CRAN News
January 2026 Volunteer of the Month
Congratulations to Sue Hauk!
Sue started fostering for CRAN in August 2022. She has taken on a variety of kittens and young cats until they are ready for adoption. Wanting to see her fosters happily adopted, she began volunteering as as a socializer at PetSmart North. At some point in time (I don’t know when) she became the lead for the Petsmart North cattery. Sue is calm and comfortable talking with the many different people who wander into the cattery either just wanting a few minutes of cat time, or looking for a particular adoptable cat or kitten. She looks out for the North cattery volunteers, covering other’s shifts when needed, and creates a welcoming vibe in the cattery. Through thick and thin, sun or snow, Sue has shown up for CRAN and the cats in our care.
February 2026 Volunteer of the Month
Congratulations to Tes!
Tes is in charge of interviewing applicants who are interested in volunteering at CRAN’s PetSmart catteries or at TLC. This means she is often CRAN’s first contact person for many new volunteers. Tes does a wonderful job welcoming new volunteers to our organization, introducing them to our mission and finding out what each volunteer would like to do so that she can match them to the most appropriate volunteer position. She carefully explains what’s required and makes sure the volunteer understands that helping the kitties requires work such as cleaning litter boxes as well as playing with the cats. In addition to recruiting, Tes helps coordinate our Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon and staffs the table at PetSmart Adoption Events and our annual Plant Sale. She’s always willing to lend a helping hand or a kind word. For everyone who works with Tes, she is a ray of sunshine and brings an excitement to every conversation. You can tell how much Tes cares about this organization, and she’s so lovely to work with
March 2026 Volunteer of the Month
Congratulations to Carolyn Kurien!
Carolyn Kurien is the scheduler for the PetSmart South cattery on 29th & Willamette. Each month, Carolyn reaches out to over 50 cattery volunteers and manages to recruit volunteers to fill 3 shifts per day, 7 days per week. This is vital for our resident kitties who depend on cattery volunteers to feed them, clean litter boxes and most importantly to PLAY with them. I call Carolyn the magician because when a shift is suddenly vacant due to illness or unexpected change of plans, Carolyn manages to pull a volunteer out of the hat and get the shift covered. Carolyn has an excellent relationship with our cattery volunteers and it’s Carolyn’s warmth, humor and professionalism which fosters loyal volunteers ready to jump in to assist her. Did I mention that Carolyn is allergic to cats but is committed to making the world a better place?
November 2025 Adoptions
Made using TurboCollage from www.TurboCollage.com
Thank you to all who make our work possible, giving cats their furrever homes is our mission.
October 2025 Volunteer of the Month
Congratulations to Nathan Sutterfield , CRAN’s October 2025 volunteer of the month!
Nathan has been volunteering with CRAN since 2019 volunteering as a foster, doing TNR and however he can.
Carole T nominated Nathan and in her nomination said:
“Nathan Sutterfield is the Springfield City Park Ranger. He comes in contact with many stray, dumped and abandoned cats and often litters of newborn kittens. Nathan contacts us when he finds cats that need help, and helps with TNR of these cats. He works in our cattery with some of the cats he has helped. Nathan has also fostered a lot of these kittens until we can find other foster situations. A number of these fosters have resulted in foster fails.”
Note: a foster fail is when a person fostering a cat ends up adopting and keeping the cat. They failed at fostering but won at adding a new furry friend to their household!
When asked what he liked about volunteering with CRAN and how he got started Nathan said:
“We started volunteering with Cran in 2019 as a foster for a litter of 5 kittens….we failed on all 5 🙄🤣. Since I started working with the parks in 2019 Cran has helped me with more than 50 cats/kittens with TNR, medical care and putting kitties in the Cran system.
I love Cran and being able to help out however I can with all the cats. Over the years I’ve been able to develop some great relationships with the volunteers from cran. I’m grateful for everything you guys do!”
Thank you Nathan for all your hard work taking care of the CRAN cats!
September 2025 Volunteer of the Month
Congratulations to Kelsey McGrattan, CRAN’s Sept 2025 volunteer of the month!
Kelsey has been volunteering with CRAN since 2024. Kelsey is currently volunteering on the Marketing Team but has also volunteered in other areas of CRAN.
Lyllian B nominated Kelsey and in her nomination said:
“Kelsey has been volunteering with the marketing team since August of 2024 (she has been volunteering with CRAN in other areas since Feb of 2024) and has become an invaluable member of our team. She is a great team player which is so important in this kind of work. She takes initiative and helped us give our instagram and our social media posts a much-needed update. Her knowledge of social media and graphic design has been so helpful in creating more engagement. Kelsey is always willing to jump in and help with social media requests. She has used her talent to create great educational and fundraising posts and has volunteered to take over our quarterly newsletter. Her first newsletter was a great success and everyone appreciated the fresh look and great content. Thank you Kelsey!”
When asked what she liked about volunteering with CRAN and how she got started Kelsey said:
“I’m honored—thank you so much!
I came to CRAN because at first I just wanted to add volunteer experience to my resume, but I loved the work CRAN was doing so much that I decided to help more as much as possible. I started volunteering my sophomore year of college, and I’m currently a senior. I wish I had started with CRAN earlier because I’ve had so many great experiences.
I like the freedom CRAN gives me to try out new ideas for social media and newsletters. They never stifle creativity, and everyone I’ve talked to in CRAN has been more than happy to help with anything I need. It’s been a great experience outside the classroom to experiment with social media marketing, which is possibly what I want to do when I graduate. Being able to work with such a dedicated team has been invaluable.”
Thank you Kelsey for all your hard work making CRAN the best rescue it can be!
August 2025 Volunteer of the Month!
Congratulations to Justin Kidd, CRAN’s August 2025 volunteer of the month!
