President
Larry Crawford (2010)
Larry Crawford is no stranger leadership. He is the former president
of the Town and County Sportsman’s Club, former director and Vice
president of the North Dakota Wildlife Federation. He is the current
president and long time volunteer for the “Achievers Club” and has held
a management position for more than 20 years for the Booster Club of the
5th Civil Engineer Squadron. Now, Crawford wants to use his
management experience to help the Souris Valley Humane Society. Crawford
and his wife are huge animal lovers and believe the Humane Society is a
valuable and necessary asset to the community. His family has welcomed
several members to their family and each came from the Humane Society.
Over the years, his family has sponsored cages, and made donations. This
year Crawford donated a handmade clock to be auctioned off at the Gala.
The shelter holds a special place in his heart as he has four
four-legged family members buried there. Crawford has extensive
experience in fundraising, scheduling, planning, budgeting, and
long-range projections. He has worked in building construction and
facility maintenance for the past 30 years and could use his skills to
help evaluate the needs for the SVHS property.
Vice President
Rita Goff (2009)
Rita has been a board member since November 2006. She retired from the Air Force after 25 years of service and is currently employed with the Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch (DBGR) as a Residential Treatment Advisor. She is active in DBGR's Therapeutic Riding Program and volunteers with their Hippotherapy Program. She believes one of the best things about her job is "seeing the way the residents' demeanor changes when you get them involved with the horses at the ranch and the dogs and cats at the shelter". She is a faithful volunteer at SVHS and actively recruits other volunteers, she helped build "kitty city" and does other minor repairs. Rita believes it is “our” responsibility to help those that have been abused/neglected/abandoned find loving, safe homes, "they bring so much love and joy into our lives we need to give back to them". Her short-term goals are to increase community awareness (so people make the shelter their first stop when looking for a pet), increase membership, and raise enough money to meet the financial needs of the shelter. She currently has 4 dogs (1 adopted, 1 stray) and is fostering Beau, one of our shelter dogs (although he'll probably end up staying too).
Tracie
Schwab (2009)
Secretary/Treasurer
Senior Master Sergeant Tracie A. Schwab is the top administrative person on base with over 26 years of active duty under her belt. Not only does she oversee 58 administrative personnel, she is also the Superintendent of the Plans and Programs Flight, 5th Communications Squadron. Tracie was elected to the SVHS board in 2006 and immediately hit the ground running. Her leadership qualities and prior fundraising experience she gained both in the Air Force and as a previous Girl Scout Leader were readily apparent by her selection as Chairperson of the busy Fundraising Committee. She was a major participant in almost every event, to include the Furry Friends and Family Fotos, Starbucks fundraiser, and our first annual “An Evening to Paws” gala. Tracie organized and supervised our first recycling drive at the base to increase awareness of our recycling program. She also actively helped sell SVHS alumni calendars and cookbooks, helped with Kitty City, and worked at event booths. One of Tracie’s future goals is to achieve public funding for the shelter. She believes that too many people feel our furry friends are disposable. She wants to work to help these animals find loving and humane homes.
Joann Blore (2010)
Joann is such an animal lover; she has never been without a pet. In
fact, she has had the pleasure of adopting her pets from the Souris
Valley Humane Society. The organization is very close to her heart and
she is honored to help financially whenever she can. Blore is a recently
retired nurse. She is also an active volunteer for the Norsk Hostfest
and First Lutheran Church. Joann will bring not only a love for
animals, but also, a vast knowledge of Minot to the board. Because of
her work throughout the community, she has been able to connect and
network with numerous people who are in a position to support this very
important organization. Blore has many goals for the organization
including putting an emphasis on pet adoptions and building community
support for the SVHS.
Dave Bosh
(2010)
Dave Bosh has been a Ward County resident for the past 25 years, moving
here from Lakota, North Dakota in 1983 to attend and eventually graduate
from Minot State University. Bosh has been employed with the Ward County
Sheriff’s Department sine 1989 and is currently the Chief Deputy. His
wife Paula is a Victim Specialist in the local Federal Bureau of
Investigations office. Their daughter Erin is a recent Minot State
graduate working at Choice Hotels and waiting acceptance into a graduate
program. The Bosh’s currently have two spaniels, Cody and Bailey, both
SVHS alumni. They recently built a home in the Trestle Valley area
allowing for more space for the dogs to explore and oversee all that is
theirs. It is a good place to be a dog. In working with the Sheriff’s
Department, Bosh has been peripherally involved with the Humane Society
for years. He has personally seen the staff at work and he knows the
quality of the care. His hope is to give his time to the Humane Society
to pay back all that he has received as a Humane Society Alumni dog
owner.
