[00:00:00] Fuzz Martin: Well, good day, friend. Thank you so much for tuning in to Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz. I hope you are having the best week. Some of you might be driving to Thanksgiving to see your family. Some of you might be Doing some early Christmas shopping. And some of you might be horrible deer hunters that listen to podcasts in your tree stand.
I see you. Yeah, but I appreciate you. And I’m sure the deer appreciate you listening to me instead of their little hooves. Walking through the brush. My name is Fuzz Martin, and this is a show about positive things happening in and around Washington County, Wisconsin. And this week we’re talking about the upcoming Festival of Trees at the Washington County Humane Society.
And I’m joined by Joe Poczkalski and Jessica Pillsbury, and we’re going to learn all about the event, the trees, the animals, and how you can enjoy it all. And with that, here are 15 minutes on the Washington County Humane Society’s Festival of Trees. With Joe Poczkalski and Jessica Pillsbury, right here on Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz.
Joe, Jessica, thank you so much for coming in today. Can you please start by telling us a bit about Festival of Trees? How did it get started? What makes it unique? What’s cool about Festival of Trees?
[00:01:36] Joe Poczkalski: Yeah, this is our 25th anniversary one, and we’re very excited to celebrate that milestone. Myself and the director, Kay, at the Humane Society, we’re looking back at some old photos from the very first Festival of Trees, 1999.
Wow. Really cool to see where it started and where it began. Our previous director, Marnie Brown, came up with the idea in the late 90s, and it was a hit. It took off, and the first festival really set the groundwork for, you know, Successful at fundraisers then on. So really unique in the fact that, all of our decor is decorated locally by businesses and individuals, families, in whatever fashion they want.
We really don’t put a lot of guardrails. So, um, we have a lot of people who are really pro tip on their, their creative capacity, which is exciting. We get some really cool, unique ideas that come through. So I don’t see a whole lot of that in the area, which, which I think makes it really unique and makes it really one to stop at.
[00:02:25] Fuzz Martin: So, for people who have not attended Festival of Trees before, can you walk us through what a guest at Festival of Trees could expect, at this year’s event? What are some of the highlights they can look forward to?
[00:02:35] Jessica Pillsbury: Absolutely. So I like to describe it as walking into a winter wonderland. You really can’t describe it to people until they have been there and to get the whole picture.
But you walk into a room full of Christmas lights and decorated trees. The trees all have a theme, there’s wreaths, there’s holiday decor, and then we have live music, a cafe, a bakery, and then we also have adaptable animals for viewing. Great. Excellent. Yeah.
[00:03:01] Fuzz Martin: Oh, always bringing it back to the pets is, the best part about the Washington County Humane Society.
[00:03:07] Joe Poczkalski: That’s right.
[00:03:08] Fuzz Martin: Joe, you had mentioned before about, you, it briefly touched on, how the, or who decorates the trees, but can you talk about really the process of how the trees are decorated, created, decorated, designed, how, how does that process go about and
[00:03:23] Joe Poczkalski: really, like, what, how A ton goes into it. This is a massive, massive display we’re talking about.
The decorating starts pretty much right now. I think, within the next week or so, we’ll be inviting, people who sponsor trees to come by and start decorating. We call them deck decorating parties and they’re a lot of fun. Oh, cool. Sometimes we serve wine, but we have snacks and coffee and people, really have fun.
They bring decor in. We have the tree set up for them or the wreath available. And they can come in and start, and we give them whatever tools they need. We sometimes give out hammers and wire cutters and all sorts of crazy stuff, so we really encourage that. But, that part of it begins early November and will go pretty much up until the night before the event.
[00:04:03] Fuzz Martin: So, how does this event, and we’ve talked about some of your fun events in the past here on the show, but how does this event, the Festival of Trees, benefit You know, the animals and the programming that you have at Washington County Humane Society. Can you share a bit about how the funds that you raise here at Festival of Trees helps make a difference at the Humane Society?
[00:04:25] Jessica Pillsbury: Absolutely. So we very much rely on our fundraisers. to, fund what we do at the shelter. So you’re really making a difference by just attending our events. A lot of the medical needs that we have for the animals, that’s what most of our money goes to. That’s basically the, the biggest part.
Yeah.
[00:04:43] Joe Poczkalski: The impact, um, the money raised, is, was really impressive. We’re closing in on a million dollars raised at this particular fundraiser at the 25th, 25th anniversary, which is really exciting. So yeah, it’s huge impact medically. And just helps us introduce new programs, strengthen our current ones, that sort of thing.
[00:05:00] Fuzz Martin: It’s been going on since 1999. And that was the year that we all partied. That’s right. I, um, let’s see, I was 21 years old, uh, in 1999. Fun. So, I don’t remember it completely. Um, because I was working that year because there was a big snow storm. Studying too. But, are there any special stories from Festival of Trees that stand out to you in your years that you’ve worked for Washington County Humane Society?
Any? Uh, moments that captured the joy or any stories that people talk about, maybe that have been there for a while, at the Humane Society.
[00:05:35] Joe Poczkalski: I’m going on about four years, at the shelter of my employment. So, there’s a long history before me, but, we almost had a fire. Oh, wow. Okay. A year and a half ago.
Oh, wow. Okay. We had a stanchion cord that was a really old one, probably from the 1999 Festival of Trees. Oh, wow. Okay. Bundled into some cotton, and one of the guests saw the plume of smoke rise, so, you know, it was a small isolated thing, never turned into a fire, but one of those heart pounders that I remember, not a fun memory, but, um, So if you could donate
[00:06:05] Fuzz Martin: extension
[00:06:06] Joe Poczkalski: cords, if you’re listening.
We’ll take them. We use a lot of extension cords. We should actually do a count on how many we use. It’s, we have two giant totes full of small extension cords. So,
[00:06:16] Fuzz Martin: a fun
[00:06:18] Joe Poczkalski: statistic.
[00:06:19] Fuzz Martin: How many trees typically get decorated during this event?
[00:06:22] Jessica Pillsbury: I would say last year we had 64. And I think if you include the trees, holiday decor, and wreaths, we had about 115.
[00:06:29] Fuzz Martin: Wow. Okay. Displays in total. Yeah. Oh, very good. How could people from the community participate in the festival? Are there opportunities for people to volunteer? Uh, donate, this episode, we’re recording it a little bit earlier in November than the people who are hearing it. It’s coming out in, later November, but, are there opportunities to sponsor trees yet?
Those kind of things?
[00:06:50] Jessica Pillsbury: So, sponsor trees, we usually have to know about a month ahead of time. Okay. But for the future, for next year, we’re always looking for tree sponsors and holiday decor sponsors. You also can be an event sponsor, and then we also are looking for just volunteers in general.
So, volunteers, that could be you’re helping in the cafe during the event itself, selling raffle tickets, or you could be helping set up the month prior. We have tons of different set up days where you can help fluff trees and put trees together for those decorators.
[00:07:17] Fuzz Martin: Okay, are these, are these Fake trees, or are they?
They are fake trees, yes. So, okay, so when you said fluff trees, I’m like, oh, they’re not, nobody’s out there fluffing a blue spruce. That’s right. All right. So, aside from the trees and, and the wreaths and such, are there other activities or events going on during Festival of Trees that people can participate in, and look forward to?
[00:07:38] Jessica Pillsbury: Yeah, well, I think the biggest thing is the raffle. So, why people come is to have the fun experience there, right? But then on top of that, they can also buy raffle tickets and potentially win a tree. So the plus side to that is that your tree is already decorated, ready to go before Christmas. So that’s pretty exciting.
And then you have a themed tree for your house. Yeah. But other than that, we have live music, we have a cafe, bakery, and then the animals are there. We’re actually going to be conducting play groups during the mornings this year, where you can watch the dogs play in groups, in our courtyard, which is visible throughout the entire shelter.
[00:08:12] Fuzz Martin: That’s wonderful. It’s a reason to go all by itself. Yeah, I would agree. Remember why you’re helping. Yes, exactly. Okay, so again, it, it started however many years ago, in 1999. It should be very easy for me to calculate that, 35, 35 years ago. Twenty five. Twenty five. Twenty five. Twenty five years ago, right?
Twenty five. Twenty five years ago. Yep. Epic, where we’re sitting here, is thirty five years, because it was started in nineteen eighty nine. So, I should have, I should have just known. But I am in marketing and not in finance. Um, I’ll second that. Yeah, same, same. So, okay. So, it’s been around for a while.
