November 2008
March 2009
It’s Their Family Place Mike Carter and his family like visiting the Milwaukee County Zoo on Christmas day. It’s a family tradition. “Whenever we’re in town for the holidays, we go to the Zoo and have our picture taken there,” says Carter. “We like that the Zoo is open 365 days a year.” The Zoo’s accessible hours and family-oriented atmosphere are a great benefit to the city, explains Carter, vice president and chief financial officer of Northwestern Mutual. “I’ve always enjoyed the Zoo. It’s something I wanted to get more involved in.” In 2007, he joined the Zoological Society of Milwaukee’s Board of Directors. At the same time, Carter and his wife, Nancy, joined the Platypus Society, the ZSM’s highest-level, donor-member recognition group. The ZSM and the Platypus Society help maintain the Zoo as a family attraction and a community resource, say the Carters. “The Zoo is really one of the biggest values that we have in the city,” Mike notes. “It’s open to everybody, it’s accessible and it can make a full day of entertainment.” Mike and Nancy know first-hand the benefits of the Zoo for families and children. They often take their three kids – Haley, 15, Ryan, 11, and Harrison, 6 – to the Zoo. It’s a great way to enjoy the outdoors and learn about nature, says Nancy. The kids particularly like Zero the polar bear and Macaque Island, home to Japanese macaques. All three Carter children have taken the ZSM’s conservation education classes and summer camps. “The classes are an opportunity to connect the kids to animals,” says Nancy. “They’re a good learning experience, and they give the kids a different view of the Zoo.” For example, last summer 6-year-old Harrison attended the Zoo’s Clues camp, in which kids learn how keepers care for animals, and then help solve a Zoo mystery. On a later visit, Harrison told Nancy all about animal enrichment toys that zookeepers place in the primates’ exhibits to help the animals use their natural instincts. The Carter family also attends Zoo events such as the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel a la Carte and the holiday-themed Breakfast and Lunch with Santa, sponsored by Racine Danish Kringles, in December. Mike and Nancy cite Zoo Ball, the ZSM’s biggest annual fund-raiser, as their favorite “grown-up” event. “Zoo Ball is one of the most fun charity fund-raisers we’ve attended,” says Nancy. “The Zoo is a unique venue which adds to the event!”
Looking to the future, Mike Carter would like to join ZSM committees dealing with finance and development. “We need to find a way to grow and sustain and improve the Zoo,” he says. “You can’t create this from scratch; it’s built over generations.” Carter himself has watched the Zoo change over the years. Growing up in Delavan, Wis., he often visited the Zoo on school field trips. The late, great Samson the gorilla, one of the most popular animals in Zoo history, “made quite an impact,” he says. Today, new exhibits such as the MillerCoors Giraffe Experience make an impact on the Carters’ kids–the next generation of zoogoers. By Julia Kolker
PLATYPUS SOCIETY STEERING COMMITTEE Robert Anger Paul Cadorin Dr. Bert Davis Mike Grebe Karen Peck Katz Maria Gonzalez Knavel Joe Kresl (chairman) James Kuehn Daniel F. McKeithan Jr. Bernard J. Peck Joan Prince, Ph.D. Andrew T. Sawyer Jr. Judy Holz Stathas
DEVELOPMENT STAFF Beth W. Carona Vice President of Development Katie Hess Annual Giving & Events Coordinator Lisa Ruidl Development Assistant Cassie Jeffery Grant Writer
NEWSLETTER STAFF Paula Brookmire Editor & Writer Julia Kolker Writer Cary Piggot Designer Richard Brodzeller Photographer (Unless otherwise noted)
PlatyPress The Platy Press is a newsletter for members of the Platypus Society. The Platypus Society is the highest level, donor-member-recognition group in the Zoological Society of Milwaukee’s network of support. Members include about 375 area foundations, businesses and individuals contributing more than $700,000 annually with in-kind services and support. The Platy Press is published four times a year by the Zoological Society of Milwaukee, 1421 N. Water St., Milwaukee, WI 53202. www.zoosociety.org
A Gift for th There’s a new way to help the Zoological Society of Milwaukee (ZSM) plan for the future. Consider contributing to the ZSM’s recently established endowment trust. Why a trust? “It’s a way to create a tribute that’s perpetual,” says Tom Hoye, president of the Waukesha accounting firm Hoye & Associates. Last year Hoye set up the Dorothy Nelson Living Trust in memory of his longtime friend and client, Dorothy “Dory” Nelson. Dory Nelson died in November 2007. During her lifetime, she supported non-profits that help animals and children. As her trustee, Hoye gave part of Nelson’s estate to the ZSM’s endowment trust, specifically to be used for our conservation education summer internship program. This program allows 19 or more college students to get experience working with children in a variety of summer camps. Hoye met with several of these interns and was impressed with how valuable they considered the Zoological Society internship.
