviously we want them to like animals, but we do have a shelter manager right now. We want someone who can run the business and work closely with our shelter manager." Rethemeier said the salary for the new position is hard to predict. At anywhere from $45,000 to $70,000, much of the figure will depend on whether or not directors choose to make any changes to the shelter's administrative structure. Bergman said the transition process so far has involved work to ensure that it's business as usual after she leaves. A lot has gone into making sure Bergman and the rest of the society's leadership can easily and quickly handle whatever comes in the future, including accounting, grants and grant reporting. Weathermon previously has said she has fallen in love with the upper Midwest, though she hasn't said what her next step will be. She said Wednesday that things are becoming clearer, though she said she couldn't yet go into details. Wherever she goes, she said it likely will be somewhere in the Upper Midwest or the West. "We have a couple options, but nothing I can definitively say yes to yet," she said. "We'll probably know where we're going by the end of the month." Bergman said she's ready for the coming months. "With the support of the board and the staff, we're just going focus on training the staff and fine-tuning details while we're in the process of looking for the new executive director," she said.Maranda Weathermon's departure from the Circle of Friends Humane Society brings the outgoing executive director mixed emotions."It's kind of bittersweet. It's kind of sad," she said on Wednesday, her second-to-last day on the job. "Over the last year, I've really grown to be part of this community. My staff, I'm proud to say, we've grown by leaps and bounds."Weathermon has been the executive director since early 2015, working with society leaders to launch a range of new programs and initiatives. But in the face of a slew of demands, Weathermon said she felt she had to spend more time with her family-a husband and three young children.
"It was a really hard decision, though, because the shelter (has been) my second home," she said last month. "But they're going to make good decisions and move on from there."Weathermon's departure leaves an important gap to fill, and shelter officials are beginning to figure out how they'll do it. Weathermon said that Rachael Bergman, the society's shelter manager, will serve as interim executive director-just like she did before Weathermon's arrival. Leslie Rethemeier, president of the society's Board of Directors, said a job posting for the open position already has gathered a handful of resumes-both from around the country and the Grand Forks area-and will continue to receive them through June 15."We are looking for experience in management, experience in nonprofits, financial management, grants, and we are hoping for some additional courses or stuff in more of the nonprofit sector," Rethemeier said. "Obviously we want them to like animals, but we do have a shelter manager right now. We want someone who can run the business and work closely with our shelter manager."Rethemeier said the salary for the new position is hard to predict. At anywhere from $45,000 to $70,000, much of the figure will depend on whether or not directors choose to make any changes to the shelter's administrative structure.Bergman said the transition process so far has involved work to ensure that it's business as usual after she leaves. A lot has gone into making sure Bergman and the rest of the society's leadership can easily and quickly handle whatever comes in the future, including accounting, grants and grant reporting.Weathermon previously has said she has fallen in love with the upper Midwest, though she hasn't said what her next step will be. She said Wednesday that things are becoming clearer, though she said she couldn't yet go into details. Wherever she goes, she said it likely will be somewhere in the Upper Midwest or the West."We have a couple options, but nothing I can definitively say yes to yet," she said. "We'll probably know where we're going by the end of the month."Bergman said she's ready for the coming months."With the support of the board and the staff, we're just going focus on training the staff and fine-tuning details while we're in the process of looking for the new executive director," she said.
