Volume 3, No. 16. August 22,2003
AZA Preview
On
the Menu
Billy Bob threw down a mighty gauntlet at last year’s annual American Zoo
and Aquarium Association Conference in Fort Worth, Texas, and Patty Peters is
not afraid to take it up. The Associate Zoo Director/Marketing at Columbus (Ohio)
Zoo and Aquarium, the host of this year’s AZA Conference September 7-11,
promises—promises—she will stage a party that will outdo the do thrown
by the Fort Worth Zoo at Billy Bob’s Texas honky tonk last year.
Her
secret weapon is a Cincinnati-based band called The Menus, which will perform
during Zoo Day on Wednesday, Sept. 16. “They are a little edgier than some,”
Peters said. “It’s definitely going to break the mold of standard
conference music. From the minute I saw this band, I said, ‘We have to
use these people for Zoo Day.’” That was four years ago, and she has
since used them for the zoo’s annual Zoofari fund-raising gala. The only
other hint she’s willing to divulge about southern Ohio’s most popular
show band is that she still has her job, even though she’s booked The Menus
for four straight Zoofaris.
Unlike
other trade shows and conventions where the play is part of the work, AZA Conference
attendees are all business during the seminars, paper presentations and committee
meetings, and all play for the parties. Despite budget restrictions instituted
at many North American Zoos, registration for the Columbus conference is currently
running ahead of the pace of last year’s well-attended conference in Fort
Worth, and Peters expects about 1,700 attendees.
Typical
of AZA Conferences, Columbus Zoo is making sure both sides of the coin are adequately
exposed to a strong slate of sessions and plenty of opportunities to enjoy all
that Columbus—Ohio’s state capital and home to Ohio State University,
i.e. a “college town”—has to offer.
On
the socializing side, the Convention Center where the conference is taking place
is located right downtown, a recently rejuvenated area featuring a number of
restaurants and clubs for both noontime and evening dining and imbibing. The
Icebreaker on Sunday evening will be at the Nationwide Arena a couple blocks
from the Convention Center. For those arriving before Saturday evening, check
out a local tradition, the Gallery Hop through the nearby Short North Arts District
where you can stroll several blocks of galleries, music clubs and eateries.
The proprietors there have been alerted to look for AZA delegate badges which
will be good for certain discounts. Book lovers need to taxi to the restored
19th century German Village to visit the Book Loft, a place to browse for books
you might not find anywhere else and also spot rock guitarist Eric Clapton;
it’s one of his favorite hangouts.
On
the serious side, among the many husbandry, fundraising, operations and marketing
sessions planned, a highlight this year will be two seminars put together by
the AZA’s new Green Business Practices Committee: “Conservation Through
Institutional Choices—Tools for Your Green Toolbox” on Monday afternoon
and “Greening the AZA—Developing Environmentally Friendly Programs
at Zoos and Aquariums Without Blowing Your Budget” on Tuesday morning.
The Akron (Ohio) Zoo is taking the lead on these two programs that can help
zoos transition to environmentally conscious operations in the business offices
as well as in the public space.
Speaking
of the Akron Zoo, one unique aspect of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium hosting
the AZA Conference is that few zoos have such good neighbors: the Akron Zoo,
the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, the Toledo
Zoo and The Wilds in Cumberland. Among the United States, Ohio has perhaps the
richest collection of zoological exhibits, and attendees can sign up for tours
to all these other properties before and after the conference. All are well
worth the side trips. Meanwhile, one of the zoo industry’s most visible
spokespeople, Jack Hanna, Columbus Zoo’s director emeritus, will be giving
the keynote address at Monday morning’s opening session.
For
Peters, the conference won’t be all work and play. Already she has turned
it into a conservation tool. As with most conferences, attendees will receive
tote bags containing conference materials and Columbus goodies. To manufacture
the handbags, Peters turned to a group of eight women in Rwanda, widows of victims
of the 1994 genocide, who the zoo had helped set up in a sewing business as
part of the Partners In Conservation’s Artisan Project.
“The
idea is to take pressure of the animals by taking pressure off the people,”
Peters said. Peters paid the group what she would have paid to purchase the
tote bags in the United States, and the women bought traditional African fabric
and wove the bags themselves. “They are simple cloth tote bags, but they
are bright,” Peters said. “They made enough money that these eight
women will be able to support their families for the next year, including roof
over their heads, food and education for their children. I knew we were helping
them; I had no idea it would make that much of an impact on their lives.”
For Peters, the tote bags are already the highlight of the upcoming conference. The Menus are just gravy.
THE LOOP is written and produced by Eric Minton, Minton Enterprises, LLC. To see more examples of Eric Minton's work and Minton Enterprises services, visit www.ericminton.com.
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