SWANZEY, N.H. — Sharron Thomas, a longtime leader of Fast Friends Greyhound Adoption, has stepped down as executive director after more than 20 years at the helm, according to a post on the organization’s Facebook page.
Thomas, who began with Fast Friends as a volunteer more than 30 years ago, will continue working part-time as the nonprofit’s engagement director, the post said. Amy Roy, previously the organization’s development director, became executive director on Jan. 1, according to the same announcement.
The leadership transition comes as Fast Friends continues a mission that has evolved since the organization was founded in 1992: rescuing dogs and placing them with adoptive families. The nonprofit is best known for its work placing retired racing greyhounds, and it later expanded to help other sighthounds and other breeds find homes, according to the organization’s website.
In the Facebook post announcing the change, Thomas wrote that Roy’s appointment was the right choice for the organization. “Amy and I have worked side by side for years and I know she will guide Fast Friends with passion, thoughtfulness, skills, as she is always thinking 100% about the dogs in our care,” Thomas wrote.
Roy has worked with Fast Friends for about a decade, according to the Facebook post.
Fast Friends has typically placed 60 to 100 dogs a year into adoptive homes, according to board Chair Heidi Capodanno. The organization’s rescue work includes dogs from outside the United States, Capodanno said, including street dogs from Spain, rescued meat dogs from China and hunting dogs from Ireland.
The nonprofit also offers grooming and boarding services, along with doggy daycare.
Fast Friends previously operated a shelter next to Hinsdale Greyhound Park while racing declined at the track and then stopped altogether in 2008, according to the article. The organization has worked to place retired racing greyhounds from across the country with families.
In her Facebook message, Thomas thanked donors, volunteers, employees and adopters for supporting the organization’s work over the years. “So many dogs found their families because of you,” she wrote.
The organization has not announced additional leadership changes beyond Thomas’ move into a part-time engagement director role and Roy’s start as executive director, according to the Facebook post.
