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Meet The Board

2019 President

Lisa Twark is a veterinarian that resides in Hawkins County, Tennessee. She currently works at Sumner Spay Neuter Alliance. She likes to hike, swim, read, travel and spend time at home with her husband and animals. Her goal as a member of the Beat the Heat Alliance is to be able to focus on increasing the number of spays and neuters performed on dogs and cats in the northeast Tennessee region.

2019 Treasurer

Brenda LeBlanc. "Growing up I always had a pet and had taken in a couple of strays over the years. In 1997 I adopted my first official rescue, a little Shih Tzu mix that came out of a hoarding case in Texas and this 9 lb doll would change my life forever. I started volunteering at the Humane Society that I adopted her from in Texas and learned how I could help 1 pet at a time and make a difference in their lives. I knew I couldn’t save them all so I made up my mind I would do one at a time. This little dog named Missy blessed our family for 11 years and changed us forever. She taught me that my passion in life is Spay/Neuter and I have made it my goal to focus my time and efforts in making a difference in that arena. We now have 6 dogs, 6 horses and 3 cats; all except 3 of the horses are rescues. I took early retirement in 1999 from the corporate world and have worked for much less money since then at jobs related to animals. I have worked for a Dog Kennel, two Veterinary Hospitals and currently I work on a Mobile Spay/Neuter Clinic called Prevent-A-Litter Connection (PAL). I have volunteered for and been on the Board of Directors for the Grainger County Humane Society for about 7 years as well."

2019 Secretary

Renate Munari was born in Vienna, Austria where she studied medicine. She moved to Canada in '76, had her own Clinic in Halifax where she practiced medicine as a board certified internal medicine physician.

She married a Swiss in 1990 and moved to the USA in 1994. She practiced in Kansas, Wisconsin and the last 3 years in Sneedville, TN. She retired in 2011 and now spends her time with her husband looking after the farm where they have a bunch of animals.

2019 Director

Catherine Groff moved here to Tennessee in 2006 from Guilford, Ct. She is an Army Veteran and is the Vice commander of the American Legion in Rogersville, Tn. She lives with her spouse, many cats, and one dog. She always had animals growing up. After retiring from retail years ago, she raised her family and many pets while helping animals in any way she could. After moving to a house with a feral cat in the neighborhood, she has trapped and spayed many more. When she met Beat The Heat, she wanted to help. She transports dogs and cats to low cost spay/neuter clinics, meeting lots of great animal owners and volunteers. When asked to be on the Board of Directors, she accepted very graciously. 

2019 Director

Catherine Groff moved here to Tennessee in 2006 from Guilford, Ct. She is an Army Veteran and is the Vice commander of the American Legion in Rogersville, Tn. She lives with her spouse, many cats, and one dog. She always had animals growing up. After retiring from retail years ago, she raised her family and many pets while helping animals in any way she could. After moving to a house with a feral cat in the neighborhood, she has trapped and spayed many more. When she met Beat The Heat, she wanted to help. She transports dogs and cats to low cost spay/neuter clinics, meeting lots of great animal owners and volunteers. When asked to be on the Board of Directors, she accepted very graciously. 

Our Dear Friend, Katherine Morgan, lost her battle with cancer on June 3, 2016. She was a dedicated Director and Secretary as well as true friend to the animals. We miss her dearly...

Katherine Morgan moved to Cosby, Tennessee, in 2007 and took in a new kitten. She found the Friends of the Animal Shelter who helped get Mindy fixed and so she started volunteering at Newport Animal Shelter cleaning cages. Before long she was driving dogs (and sometimes, cats!) to Wisconsin, New York, and Florida for Rolling Rescue and, in 2008, began coordinating transports for puppies to Florida. She managed several fundraisers and co-wrote grants for The Friends and the shelter. She was diagnosed with cancer in 2012 and volunteered full time and enjoys her 3 dogs and 7 cats. She was always very excited to help people and their pets have a more peaceful life; peace that comes with a spayed or neutered pet.

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