And I think they handled people pretty much the same way. They all knew what was expected of ’em, what we expected them to get done in the month. And if they didn’t, there was no problem. There was reasons for it. So I think that’s how we worked out… Read More
We had talked about making rounds, but how involved were you in the day-to-day activities and hands-on when you became director?… Read More
Well, I picked up paper as Kristen said, you know, I walked around the zoo and I, I looked, you know, talked to people, what they were doing and, and did I give education classes?… Read More
We had a lot of in-house training as well as we could send people anywhere. We sent people to Africa times. So it all worked. Yeah, we had all, we were very good about training. Read More
Yeah, oh yeah. Yeah. We’d already gone to protective contact and we had an elephant restraining device even in the old one. And, but everybody thought, yeah, it’d be a good idea. The issue is, and God bless the keepers, at least two or three of them and Jerry Bourne… Read More
Very important. Very important. And, and I have to say both the commission and, and, and our executive director of Metro Parks always let us put a lot of money in there. And we might have used some society money at times, certainly during research times. But no, I went… Read More
Speaking about your staff, how important to you was professional growth for your staff?… Read More
So we did the hospital and then I finally, oh yeah, then we were, during the hospital, we were having all these meetings with the commission. And I’ll never forget this because it was what I previously told you. So we had some choices of what exhibits to, to do… Read More
And were you, and you included everybody in putting this elephant exhibit together?… Read More
So it was a long process. Read More
So we did that. And then as I said, a donor came along and said, you need a new hospital?… Read More
Was that a high point for you?… Read More
Very much so. I wanted to do an elephant exhibit from the moment I got to Cleveland, but we kept putting it off ’cause of cost and stuff. So we started, had to finish the rainforest and we did that and then I, I don’t know if the commission of… Read More
So he had this crate for rhinos or something and Alan thought it was like a foot too short. So we spent a week with like two welders adding onto it. So it was perfect and it worked perfectly. We got the crate c crane it in, took it to… Read More
Maybe, but it just wasn’t necessary. So when we took the hippo out of the old elephant exhibit, we, we built him a hippo condominium in the giraffe barn. We were expanding the giraffe barn anyway, so we just built with a pool where he retired for three years. He… Read More
Did you sometimes find yourself, you call value engineering?… Read More
Maybe it’s a different word building, designing the Cadillac. But building the Chevrolet, I wouldn’t go that far. I think we designed somewhere between a Cadillac and a Chevrolet and kind of maybe did, did a really nice Chevrolet. I don’t know. You know, i I, I don’t know what… Read More
So did that make it less of an exhibit?… Read More
Well, we had everybody including our park commission and my boss. But we had keepers involved and, and veterinarians involved at some level. I don’t know if they came to every meeting, but certainly everybody was. And you know, we put, we put the plans out there and let anybody… Read More
But we, we worked through everything and there were some shouting matches between groups, but we, from the staff level, we included everybody including the Zeus society that was part of the funders. So at least you know, the land management of the Zeus society and in some cases even… Read More