Keni Cyr-Rumble
President, POPPA, Inc.
 After spending 20+ years as a working professional in fields ranging from electro-mechanical packaging and circuit board design to executive and real estate assistant, Keni was able to finally realize her dream of helping animals full time and has garnered local and national attention since she founded POPPA, Inc. and its Recycled Gardens fundraising division in May of 2001. Her success, due to hard work, dedication, and superior organizational skills has been lauded in Best Friends and Better Homes & Gardens magazines and trumpeted regularly by local media.
Keni initiated our grassroots, volunteer-run non-profit organization that jumpstart's thousands of spays and neuters of companion animals statewide by acting as its own best fundraiser. She personally spends an average of 120 hours each month running POPPA, Inc. and Recycled Gardens, and has built a successful community niche by selling 'used' plants at garage sale prices to the general public. She also recruits and trains nursery volunteers, directs dig operations, maintenance and construction projects, plans and staffs special events, publishes the newsletter, issues press releases, makes public and radio appearances, and takes out the trash—a true Renaissance woman!
Keni's diverse volunteer background has developed her into an effective leader of POPPA and Recycled Gardens. Keni served as a twice-elected Volunteer Director for Hoyt Arboretum Friends Foundation. Keni was Hoyt’s Chairperson for the Volunteer Committee. She also sat on the Fund Development Committee, and the Plant Advisory Committee.
 Keni served as craft-making chairperson for Hoyt Arboretum's Holidays at Hoyt for two years. She now applies her talents to teaching volunteers how to renovate junk into garden art that can be sold at Recycled Gardens to raise money for POPPA’s spay/neuter programs.
Keni’s connection to Oregon’s animal rescue network came about when she volunteered to be Chairperson for the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon's (FCCO) fourth & fifth annual plant sales. For these events she directed a committee of 15 core volunteers and assisted with all aspects of these major fund raisers.
Keni’s management of POPPA, Inc. is fair and level-headed. She orchestrates clear communication amongst POPPA’s Board of Directors, and has earned the respect of her many volunteers, the community, and the recipients of the aid she makes possible with her consistent innovations and know-how. She says her motivation is the daily love and affection she receives from the 13 cats, 2 dogs, 5 rats and one fish that share her home--all of which were rescues.
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Beccy Kirk
Treasurer, POPPA, Inc.
With POPPA, Beccy serves as Treasurer. She also designs and maintains their web site, gives advice on their spay/neuter program, and is working on a central online application to track spay/neuter calls and volunteers, among other tasks.
Beccy started volunteering with animal non-profits in 1999 when she took in an abandoned cat in her neighborhood. After unsuccessfully trying to find Phoenix's guardian, she tried to place him with a local no-kill cat shelter, Cat Adoption Team. She quickly realized how many cats were in need of homes. Beccy and her husband, Ron, became active volunteers with CAT. Beccy worked with CAT on various projects from building their first web site and database to securing offsite adoption relationships and implementing a spay/neuter deposit program.
Beccy also served on the board of Indigo Rescue for four years. She volunteered doing everything from designing their first web site, to grant-writing and marketing. Her work with Indigo Rescue got her involved with community spay/neuter projects such as the Tom (and Mom) Cat Special for the past five years.
Beccy has a BS degree in Computer Science and Mathematics from the University of Arizona and is currently employed as a Computer Systems Analyst. Beccy and Ron still have Phoenix living in their home with nine other rescued cats, four rescued rabbits and four rescued gold fish.
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Jackie Nelson
Member at Large
 This Summer, we welcomed key Recycled Gardens volunteer Jackie Nelson to POPPA’s Board of Directors. We’re so pleased to have the tireless assistance of this avid golfer and retired Intel worker with an impish sense of humor. Jackie’s no-nonsense, common sense approach to business decisions supplies the board with a fresh perspective.
But, please don’t think we rely on her just for high-level decisions; she spends a tremendous amount of time getting tanned and working hard out at Recycled Gardens. In fact, if you’ve shopped our resale garden center this year, it very well could have been Jackie who helped you decide on a rhododendron vs. a snowball bush, or helped you load up your purchases.
Jackie shares the rest of the board’s special gift for not only coming up with good ideas, but also bringing those good ideas to fruition. Already she’s helped us streamline our online plant inventory system, made entryway improvements at the nursery a reality, and manages our ink cartridge recycling program. And much, much more! Thank you, Jackie, and welcome aboard!
Jackie lives near Recycled Gardens with her husband Doug and their two rescued cats, Blackie and Gregor.
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