Kelli Imlay

Former Little Bit Staff

Kelli Imlay’s Little Bit journey began when her daughter, Andrea, first discovered horses through a girl scout field trip, which led to the family owning horses and participating in 4H and three-day eventing. Through their equine connections, Kelli met the then director of Little Bit and took the position of Development Coordinator in January of 2000. This was the first full-time development position at Little Bit, focused on fundraising and relationship building.

Kelli worked long hours to create development plans for Little Bit where there hadn’t previously been any plans in place. She worked on the donor database, website, annual fundraising appeal, and newsletter, among other things. Over the twelve years that Kelli worked at Little Bit, she feels her role changed in huge ways. She met and worked with some wonderful people, including a core group that worked on the annual auction. She shares that she has quite the collection of nametags with various titles related to development as her role transitioned over the years. 

“It’s not just a job,” says Kelli. “You need to let it in your heart. It enriched my life in ways I had no idea it was going to do.”

Kelli shares a story of a former Little Bit Fjord named Murphy. During a class, Murphy’s rider began to sway, and Murphy kept moving under him to catch him and keep him steady in the saddle. “Even the instructor was just standing there with her mouth hanging open. We all know that they get it, and they try to adjust when they can, but nobody had ever witnessed such a profound amount of movement. He made sure [his rider] didn’t come off.”

Kelli shares another story of taking pictures of a client taking her very first steps ever going up and down the hallway between offices in the old Little Bit location. “I never would have had the opportunity to witness something so profound if not for Little Bit’s magic, and to be able to record that for [the patient’s mom], that was a cool one.”

Kelli’s entire family became involved with Little Bit, helping in classes and with events. Andrea started volunteering in high school, and became a part-time employee, working at the front desk. In college, she became an instructor and came back to teach at Little Bit in the summer. Their family’s Little Bit journey came full circle when Andrea became a client in her 30’s and rode at Little Bit.

“As hard as it was having to see her go through all of that, the time in the saddle was absolute magic,” says Kelli. “That was huge. It gave her back a little of her joy.”   

Kelli recently took on a project to create gifts for the holiday drive-through. She shares that it was one of the first times she came to Little Bit and just felt the joy of being there again since Andrea’s passing. 

“The friendships that I’ve built are first and foremost the biggest benefit that I have brought home with me. The good that it did for Andrea and the continued friendships that I’ve built and that I absolutely treasure.”

Kelli feels that Little Bit’s unique services and the fact that so many people have some connection is why Little Bit remains so important to the community. “The magic,” says Kelli. “It’s so far reaching that even people who have never been there but know something of it, they get it. It’s such a unique setting and a unique service that Little Bit gives to the community. It’s not just about the clients. It’s about the volunteers who come away saying ‘wow, I made a difference today’. That’s huge.”  

What is significant about Little Bit celebrating its 50th anniversary? “More than once, we were pretty sure we were going to have to close our doors. So just the fact that the community came together and figured it out and it’s survived this long. The mission and everything that we’ve accomplished has been important enough to the community that they keep coming back and giving what’s needed to keep going.”

Find more 50th anniversary stories HERE.