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Program Steve Ross introduced the speaker, Peter Faur with the Phoenix Zoo. When Peter moved to Arizona, he was with Phelps Dodge. He is now an independent consultant. He has been on the board at the zoo since 2006. He said the zoo is the second most visited sight in Arizona for tourists, second only to the Grand Canyon. He said they have 360 employees and 450 volunteers. They house 1500 animals representing 370 species. He said they operate with an annual budget of $27 million, and receive no government money. They are a 501(c)(3). Their income comes from admissions, special events, memberships, contributing independent foundations, and food and merchandise sold. The local zoo is a certified member of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums - one of 230 zoos in our nation with this certification. To be a certified member, zoos have to meet standards of care, conservation, and an active species survival plan. The zoo has an animal care center - a mini care center in which some amazing things happen. Occasionally surgical specialists for humans use their unique surgical skills to help zoo animals in the center. The Phoenix zoo is world renowned for their elephant feet care program. Well known and well attended special events at the zoo include Zoolights, and Zoofari. Another popular activity is Family Nature Day - Nature Play. Lesser known public outreach includes satellite broadcasts of educational programs for school children. There are many volunteer activities at the zoo. Each year, there is an opportunity for 100 youth to participate in the Zoo Teen program. They hold Camp Zoo, with eight separate one-week sessions for seven different age groups. They have night camps, night hikes, twilight camp, and wilderness camp. The zoo manages an educational center at South Mountain. Animal Welfare Grants are available for zoo employees to participate in animal welfare projects worldwide. The full name of our local zoo is Phoenix Zoo/Arizona Center for Nature Conservation. As a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA)/United for Conservation, our local staff provide conservation lectures, and the local zoo might send animals to another member zoo or host animals from other zoos as part of their species conservation cooperative network. Many special events for families and businesses are held at the zoo. A new event center was described. With donated supplies and equipment, it is a cost-effective improvement for the zoo's special event program. The Maytag Legacy Garden provides a place for Arizonans to memorialize their pets. The Phoenix Zoo is listed as the top 5th or 6th zoo in the nation. It has grown in stature under Burt Castro's leadership.
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The meeting was opened by Dan Coons, since President Chris Krueger and President-Elect Jim Schmidt both had scheduling conflicts. John Pennypacker provided an inspirational thought for the day when called on to lead the invocation and Warren Williamson led the Pledge of Allegiance. Ray Smith assigned tables "rounds" and led everyone in singing "Row Row Row Your Boat."
In partnership with Special Olympics Arizona and the Arizona Dental Foundation, A.T.Still University's Arizona School of Dentistry & Oral Health is looking for volunteers to help provide limited dental treatment to eligible patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities at the Rick Workman Advanced Care Clinic on Friday, October 26, 2018..jpg)
Basic Education and Literacy is one of the six "Areas of Focus" of The Rotary Foundation. Our goal is to strengthen the capacity of communities to support basic education and literacy, reduce gender disparity in education, and increase adult literacy.
