TMCnet News
SPCA's interim leader will be latest to leave: Denise Deisler, who assumed her post in March, will work for a similar animal agency in Florida.(Daily Press (Newport News, VA) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Aug. 30---- The Peninsula SPCA's interim executive director will work her last day Sept. 12, making her the second executive director to be hired and then leave in less than a year. Denise Deisler said she would start a job next month at a similar animal organization in Florida for which she had done contract work. She wouldn't identify the organization because, she said, its board hasn't officially announced her being hired. Deisler did say her choice wasn't the result of disagreements with the board in Newport News. "I struggled long and hard with it," Deisler said of her decision to leave. She said she had to choose between "two good things." Ultimately, she said, she decided to move to Florida as a step toward retirement and for better opportunities to golf, which her husband likes to do. Board member Dick Chance, a Williamsburg veterinarian, will fill in as executive director on a pro-bono basis until the SPCA finds a new director, board Chairman G. Douglas Bevelacqua said. On Friday, Chance said he preferred not to talk about his new interim role -- other than to say he has been a member of the veterinarian community on the Peninsula, is interested in animal welfare and has experience with the SPCA. The Peninsula Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals takes in cats and dogs brought to the shelter by animal control officers in York County, Newport News, Hampton and Poquoson, as well as by residents who drop off strays or unwanted pets. The organization took in about 4,700 cats and 4,400 dogs last year. Government money accounted for $822,680 of $1.3 million raised in revenue during the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2006 -- the most recent year for which federal tax reports are available. Deisler's exit marks the latest round in a tumultuous year for the nonprofit on J. Clyde Morris Boulevard, across the street from the Virginia Living Museum. Six of 16 former board members left from mid-December to early January, partly because of an apparent disagreement about how to manage the organization. In February, the executive director at the time, Ritchie Geisel, resigned in the midst of what he called an "increasingly toxic" environment. He said that was due in part to the community's "endemic antipathy" toward the SPCA. He was replaced by Deisler in March. Two state agencies inspected the SPCA in January and February. They cited the organization for violations ranging from dried feces and urine in cages to expired medications mixed in with the working stock and an unclean veterinary clinic. The citations were revealed in the spring, and Deisler said those problems were remedied. On July 7, Geisel wrote to Hampton and Newport News officials to say he continues to be "deeply troubled by the unnecessary loss of animal lives" at the SPCA. He wrote that board members Chance and David Brinker, both veterinarians, "have actively interfered with the operation" of an SPCA veterinary clinic and "have found all kinds of reasons not to expand the clinic's scope of service, even though that is clearly in the best interests of the Peninsula's animals." Bevelacqua responded in writing July 8, saying Geisel's commentary was "inflammatory, false and misleading." Geisel isn't the only SPCA chief to leave after working 18 months or less. Since November 2004, the organization has been through four executive directors. "I don't know of any other humane society of any size that has experienced that kind of turnover," said Robin Starr, chief executive officer of the Richmond SPCA. Starr said the Richmond agency was selected by SPCA national headquarters to be a model organization for teaching a more progressive operating procedure for humane operations. Starr has worked for the organization for 111/2 years. Local officials -- York County Administrator James McReynolds, Poquoson City Manager Charlie Burgess, Hampton Assistant City Manager Mary Bunting and Newport News Assistant City Manager Cindy Rohlf -- all agreed this week that the services provided by the SPCA were sufficient. Bunting and Rohlf sit on the SPCA board to see that public money is managed properly. "At this point in time, it's just a normal administrative transition," Burgess said of Deisler's resignation. "Everybody's anxious to have a new administration. ... All indications are we're on the right path." Bunting, Bevelacqua and other board members say Deisler was hired as an interim director to serve six months, with the primary purpose of drafting a strategic plan for the SPCA. However, there are differing accounts among board members about whether she was hired with the understanding that she would serve for only a short period or whether she would have received "overwhelming support" by the board to stay beyond the six-month contract. Bevelacqua said the board needed a strategic plan before it could hire a permanent director. The plan will provide direction that the next director will carry out, according to Deisler and several board members. "I think the community will be delighted," Deisler said of the plan. "The difference in my mind is that you've got a rudderless ship." SPCA timeline January 2003: Newport News and Hampton decide to audit the SPCA's finances amid allegations of misspending. July 2003: The audit reveals questionable spending. December 2003: Virginia State Police investigate. Board members fire Gene Falls, who was SPCA executive director for 32 years. January 2004: Sarah Forbes, who headed the SPCA board of directors for 42 years, resigns. October 2004: Prosecutors decide not to file criminal charges after reviewing the fraud audit. November 2004: Deborah Biggs becomes executive director. April 2006: Biggs resigns. June 2006: Mark Roth becomes executive director. June 2007: Roth resigns. October 2007: Ritchie Geisel becomes executive director. February 2008: Geisel resigns. March 2008: Denise Deisler becomes interim executive director. August 2008: Deisler says her last day at the SPCA will be Sept. 12. To see more of the Daily Press, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.dailypress.com. Copyright (c) 2008, Daily Press, Newport News, Va. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |