Toccoa Animal Shelter Extends Offer for Director Job

The Toccoa-Stephens County Humane Shelter Board has offered a candidate the position of shelter director.

At a meeting Tuesday, board members in attendance voted unanimously to offer the position to Jeff Roberts of Norfolk, Virginia.

Roberts was most recently the Chief Executive Officer of the Norfolk SPCA.  Shelter Board Member Stanley London said Roberts is very qualified for the job.

“Mr. Roberts comes with a high level of expertise in the field,” said London, who added that came out in the resume and interview process. “I think he is the pick for the job.”

Roberts’ resume references a total of 14 years working with animal welfare organizations.

Besides his time at the Norfolk SPCA from 2009 to 2012, he has worked for various other animal shelter organizations, primarily in the Atlanta area.

Roberts said he has been looking to return to Georgia.

“I consider Toccoa having a very high quality of life and I am not really looking for a high-traffic, congested commuting type of job, so Toccoa was very attractive to me,” said Roberts.

Roberts also said he is very impressed with the new animal shelter in Stephens County.

Prior to agreeing to extend an offer to Roberts and enter into negotiations, shelter board members met with Roberts during their meeting on Tuesday, discussing his priorities and philosophies.

Roberts said his top priorities are to review the entire shelter operation before making any changes, work with the board to determine its top priorities, and work on revenue generation.

Officials indicated that the shelter board and Roberts continue to negotiate final terms of employment at this time.

He would replace Bob Citrullo, who resigned in March.