Justin has been volunteering with CRAN since 2015 and is currently volunteering on the TLC team.
Louanne B nominated Justin and in her nomination said:
“Justin has been a steady presence at TLC. He feeds cats, he scoops litter boxes, he spends time visiting the cats at TLC, and he willingly scrubs and sanitizes the carriers, crates, litter boxes, and all sorts of miscellaneous equipment at TLC. He is always ready with a cheerful word for his fellow volunteers, and he truly wants to make life better for the cats and kittens in CRAN’s care.”
When asked what they liked about volunteering with CRAN and how they got started Justin said:
“I’m so honored, thank mew. I’ve done a lot of volunteer work in my life but have never been a volunteer of the month before. Volunteering is a great way to connect with other people who have a similar passion.
Animals have always meant a lot to me growing up on the farm as a scrawny Christian boy, they were my friends, they never judged me, never hurt me and always made me feel loved. Martha helped me get involved at TLC and I’ve met some beautiful souls who also share my appreciation for cats.
I very much look forward to being around the cats whenever I’m at TLC cleaning. I’ll never understand what drives people to abandon these amazing creatures. I love it when a cat comes to trust you and shows their true personality. Each cat is like a beautiful snowflake, each one is very special and unique.”
Thank you Justin for all your hard work taking care of the CRAN cats!
June 2025 Volunteers of the Month!
Congratulations to the Waugh family,
CRAN’s June 2025 volunteers of the month!
Patrick, Katie, Ryanne and Megan Waugh have been volunteering with CRAN since 2022. The Waughs are adopters who became volunteers, they started in the cattery at North then moved into being fosters. The Waughs have had 55 fosters since they started fostering for CRAN.
Marci S nominated the Waugh family and in her nomination said:
“Katie, her husband and two girls are amazing fosters. They have stuck with CRAN through the ups and downs and are always there for us.
They willingly take on a variety of challenges when needed and have a dedicated room just for their fosters. While fostering for CRAN the Waughs have taken mamas with babies, lots of kittens, VERY shy cats/kittens as well as outgoing cats/kittens. They step up for whatever the CRAN foster needs might be, even if the cat needing a foster is a bit spicy or difficult.
The Waughs have a great attitude and enjoy fostering as a family. They always exceed our expectations.”
When asked what they liked about volunteering with CRAN and how they got started Katie said:
“We adopted our resident kitties from CRAN in 2021 and were so impressed that when we found out we could volunteer, we jumped in to support. We started in the cattery at North. It was a great way to introduce the kids to the concept of volunteering at a young age. After doing that for about a year, we were chatting with the cattery coordinator about in-home fostering. We knew it would be hard to bond and then let them go but decided we could do it and have loved the experience!”
Thank you Waugh family for all your hard work making CRAN the best rescue it can be!
May 2025 Volunteer of the Month
Congratulations to Hanah Heurgue, CRAN’s May 2025 volunteer of the month!
Hanah has been volunteering with CRAN since 2022. Hanah volunteers at TLC and PetSmart cattery. Hanah also volunteered on the CRAN phone lines.
Louanne nominated Hanah and in her nomination said:
“Hanah Heurgue has been a CRAN volunteer since 2022. She has volunteered at the PetSmart North cattery and is a faithful volunteer at TLC as well. Hanah is a great communicator with the people who need to know what is going on with any particular cat or kitten within her volunteer role.
Hanah is professional, polite and kind when she raises concerns about a cat or is communicating a need. She is a valued member of the CRAN family.”
When asked what she likes about volunteering with CRAN and how she got started Hanah said:
“I started volunteering with CRAN through my place of employment in 2022. I started by volunteering at TLC once a week and I also volunteered for about a year on the CRAN phone intake line. CRAN has been such a fun place to volunteer at, I love being able to help all the kitties in need. I currently am not in a place where I can foster so I started volunteering at PetSmart as well as TLC. I really love being able to report back to the foster and adoption counselors on the cats I have helped take care of.
I recently made a suggestion that two cats that I helped care for be in foster and adopted together as I felt they were a bonded pair. Both cats went into foster together and their adopter was happy to take both the cats together. I was able to get CRAN nominated at my workplace, PenFed Credit Union, for our quarterly giving.”
Thank you Hanah for all your hard work making CRAN the best rescue it can be!
April 2025 Volunteers of the Month
Congratulations to Monique and Brett B, CRAN’s April 2025 volunteers of the month!
Monique and her son, Brett, have been volunteering with CRAN since 2023. Monique and Brett have been valued volunteers at the PetSmart Cattery.
Nicki G nominated Monique and Brett and in her nomination said:
“Monique and her son, Brett, did an incredible job of navigating a very tough situation involving an upset person on one of their first shifts as CRAN volunteers. They handled themselves like senior volunteers, remained calm and worked as a team to calm the person and resolve the issue.
Brett is not only a valued volunteer with CRAN, he also has his own business called NinjaCat’s Toy Factory. Brett hand makes catnip toys and a different rescue is picked each month to be the recipient of these toys, sometimes it is CRAN. Brett has raised over $6,000 for rescues around the world.
When asked what they liked about volunteering with CRAN and how they got started Monique said:
“Brett and I started volunteering in 2023. We had moved to the area in 2022, and loved connecting with CRAN volunteers at local events where Brett supported CRAN through his business. We are a family full of cat lovers and wanted to do more for our local cat community, so we signed up to volunteer at the North cattery.
What we love most about volunteering is getting to connect with fellow cat lovers and help educate our community about the importance of rescue, fostering (we do that too – through another local rescue) spay/neuter, cat behavior and care, etc. We are both very passionate about making the world better for humans and cats alike, and volunteering is just one of many ways we get to do that. “
Thank you Monique and Brett for all your hard work making CRAN the best rescue it can be!
