Thank You Glen Aronson
Originally a remodeler in Los Angeles and San Diego, CA, Glen bought some old warehouses which ultimately led him to open a storage business in Vancouver, WA in 1987. He now has 10 storage facilities and three warehouses: two in Oregon and one in Washington.
In 2008, Glen was building a new facility in Vancouver and Furry Friends was located in a cramped little warehouse next door. “I approached Furry Friends founder Nancy McMartin,” he says, “to tell her about my plans. Not only did I see 10 or more cats and a cluster of cages, I also saw that the roof was leaking. It was such a sad sight. They were clearly struggling and I felt obligated to help out.”
Before long, Glen became Furry Friends’ most generous Sponsor: a Premiere Sponsor. Knowing that we had to move in order to expand, he suggested we start a building fund so that we could one day own our own shelter, and he gave us a check for $5,000 – which was only the beginning of his yearly financial contributions. He then became a most valued and cherished mentor, not only helping us with his extensive knowledge of finances and real estate loans but sharing his professional people, including architects, with us, and donating storage units for us to use. He also worked closely with Furry Friends volunteer Sandi Long, who handled many of the project’s complex issues when he, himself, couldn’t be present. Finally, our dream came true. In 2016, we became the proud owners of an official cat shelter.
“Through my multiple contacts, I assisted Furry Friends with the extensive remodeling needed to bring the residential building up to code as a commercial one, not to mention the installation of an all-important parking lot,” explains Glen. “I’m pleased that both my connections and my funds have been helping, and I’m supremely proud of the leadership and the progress the rescue has made over the years. Now, there’s a new challenge: building a medical facility on the property.”
On a more personal note, Glen and his wife Leslie (the couple has a son, Scott) currently spend half of the year in San Diego, CA and the other half in Kawaii. Both he and Leslie are avid pickle ball players, and Glen, who absolutely adores the sport, has played in many tournaments. He also enjoys swimming once or twice a week, and as an avid surfer for most of his life, he’s fortunate that both locations afford him the chance to indulge his passion.
“Our San Diego house is situated on two acres of land that has lots of landscaping and fruit trees,” Glen says. “I’ve gotten into gardening and like sharing our fruit with the local food banks. I’ve starting to think about retirement and have hired Kevin Pinkstaff of West Coast Storage to manage my business. And although I’m still very much involved, I hope to whittle my hours down to 10 a week.”
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Furry Friends VIP Spotlights are compiled and written by Nomi Berger who is the bestselling author of seven novels, one work of non-fiction, two volumes of poetry, and hundreds of articles. She is a volunteer writer for Furry Friends in Vancouver, WA and also volunteers her writing skills to animal rescue groups in Canada and the USA.