How has it evolved from, back when it first started, or even, let’s say, You know, a decade ago till now.
[00:08:56] Joe Poczkalski: The shelter renovation had a lot to do with that. We had a 7 million reimagination at the shelter that ended just a couple years ago. So that was a major step up for all of our events. We have a beautiful training center.
The Sylvia Letts Training Center, we call it. And it’s just so much more inviting now. Our old shelter, which, We had, the Ricky Room, we called it, which is where most of our at shelter events were set up, and, it’s, you know, we looked at those pictures from 99, it’s, it’s a different place completely, so having the physical space to, to set up and have it be more presentable, more inviting for people, more accessible, , is definitely a leg up, but in terms of popularity, the event is, is growing exponentially each year.
We’re closing in on a million dollars, like I mentioned. Mm-Hmm. . And that just means more people are attending, enjoying and, and, spending more time. So, sure. In that way it’s, it’s grown so much. We, we do so much more, to showcase our animals. Like Jess mentioned the play groups, which is really cool.
[00:09:51] Fuzz Martin: Yep.
[00:09:52] Joe Poczkalski: Um, so yeah, more things to do. More, more time spent. Great. In
[00:09:56] Fuzz Martin: 1999’s defense, we all didn’t have cell phones with cameras in our pockets then. I think we had cell phones. I don’t think they fit in our pockets, but we had cell phones. Right. In your cars, right? Yes, exactly. Big ol Magnum antenna. How do events, well, first of all, how, how is the community response to an event?
Like, obviously you’ve raised, uh, to, to date a million dollars or more. But how is the community response to this?
[00:10:24] Joe Poczkalski: It’s, it’s massive. It’s one of our better attended events. That and our rummage sale are our two most attended, and we welcome honestly thousands of people. So it’s People spread the word, make it a tradition, which is what we hope, that people come back every year, and we see that, we see repeat people and new people every year.
[00:10:43] Fuzz Martin: Sure, and then obviously, since they come, that helps spread awareness about animal, or about the shelter, and then I hope then that means you’re spreading awareness about animal welfare and the work that you guys do throughout the year, right?
[00:10:56] Jessica Pillsbury: I think that’s my, like, favorite part is that we invite so many people in that would not have came to the shelter originally.
And then they’re able to see our great facility and participate in this awesome event. And then they learn the other services we provide. So, a lot of times people think of a shelter if they’re, if they’re wanting to adopt, but there’s other services that we provide. We have, an outdoor cat clinic, dog training classes.
And we also are there for the community when they need to surrender their animal because of difficult things in their life. Sure.
[00:11:24] Fuzz Martin: You could say that might be Community Impact, right?
[00:11:26] Jessica Pillsbury: Yes, it is.
[00:11:27] Fuzz Martin: And that might be what your role as Community Impact Specialist is then, right? We have
[00:11:32] Joe Poczkalski: clarification now.
[00:11:34] Fuzz Martin: There we go. See, I didn’t ask you what you do, you got to tell us through a story. Um, so, do you have any goals or specific needs that you’re hoping to reach during this year’s festival?
[00:11:46] Jessica Pillsbury: I guess just to, you know, raise a little bit more money than last year, for the animals and then to invite, more people in the community that have not been to the shelter into our shelter to show them, you know, what we do for the community and how we can help them.
[00:12:00] Fuzz Martin: Speaking of the animals, are there any, like little influencer animals or ambassadors that you’d have, this year? Any, any animals that stand out in particular?
[00:12:10] Jessica Pillsbury: So we are lucky to say no. Okay. In the past, we’ve had animals for over a year. Sure. I can think of, I, off the top of my head, a handful of different dogs that were there for over a year.
Mm-Hmm. . But this year all of ’em have been adopted. Good. I mean, our cats are getting homes right away, which is awesome. Yeah. Mm-Hmm. . But we will have plenty of animals that are around available for adoption during this event.
[00:12:31] Fuzz Martin: Great. I, I realized as I, as I was, as I wrote that question, I was like, well.
Yeah, that might be a fun question. And then I thought, well, you don’t want the animals to stay there. They want to go home with families, right? It’s, it’s bittersweet, like,
[00:12:45] Joe Poczkalski: yeah. It’s great to give them the attention because they need it. You know, there are long stays and we need them into homes.
