Meet Anna, Volunteer at for the Brown County Chocolate Walk

For six years now, I and between one and seven companions have been attending the Brown County Humane Society's annual Chocolate Walk in Nashville, Indiana. I'm going again this year with at least a couple others, hopefully more. To start off a series of articles to try and get you to join me in this wonderful, chocolate filled event, Sisters and Brothers in Chocolate, welcome to our first interview with one of the wonderful volunteers at the Brown County Humane Society.

Please help me welcome Anna Gartner one of the wonderful volunteers who helps with this event.

Ms. Gartner, how long have you been serving this organization and how did you get started?

Working at a local veterinary clinic, I have interacted with the humane society for many years, helping with the care of their animals as well as getting medications for them. I joined the chocolate walk committee six years ago. I also sat on the board of directors from 2010-2013 and was vice president 2012-2013.  
The Brown County Humane Society has a high out alive rate for the pets you help. Could you explain why you think your branch is so successful at placing pets into healthy homes?

There are several reasons why I think the humane society has been so successful, the first being a large group of hard working volunteers and a dedicated staff.  This groups works hard to socialize and train animals to help them be more adoptable and the staff is very good at matching families with the right pet.  Also the work SPOT (Serving Pets Outreach Team) has done with offering assistance for spaying and neutering, as well as providing food and bedding to those in need. This allows many pet owners to be able to keep their animal instead of having to surrender it to the humane society, which has helped decrease the intake numbers.

Let's talk chocolate for a bit. Are you yourself a lover of chocolate? If so, what type of chocolate do you like?

I absolutely love chocolate and don't think I would survive with out it!  I love all types of chocolate but I would say that white chocolate is my favorite. 

Nashville, Indiana, has a lot of candy shops and many of these participate in the walk. How many will be participating this year in the event?

There are 3 candy (fudge) shops participating this year as well as an Ice Cream store, Carmel corn shop, and several coffee and tea cafes. We also have several restaurants on the walk this year. We have a total of 34 shops participating.

What is the date and time of the 2015 Chocolate Walk?

This years walk is Saturday November 14th, from 10am-5pm.

Ticket Volunteers at Chocolate Walk

What will your role be during the Chocolate Walk this year?

We start planning this event about 7 months prior to the walk, starting with signing up shops and sponsors,  then getting the booklet to print and start marketing the event to radio/ tv stations and magazines etc...I  help in all areas but my main role is ticket sales.  I keep track of ticket sales and get tickets ready for pick up the day of the walk.  We sell a total of 1250 tickets and have sold out for the last 5 years, so purchase your tickets early!

Is there anything else you'd like us to know about the Chocolate Walk, the Brown County Humane Society, or your involvement with the event and organization that I have not covered?

The Brown County Humane Society Chocolate Walk was created to be a fun and worthwhile event for everyone involved. All the chocolatiers and shops that participate in this event do so on a volunteer basis, donating their time, energy, and products, all to benefit our community’s homeless animals.  We encourage all chocolate walkers to patronize participating shops as well as our sponsors the day of the walk as well as in the future, for without these generous folks, this event would not be possible.  

Thank you, Anna, for talking with us all today.

Readers, please do leave comments below to let the good folks in Brown County know what you think about the event and whether or not you're planning to walk it in November. I know that some of you have already gotten tickets because you've told me but take a moment to let every know please.