The Kings: Generous with Their Time and Resources

Since July 2020, Steve King has been a member of the Pet Partners board of directors; but he also goes beyond the required responsibilities of his position. Not only does Steve guide the organization toward a sustainable future, he and his wife Jackie have also taken an extra step by including Pet Partners in their estate plan.

The Kings recently updated their estate plan and named Pet Partners as a beneficiary of their will for a specific bequest. Given their background, this decision made sense. Both Jackie and Steve have enjoyed careers in animal-related fields. Steve has spent his career in the pet products industry, while Jackie's career led her to focus on the health side of animal care.

With their love for animals, naturally they have a pet, a beagle mix named Chase. They adopted Chase from a rescue organization during the pandemic, when they found themselves working from home.

Both Jackie and Steve recognize that animals have a positive impact on human health, which is particularly important in our busy lives. While Steve was on the board of the Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI), he met Annie Peters, President and CEO of Pet Partners, who introduced him to the mission of Pet Partners. Steve quickly understood how meaningful therapy animal visits are and agreed to join the Pet Partners board.

Jackie and Steve are not only passionate about animals, now that that are newly retired, they volunteer at their local food bank and the American Chestnut Land Trust, focused on conservation and preserving land. They are avid travelers, and they also pursue other activities such as golf for Steve, yoga for Jackie, and of course spending time with Chase.

Since they are both attorneys, Jackie and Steve recognize the importance of having an estate plan in place. They understand the significance of having instructions for how their estate will be dispersed through the decisions they have made in advance. Their decision to include Pet Partners in their will was made because they want therapy animal visits to continue for generations. They decided it is important to pass on the necessary tools that will continue to support the human-animal bond, well into the future.

Pet Partners is pleased to acknowledge the support that the Kings share through Steve's participation as a board member and their decision to provide financial support both today and in the future.