The Chair: Carol Adams.

It is a familiar story…come to Austin to attend UT, fall in love with the city and embrace it for the rest of your life. Carol Adams came to Austin in 1970, graduated with a degree In English, married the love of her life, Chris Adams, in 1982 and the powerful philanthropic couple has worked diligently to make this city all it can be. A non-profit consultant, Carol has served as the Development Director of the Paramount Theater, the Executive Director of Sharir dance Company and most recently as the Major gifts and Special Projects Manager for Zach Scott Theater, spearheading a major capital campaign. A dedicated animal welfare advocate, Carol joined the Board of Austin Animal Trustees, helped initiate the successful fundraiser held annually at Fonda San Miguel while expanding and developing the board. She currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees as well as Chairman of Petcasso. “ATA addresses so many worthwhile and necessary causes – the pet wellness clinic, spay and neuter programs, and the emergency fund which is designed to provide funds for traumatic needs such as unexpected surgery or treatment for a pet of those who are unable to afford the costs of a traumatic injury. In regard to Petcasso, what I am most proud of is that due to the generous support of our donors we give 85% of the proceeds from this event directly back to the organization.”

The Event: Petcasso-Art Extravaganza, Dinner and Auction March 1, 2009.

Dress: Casual Cocktail. The third annual animal art event will be held at the Dell Jewish Community Center and will feature a lavish buffet dinner by Crave, music by Meredith McCall, and a silent and live auction. The evening’s festivities will be emceed by Jim Spencer. With background music by Tony Airoldi and the South Texas Gypsies, animal artists and their companions strut their stuff on the runway while their creations are auctioned off all to support programs providing quality and affordable health care for animals of low income and homeless residents of Austin. Past celebrity participants include Sheryl Crow, Ray Benson and Sara Hickman. A standout work of art this year is a painting by the two horses of Gay Gaddis – sure to fetch a pretty price.

Bang For the Buck – The Organization and its Mission

ATA was founded in May of 1993 by concerned citizens desiring to help lost, abused and abandoned animals in Austin and surrounding counties and to end the crisis of animal overpopulation through sterilization. The organization has grown to include clinics for both wellness and spay/neuter services, provides several programs for animal welfare, and hosts several events throughout the year. Since March 1997, the Spay/Neuter Clinic has safely performed over 72,000 surgeries. Since its inception in June 2002, the Wellness Clinic has provided services to over 85,000 animals.

The Emergency Care Assistance Fund was created in response to the large number of animals in crisis coming to the ATA for help. In some cases these are owned animals brought in by their guardians desperate for help and knowing that they cannot pay for emergency treatment out of pocket. Others are animals brought into ATA by good Samaritans stopping to help animals injured on the road. In all cases, these animals would likely die without immediate intervention and because of our partnership with Austin Vet Care at Central Park and Animal Medical Center, they received all the care they needed. ATA special programs include 4PAWS, the Feral Cat Advocacy Project, Recovering Hearts and Saving Animal Lives. Petcasso 2008 raised more than $130,000 to support ATA’s two clinics, with more than 85% of the proceeds going directly to serve animals in need. For more information go to: www.animaltrustees.org Photo by Korey Howell PETCASSO

Tags: Charity, Philanthropy