Jeremy Boyce (2010)
Jeremy Boyce is currently a broker and owner of Re/Max Signature
Properties in Minot. He is an active supporter of the Souris Valley
Humane Society through membership and fundraising events. Pets are a big
part of Boyce’s life and through the Board he feels it would be a good
opportunity to give back to the organization that has given so much to
him. Boyce would like to help find ways to improve and grow the SVHS
more successfully, and as a business owner he has the skills to help
accomplish that. Because of his many years of being a business owner,
Boyce can bring organizational sills and expertise to the board. This
year, he is the chairperson for the Real Estate RPAC. Under his
leadership the group has raised the largest amount of money in its
history. Boyce is also active in other areas of the community including
taking on the role of President and Vice President of the Downtown
Business and Professional Association. He is also part of the DECA
organization at Minot High School and performs entrepreneurial lectures.
Dave Lehner (2009)
Dave is a well-known leader in our community. He has been on the Minot City Council for several years and is currently serving as an Alderman for the 1st Ward. He has also been the President of the Minot Rotary Club (currently the Treasurer), Minot Chamber of Commerce board member, and Visioning Infrastructure Chairman. Formerly the General Manager of the Minot Chrysler Center, Dave moved to Clear Channel Communications in 2003 where he does a bit of everything. Not only is he a sales rep and part time DJ, he is also the webmaster for each of their 6 stations and works in production and traffic departments. Dave has turned his passion for woodworking into a small business. He owns and operates “The Troll’s Den,” where he personally handcrafts all items. Dave and his family, which includes two sets of identical twins, are no strangers to the SVHS. Not only did one of their pets come from the shelter, but also, Dave’s daughter-in-law is a former employee and one of his grandchildren is currently a volunteer.
Mark Mattson (2009)
Mark has been on the Board since April 2006. He is a life-long resident of Minot and Vice President of Mattson Construction, a 103-year-old family business. His savvy business sense has been invaluable to the board as they work with the CEO to turn the shelter’s financial situation around. He was instrumental in the smooth withdrawal of SVHS from gaming, to include personally overseeing the necessary immediate closure of one site. Mark was also a key figure in the huge success of our first ever “An Evening to Paws” gala event, calling on his many business connections to obtain several of our most popular prizes. He is actively involved in the local Minot Y’s Men’s Club, to include having been in charge of one of Minot’s most popular events…the Y’s Men’s Rodeo. He also volunteers his time to cook his family’s famous “to die for” smoked pork chops at Minot’s annual Great Tomato Festival. Mark’s three children (Shelby–17, Medora–14, and Dillon–13) volunteer at the humane society every chance they can. They have a special connection with the shelter, because that’s where they rescued their abused 7-year-old border collie/sheltie dog Tuffy six years ago. Mark and his family love sports, especially snow and water skiing, sailing, and shooting hoops. Of course, their favorite activity is walking dogs.
Don Nelson (2009)
Don is a Minot native and has lived here his entire life with the exception of two years spent in the Army from 1969-1971. He is married (40 years) and has a son in Minot and a daughter in Houston. Don was in the car business for 35 years as a salesman, manager and owner. Now that he is retired, he has more time to help the SVHS. As an animal lover, he strongly believes in the mission of the Souris Valley Humane Society. He thinks it is important to make more people aware of the organization and its objectives and goals and would like to see more young people, grade school age, exposed to the mission of the SVHS. His goals are to encourage all pet owners to become members of the SVHS as well as encourage more corporate memberships for business owners in the area. An especially large goal for Don is to encourage more young children to get involved. It is also important to take the “We Care” program to new levels. Most people are not aware that it exists. Recently elected to the board of directors, Don plans to make the SVHS mission, his mission.
Russ
Gohl
Associate Board Member
Russ joined the SVHS Board in March 2006. Even though their successful businesses, Earthmovers and X-Press Mart, and family keep them extremely busy, Russ and his wife Jeanne still find time to be involved in the community. Whether it’s personally helping to build Habitat for Humanity homes, serving on local nonprofit organizational boards, or contributing to worthy causes (including their longtime financial support of the SVHS), Russ and Jeanne have definitely given back to Minot. They try to steal some time in the summer for themselves and their two Shih Tzu Poodle cross dogs to spend at the model airplane flying field, which Russ has helped make into one of ND’s finest. This field was also the home to the “Christmas in July” fundraiser Jeanne and Russ single-handedly organized that raised several hundred dollars for the Humane Society in 2006. It was Christmas in September, too, as they became first time grandparents to Amy Mae Mickleson, September 9, 2006.
