Zoo nears $1 million in funds
BY FRANKLIN HAYES Gulf Breeze News franklin@gulfbreezenews.com

Optimist Club members and officers Tom Naile, Ray Shane, Marguerite Burr and Todd Larson present a check to Zoo officials Danyelle Lantz and Chuck Emling.

Groups like the Gulf Breeze Optimist Club are helping The Zoo - Northwest Florida staff chase their goal of raising $1 million by the end of 2007. The Optimists recently donated $7,500 to the park, $2,500 of which were personal donations. Earlier this year, zoo officials announced they needed $1 million by Dec. 31 and $3 million in the course of one year to stay open.

Local Optimist club President Ray Shane said the decision to donate was a no-brainer for his club members, which aim to support youth and education efforts.

"The zoo is an educational asset to the community and we'd hate to see it close," Shane said. The club president also issued a challenge to other area civic groups to match or exceed that amount.

The Zoo's new Executive Director, Danyelle Lantz, said as of Dec. 6 the zoo had raised over $935,000 in cash, pledges, in-kind donations and forgiveness of debt. When Lantz and zoo board member Chuck Emling attended the Gulf Breeze Optimist Club meeting Dec. 7 to receive their check, they also spoke briefly about what the future may hold for the 50-acre zoological park.

Lantz and Emling outlined a three pillared system needed to continue the operation of the park.

Government Subsidy Since the zoo converted to a non- profit agency in 2004, a major focus has been to obtain government subsidy.

"We think that the groundswell from the public to save the zoo sends a pretty clear picture to the public officials," Emling said. "The campaign to get government funding is a long term campaign. We're trying to figure out a game plan. We're trying to figure out where the money is and tap into it."

Emling added that most zoos in the country are between 25 and 45 percent government subsidized, such as the Lowery Park Zoo in Tampa, Fla., which he said receives 7 percent of its funding from the city.

"We may get told no the first time, but I definitely learned the squeaky wheel gets the grease," Lantz said. "If I don't go away and I'm persistent somebody's going to give me money just to shut me up and send me home."

Community Outreach

Lantz said she wants to increase the number of visitors and the frequency in which they visit. To accomplish that goal, Lantz outlined a number of events for the future. Zoo staff is planning an education program designed for the retirement community.

"I think a lot of people would like to come out just like the little kids and go to zoo snooze, where you can actually spend the night and camp at the zoo," Lantz said.

Lantz also wants to plan four major fundraisers, each with a fundraising goal of $50,000, and 12 attendance-boosting events per year.

"We want to have a Birthday party for Larry the Lion," Lantz said. "Larry is getting on up there and the reality is that there is life and death at every zoo. Part of my job is to educate the community… Larry is a bout 20 years old and the average lifespan of a lion in captivity is 25. So, the reality is that we know that Larry is a great treasure for this area and we want to make sure the community is educated on that and they come out and appreciate Larry."

Public Image/Customer Service

In addition to putting all zoo staff members through customer service training and providing them with new uniforms, zoo management want to overhaul several of the animal exhibits. Lantz developed a top 10 list of exhibits to be refurbished, including cages and exhibits for the leopard, jaguar, giraffe, sable, hippos, raccoons, African singing dogs, wild dogs and hoof stock. Lantz said an entire family of raccoons and African singing dogs are not on display because there are not proper facilities to house them.

"We have to raise the bar in how we represent ourselves to the community to come through on what we feel is the commitment ya'll have stepped up and made to us in keeping the zoo open," Lantz said. "Now the cages, I will tell you, are completely appropriate from USDA and Fish and Wildlife standards but it's not the ideal environment. We'd much rather see them in a bigger environment with rocks and trees to climb on in a more natural setting."

Lantz added that the zoo is still in need of personal and corporate sponsors to refurbish exhibits and volunteers are always needed and welcomed. For more information, call the zoo at 850-932-2229 or visit www.thezoonorthwestflorida. org.