The Pembina Valley Humane Society is looking to fill numerous vacant positions on its board, along with three where members are stepping down: PR Chair, Fundraising Chair, and Fundraising Co-Chair.

Board member Kathy Ward says the people stepping down from these positions were all instrumental in elevating the status of the shelter.

"All the people who are retiring from the board, have done much work to make this a better, stronger organization. We're thankful for all the volunteers who have stepped up and will hopefully step up, to help us move the organization forward in 2019."

It isn't only board positions that need filling says Ward, but volunteers are needed for fundraising and general chores around the shelter.

The shelter will see drastic development of its background systems; streamlining the organization for increased efficiency, says Tyler Cameron, PVHS President.

Cameron says a notable change to their systems is the complete overhaul of their board structure.

"We're doing away with the position of president and spreading out the responsibilities. Our Shelter Manager is now attending our board meetings in a non-voting role, and the chair is taking the responsibilities of leadership from the president."

In conjunction with these changes, Cameron will be stepping down from his role as president, and Ward will become the board chair.

Other board changes include the removal of the members at large position, replacing it with three new positions on the board.

Ward adds these positions need to be filled, and the change in structure was made in order to avoid potential burnout in volunteers.

Cameron says that when it comes to the physical aspect of the organization, there is always a need for further improvements. A project the shelter is hoping to pursue is an expansion of their cat intake area, along with various on-the-books projects, including a dream project to have a classroom in their upstairs meeting area; however, funding hasn't yet become available for that project.