What kind of a career do I wanna?” So I thought, “Well, I’ll go back to grad school.” And then I thought, “Ah, that’s not a good idea. I’ve got plenty of student loans and I’m up to here with the debt.” So I stumbled into this job that I… Read More
Did you bring stuff home?… Read More
We used to, we used to fish a lot and bring starfish and things like that. I mean, the realization of dead starfish hanging on nets in your patio sort of hit me as I got older and realized that was really a dumb thing to do. Read More
So when did you realize you wanted to work with animals?… Read More
Was it at that exact point when someone offers you a job?… Read More
I was 22 years old at the time. And you had never been to a zoo or aquarium before that. Never had. Read More
And the only animals you had were?… Read More
A dog and a cat and the stuff I saw in the ocean. Read More
My father was a Los Angeles City fireman, and also a cement contractor, because, as you know, fireman only worked every fourth day or every third day or something like that. And he had to have other income to support the family and keep my mother from going to work. Read More
As a kid, were you able to visit zoos or aquariums?… Read More
No, I was not. I never really went to a zoo or aquarium when I was a kid, not at all. In fact, in 1972, after I had gotten out of school, my father was doing some cement contracting work at Marineland of the Pacific. And so I was helping… Read More
How old were you?… Read More
My name is Brad Andrews. I was born in Englewood, California in 1949. And tell me about your childhood growing up. I grew up with two other brothers in Redondo Beach, California, and was a surfer and loved the ocean and played lots of sports and had a good time. Read More
What did your parents do when you were (indistinct)?… Read More
And I thought that if you were a Senator or Congressman, a governor, a mayor, you name it, it was everybody’s zoo. And so we tried hard to keep the political facet out of it, but certainly we were dealing with political entities, and that’s where a lot of support… Read More
Were you ever able to use the political process to raise money?… Read More
Well, the only time that I recall getting a federal grant specifically for the zoo in the early years was, we had a Congressman named Sidney Yates who was in my opinion, one of the ablest brightest, nicest guys in Washington. And he, of course, lived in Chicago, and was… Read More
And I think it’s one area that I felt I was successful in helping. And to this day, I still at times try to get involved in planned-giving programs, because I know some folks in town that might be able to do that and wanna do it. And so that’s… Read More
Ray’s the man who started the McDonald’s restaurant chain and his wife, Joan, and at the end of that luncheon, Ray wrote me a check for $1 million. That was the only time in my life that I truly felt like I could walk on water or leap into the… Read More
Oh boy, fundraising was a major adjustment because I never in my life had reason to go out and ask people for money. In my veterinary days in my animal hospital, I ran a business, I took care of sick animals, and charge a fee, and made myself a comfortable… Read More