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If you are excited about any of our projects or the many ways in which we support the Milwaukee County Zoo, we can help you establish gifts for everything from Zoo exhibits to ZSM programs through the endowment trust. Choose from an unrestricted or a restricted endowment. The unrestricted option allows the ZSM’s Board of Directors to put proceeds toward the non-profit’s general operations that finance our mission of conservation, education and Zoo support. A designated endowment goes to a specific project.
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Each year, a percentage of the interest earned by your endowment benefits the designated program, while the rest of the gift continues to grow
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Mark Ruz, a college intern in the Zoological Society’s 2008 summer camps, led campers in a funny kids’ song about animals.These 6- and 7-year-olds were in Senior Zookeeper camp, which introduced them to typical jobs at the Milwaukee County Zoo. Photo by Margo Pactanac
set up the Dorothy Nelson Living Trust in orothy “Dory” Nelson. The trust supports the Society’s conservation education summer program. Photo by Richard Brodzeller
e endowment generates a pret of support based on careful spending policies adopted by the ustees. The ZSM is audited yearly, ports are available. “The endowment effort of its kind in the Zoological history,” says Beth Carona, the ZSM’s of development. “It represents p toward preserving our legacy a strong and permanent ation for the future.”
ering a contribution and would ore about our programs and our contact the Development (414) 276-0843.
Tom Hoye and Dory Nelson Photo provided by Tom Hoye
Zoological Society Development Office 1421 N. Water Street Milwaukee, WI 53202 (414) 276-0843 Please remember the Zoological Society in your will or estate plan.
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New-Member Profile Patron Members: David and Candace Alswager E-mail: bullet@milwpc.com Reason you joined the Platypus Society: That’s simple: We believe in it. We come to the Milwaukee County Zoo all the time. Our family loves animals and wildlife of all kinds. The Zoo has always been a favorite place. Personal history with Zoological Society and Milwaukee County Zoo: Our neighbors, Gerald Dias and Rick Zawlocki, are Platy members [who were featured in the November 2008 Platy Press]. They won a behind-the-scenes tour of the elephant and giraffe exhibits at a Platypus event auction, and we went on the tour with them. We
loved the tour; the zookeepers talked to us freely and made us feel welcome. We’ve gone to the Zoo many times before we joined the Platypus Society. It’s a nice thing to come to the Zoo anytime. All four of our now-adult kids are animal lovers. Why the Platypus Society is important: The Zoo is No. 1 on our list of places to support. We feel very strongly about this. The Platypus Society is there to help save the animals. Plus, everyone at the Platypus Society awards dinner last October (the first Platy event we attended) was so nice to us. Dr. Robert Davis, president and CEO of the Zoological Society, made us feel so welcome.
Calendar March 14 & 15 Behind the Scenes Weekend at the Zoo, sponsored by Tri City National Bank*
May 9 Beastly Bowl-a-Thon fund-raiser for the ZSM; call (414) 258-2333 to register*
June 21 Father’s Day at the Zoo, sponsored by Chinet® & Pick ’n Save; all dads get in free*
April 4 Family Free Day at the Zoo, sponsored by North Shore Bank and FOX 6*
May 10 Mother’s Day at the Zoo, sponsored by Wilderness Hotel & Golf Resort*; all moms get in free.
June 24, July 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29 Sunset Zoofaris at the Zoo, sponsored by Tri City National Bank, 6-9 p.m.*
April 4 & 5 Breakfast and Lunch with the Bunny at the Zoo, sponsored by Racine Danish Kringles* April 11 Egg Day at the Zoo, sponsored by Welch’s & Pick ’n Save* April 16 Talk by Vicki Piaskowski, the Zoological Society’s international coordinator of Birds Without BordersAves Sin Fronteras®, 7 p.m., Maywood Nature Center in Sheboygan; free. Call (414) 276-0339 for details.
May 16 & 17 Party for the Planet at the Zoo, sponsored by American Transmission Company* May 21 Platypus Society/VIP premiere of special summer bird exhibit Wings From Down Under; look for your invitation in the mail. (Exhibit opens to the public May 23.) June 17, 18, 19 Nights in June, for Zoological Society members only, 5:15-9 p.m.*
June 27 Zoo Ball 2009, co-sponsored by American Airlines & American Eagle and U.S. Cellular* July 14, 16 & 17 Kids’ Nights sponsored by WaterStone Bank, for ZSM members only, 5:15-9 p.m.* Aug. 5 Platypus Society Family Picnic; look for your invitation in the mail. *For more information, call (414) 258-2333 or go online at www.zoosociety.org.