There was two zoos that were state, but most of ’em, city, county. And then that’s flip flopped now over the years to where there are more private zoos than there are governmental zoos. And so you have to be able to fundraise to a large extent, because there are… Read More
But what can a small or medium-sized municipal zoo do today to be involved in wildlife conservation nationally or internationally?… Read More
The other thing that wasn’t prevalent, and I mentioned it wasn’t prevalent when I started, was marketing and PR knowledge. But that’s become incredibly important, especially as we look at buffering the animal rights propaganda and all of those types of things, and the attack that zoos are getting now,… Read More
Well, I think that the zoo directors today need to be able to, you’re really multitasking all the time, every single day, every moment of the day. Read More
And so you have to have, when I started and we were the city zoo, the majority of zoos were either city or municipal zoos, city, county, or state zoos, right?… Read More
You have to be able to look at a flat plane of land and see that new exhibit. You have to be able to look at this animal and believe that you can develop and see this conservation program that you’re gonna be able to develop. You have to be… Read More
What skillset does the zoo director need today as compared to when you started?… Read More
You need to be able to talk to everybody at every level. I talk to the custodians, the laborers, the keepers, the curators, the donors, my board, all the same. For better or worse, all the same. And so I think to be able to, and the press and the… Read More
I mean, the reason why you’re able to be successful, and the reason why you’re able to raise a hundred thousand dollars in 31 years is that you’re passionate about what you’re doing and you’re able to sell that passion. People feel it when you’re talking about something, they can… Read More
Because of my animal background, the fact that I was zoo veterinarian, and at that time I came on board, there were a lot of finance people, marketing people who were starting to show up in the ranks. And that’s even worse now. And so I thought it was very… Read More
Somebody had to be director, and why not have a normal animal person do that?… Read More
Wouldn’t that be a good thing?… Read More
What made me a good zoo director?… Read More
One of them was, I talked to my staff a lot about this, is that somebody had to do the job, right?… Read More
I think because I always looked at the philosophy of several things. Read More
What made you a good zoo director?… Read More
And to let that person operate without your advice for the first year. So I was president emeritus of the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium, and provided support when they needed it, but I did not directly counsel the new director. Because I feel that they, once again, I feel… Read More
Because if the person doesn’t work out, then it’s gonna be your fault, right?… Read More
Did you give the new zoo director any advice?… Read More
Well, actually no. I was very steadfast. I had talked to a lot of people about retirement before I retired in the industry, and outside of the industry, too, as well, who had retired. And so they gave me a lot of advice. And one of their advice, key advice,… Read More