I mean, that’s for someone else to evaluate, I guess. I think what made me comfortable and enthused about being a zoo director is number one, I don’t like this phrase, I love animals. I mean, so many people say I love animals and I’m sure they do, but there’s… Read More
So maybe that was the first thing that started it out. Read More
But if you asked the question, what made me a good zoo director?… Read More
Yes, one fun surprise donation. The Rotary Club gave us money for Max the gorilla. And he came in from the zoo and was born in Dallas Zoo, female gorilla born in Kansas City Zoo named Tiffany. And we needed another $5,000 for her. I didn’t have $5,000. I didn’t… Read More
And he said, “I’d like to donate $1,000 to help by Tiffany. And said, “Sorry to call you so late.” I said, “It’s not late. You can call me anytime.” (chuckles) And just within a week, it just, (claps hands) it was fabulous. But that was Topeka responding to the… Read More
What made you a good director?… Read More
(Gary chuckles) What made me a good zoo director?… Read More
It’s tough to raise money in Topeka, let me respond to private money in a minute. We don’t have a lot of corporate entities and the ones we do have have headquarters someplace else. For example, there’s a huge, a huge Goodyear Tire & Rubber plant here. They build tires… Read More
There’s not a lot of other entities to go to. Private money is, the zoo, we worked hard, nobody gives you money. I learned that, nobody gives you money, you earn it. And we worked hard to make our zoo an institution worthy of receiving gifts and an institution where… Read More
But after I left, the one thing that happened was I think the zoo lost its position in the fundraising structure for a variety of reasons. And once you’re out of that position, somebody else comes in and fills that void just like that. Read More
Were there any surprise donations that surprised you?… Read More
Not really in this community. The political process in this community, at least in my tenure as zoo director, didn’t really lend itself well for raising money. I mean, the Huff ‘n Puff Hot Air Balloon Rally did, but not the political process. I mean, except we never did have… Read More
Was it tough to secure private money?… Read More
Yes, it’s tough to pick up because we don’t have a lot of potential, oh, you mean private money?… Read More
You know what?… Read More
Even though she may have been romanced and massaged by the board and the staff, at some point, the director’s gotta show up and say, we really are interested in you being part of this project. So yes, it is important. We gotta do it. Read More
Were you able to ever use the political process to raise money?… Read More
Do you think it’s become more of a necessity for zoo directors?… Read More
Yes, yes, unfortunately. Read More
Even though your board people are the ones asking or you may even have a staff person or a department that structures all of this, at some point, the director should be involved, because you are the director because of the status of your position, you don’t want to use,… Read More