In 2006, the Corolla Wild Horse Fund added its first fulltime staff. By September of 2006 we had a fulltime Herd Manager and Executive Director, and a part-time Office Manager. In the last three and a half years, our budget has grown from in the red to $401,000.
A Wild Horse Museum was opened, two gift shops, and a nationwide membership program that now has nearly 2,000 members. Every Tuesday and Thursday from Memorial Day through Labor Day, we offer creative painting activities for kids of all ages and every Wednesday we bring a gentled wild horse that is now in our adoption program. An adoption program had to be created in 2006 for horses that had to be removed from the beach for one reason or another (36 have been placed from Texas to Maine). Our Herd Manager not only responds to emergencies on the beach, he educates visitors, has created a data base of horses that he regularly updates, takes soil, plant, and water samples, trains the wild horses that have been removed from the beach and attends to their health and farrier needs, takes our members for the Trip of a Lifetime, maintains our vehicles and trailer, takes horses to offsite educational events, and so on and on.
Our wild horses have gone from being demeaned as “backyard ponies gone wild” to registered colonial Spanish Mustangs – historic horses that were recently designated by the North Carolina legislature as the North Carolina State Horse.
In a nutshell – our responsibilities have grown exponentially but the size of our staff has not. We had quickly reached a point at which continued growth of services and programs was impossible without adding another position.
On June 29, we welcomed Amber George as our Program Coordinator. Her key duties and responsibilities include:
1. Oversees the day-to-day operation of programs by ensuring the necessary facilities, equipment, and supplies are in place and program guidelines are followed. This includes but is not limited to the CWHF membership program; children’s programs and activities; sanctuary patrol; volunteers; fundraising activities; adoption program.
2. Participates in the recruitment, selection, scheduling, and supervision of program volunteers.
3. Maintains any necessary financial records and adheres to program budgets.
4. Promotes public awareness of programs and creates support materials.
5. Assists with retail activities on an as needed basis.
6. Updating information and communicating it to webmaster of CWHF website.
Amber is infinitely qualified for the position with a bachelor’s degree in Communications and past experience as a research assistant in a law firm, manager of a large stable in Georgia, and a veterinary technician. She has had extensive public speaking experience and is proficient in several computer applications. Our plan is to move Amber from part-time status to fulltime status in six months.
Amber has made the transition from Georgia to North Carolina with ease and has completely immersed herself in her new position. We are so happy to have Amber George as a part of our efforts to care for, protect, and conserve the wild horses of the Currituck Outer Banks.
