Our Board
Corena Huffman, President
Corena is a Licensed Veterinary Technician with a life long interest in animal welfare. She is a 1994 graduate of BRCC with an AAS degree in Veterinary Technology. Mrs. Huffman was the 2008 Virginia Association of LVT’s Veterinary Technician of the Year and she has worked at a variety of veterinary establishments including mixed animal and emergency care. She was formerly the Operations Manager at the Shenandoah Valley Spay/Neuter Clinic in Harrisonburg, VA. She has also lectured at the National Spay/Neuter Conference, overseen a series of wet labs for veterinarians and technicians, and taught a certificate program for veterinary assistants. She lives in Monterey with her husband, daughter, dog “Luna”, horses and numerous foster cats.
Joe Malcolm, DVM
Dr. Joe graciously volunteers his time and veterinary expertise to us. He operated a mixed animal practice in Highland County for over 20 years. He still resides in Highland County and is currently operating a mobile veterinary practice and mini horse rescue sanctuary. His spare time is spent on the family farm with his wife, Koressa, his two children, Roy and Rachel, and a host of livestock and pets. Dr. Malcolm is a graduate of Virginia Tech and the VA-MD Regional College of Veterinary Medicine.
Ashley Propst, Vice President
Ashley Propst, a 2004 graduate of Highland High School and was born and raised in Blue Grass, Virginia. She has been a caregiver ever since, either in private or public facilities. Ashley has been an animal lover all her life bringing home injured or stray animals. Ashley continues to reside in Blue Grass with husband Jesse, son Hunter, dogs Luke and Lily. Ashley is currently our HCHS vice president.
Hannah Murray
Hannah was born and raised in Highland County. She is a 2009 graduate of Highland High School. She’s always had animals growing up as a child. Some hobbies include gardening, cooking, reading, playing with her animals, and being with her friends and family. Hannah lives in Vanderpool with her husband, Vincent, dogs, Allie and Piper, and cats Agnes and Emmie.
Erica Stephenson
Erica grew up in Highland County. She lives on the family farm in Meadowdale with her dogs, cats, horses and chickens. Her main interests are arts and crafts and travel.
Koressa Malcolm
Koressa grew up in Cleveland, Ohio but has resided in Highland County for 30 years. She is married to Joseph Malcolm, and they have two adult children, Roy and Rachel. A lifelong animal lover, Koressa founded and manages the Elegius Mini Equine Sanctuary in McDowell, a 501c3 non-profit agency. Koressa works part time as a school psychologist and teaches education courses at Mary Baldwin University. The Malcolms raise cattle and sheep on their farm and share their house with two cats and a dog. Koressa has served on many public agency boards including those of The Talking Book Center, Family Resource and Referral Center, and the Highland County School Board.
De Anna Shipe
De Anna is a native of Chambersburg, PA who has called West Virginia home for over a decade. She has been active in animal rescue since 2011. A lover of dogs for as long as she can remember, she is smitten with Coonhounds in particular. She also enjoys art, music, photography and nature, especially the mountains and the wild creatures therein. De Anna lives in Pocahontas County.
Keeping Our Family
Story by: The Townsends
When I moved back home from across the country, it was my dream to buy the old family farmhouse and live in the county. Now, I’m the 8th generation to live in this house. We brought our own family cats and dogs with us but immediately discovered we had a problem- mice! Mousers were located and HCHS kindly helped us with vaccinations, deworming, spay/neuter and even provided transportation and loaded us carriers!
Because of HHCS and their continued assistance, I can keep all of our cats and dogs together- happy and healthy! Otherwise, due to economic inflation, rising gas prices, and the cost of living, I would have had to give them up. They even deliver bags of cat food and litter! Thank you HCHS!