[00:12:51] Jessica Pillsbury: In 2022, we had a dog named Millie.
She was a white pit bull and she was there for exactly a year. Okay. And when I would go to the pet store or even to Starbucks, I’d be wearing a Washington County Humane Society shirt or hat. Fuzz. cc And people would literally ask me, how is Millie doing? She was literally the spokesperson for the shelter for that whole year she was there.
We’re lucky that we don’t have any spokes animals right now. Um, but yeah, we’ve definitely, they’ve been there.
[00:13:16] Fuzz Martin: Yes, so, but go and find the right animal for your home and family. How has support for, uh, from the Festival of Trees allowed? been one of the Washington County Humane Society to expand or enhance services over the years.
[00:13:32] Joe Poczkalski: Well, just mentioned we rely very heavily on our fundraising events, which is very true. A large percentage of how we operate depends on how successful our events are. So this one’s critical. Our highest grossing one, typically, throughout our, our fundraising season. So, that will determine, which season, which services we can enhance, which ones, if we want to start new ones, improvements to the building, things like that.
How much we can spend on advertising our services. So it’s, we’re very dependent on its success.
[00:14:02] Fuzz Martin: Somebody can’t make it to the festival this year, are there other ways that they can support the Humane Society, or what are some of the other ways they can support during the holidays?
[00:14:11] Joe Poczkalski: They can, donate during this giving season, which is, which is very important.
We have, an appeal coming out, in just a, just a couple weeks here, so, helping in that regard. Donating, volunteering, at other events or around festival trees is also really important too, but, Giving this time of year is vital to our success as well.
[00:14:28] Fuzz Martin: Excellent. What do you personally love most?
I’ll ask both of you about festival trees. Jessica, we’ll start with you.
[00:14:37] Jessica Pillsbury: I would say, watching families of all ages, there’s grandma and grandpa there, there’s the kids, and they step foot into that room, like I said, Winter Wonderland, and their faces just light up with a smile. It’s just a really fun, unique experience that we’re lucky to be able to provide for the community.
[00:14:55] Fuzz Martin: Excellent.
[00:14:55] Joe Poczkalski: Joe? I would say before I started at the shelter, I was kind of a Scrooge around the holidays, and I still am in some regards, but it’s really hard to deny the beauty of stepping in that room. It’s such a shocking moment when you see all the work, and you think of all the work that goes into it, and all the time and effort that was spent.
Great. That’s my favorite part.
[00:15:15] Fuzz Martin: Again, if somebody would like to attend, what are, what are the dates for Festival of Trees?
[00:15:20] Jessica Pillsbury: It is December 7th and 8th, that is a Saturday and Sunday.
[00:15:23] Fuzz Martin: Okay.
[00:15:24] Jessica Pillsbury: On Saturday it’s going to be from 10 to 7, and on Sunday it is 10 to 4.
[00:15:29] Fuzz Martin: Okay. How much does it cost to get in?
[00:15:31] Joe Poczkalski: That’s 8 for adults and 6 for kids and seniors.
[00:15:35] Jessica Pillsbury: Okay.
[00:15:35] Fuzz Martin: And, if somebody would like to learn more, what’s, what’s the website for the Washington County Humane Society?
[00:15:40] Joe Poczkalski: That’s wchspets. org.
[00:15:42] Fuzz Martin: All right. Very good. And, , again, really appreciate all you guys do for pets in our local communities. And, we’ll see you next time.
Love the support that the community gives to the Washington County Humane Society, and it’s always fun to have you guys in. So, happy holidays to you both, and thank you both for coming in. Thanks for having us. Appreciate it. Thank you again to Joe Poczkalski and Jessica Pillsbury for joining me on this week’s episode of the 132nd episode of Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz.
If you ever have an idea for a guest for this show, please do not hesitate to get in touch with me. You can email me fuzz at fuzzmartin. com. That is fuzz at fuzzmartin. com. You can suggest a guest at fuzzmartin. com slash guest. That is fuzzmartin. com slash guest. Or you can text me 262 299 FUZZ. That’s 262 299 3899.
And I hope you have the most enjoyable Thanksgiving. I’m thankful for you as a listener. And I’m thankful for all the great people, events, and organizations that we have right here in Washington County. And with that, I will talk to you next week, right here on Fifteen Minutes with Fuzz.
