Questions? Email us at nycaazk@gmail.com or contact an officer or facility liaison.

Meeting Minutes- March 2011


BZAAZK Meeting Minutes --  MARCH 20th, 2011

In Attendance: Cindy Maur, Dawn Davis, Heather Tassler, Mary Gremler, Jason Castro, Dana Caton, Tony Buffill, Alexis Amann, and Lauren Augustine.

OLD BUSINESS:

BZAAZK LOGO CONTEST!  
ILLUSTRATORS, GRAPHIC ARTISTS, PAINTERS, DESIGNERS, SCRAPBOOKERS, PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR LOGO DESIGNS FOR BZAAZK BY March 30th 2011. We received 2 submissions from Dana Caton and Dawn Bard Davis.  Your logo design MUST be at least 5.5 x 5.5 inches.  Dawn has volunteered to scan the images so you can now submit, just the original artwork if needed. We still prefer you submit it in .jpg format, with at least 300 dpi resolution.  Again, the logo must represent a variety of animals (mammals, reptiles, and birds).  Black and white only, no color please.  AAZK membership is not required to submit a design.  All submissions will be reviewed and voted on at our April 20th monthly meeting.

DUES DEADLINE FOR MEMBERSHIP THIS YEAR IS APRIL 20TH
To become a member of our local chapter you must first pay your National AAZK membership dues of $45.00 on the website www.AAZK.com.  Then please pay $25.00 for our local chapter dues by April 20th, 2011.  Please remit payments to Lauren Augustine, with a copy of your National membership card, or receipt of your payment to National.  Thank you.

NEW BUSINESS:

FUNDRAISING IDEAS
We began the meeting with an “awesome ideas” brainstorming session. We came up with over 20 great fundraising events or ideas.  Here are some of the top ideas:  Wii Video game Night, Chili Cook-off, Dodge ball Night, Giant Yard Sale, AAZK Calendar, AAZK gift shop section,  and Fight Club night.  To learn more; be at our next meeting.

COMMITTEES
We would like to form two (2) committees for upcoming events: Bowling for Rhinos (BFR) and the Annual National Keeper Week (NKW).  BFR is a tried and true fundraiser, which most AAZK chapters adopt.  Since, many other chapters have this event we can certainly use their models to create a successful event for BZAAZK.  NZW is at the end of July, and has a free format for creating all kinds of possibilities.  If you would like to help on the committees, please contact any officer ASAP. For more information, please check out these websites: http://aazkbfr.org/ and http://aazk.org/national%20zookeeper%20week.php ,

PRESENTATIONS:
Cindy, Lauren, and Dawn made formal presentation on four (4) worthy conservation organizations.  Lauren presented Turtle Survival Alliance, Dawn shared the Plight of the California Condor and the Peregrine Fund’s involvement, and Cindy talked about the Endangered Species International organization.  In addition, we all suggested we also include a fund raising effort made by the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, to financially aid the Japanese Zoo and Aquariums affected by the tsunami.  The Turtle Survival Alliance was selected to receive our financial support from fundraising efforts at our next event.

EVENT NEWS
BAR-NANZA: A Social Night for Keepers is April 11th, 2011.  All WCS keeper and animal staff is invited to join us at BAR EAST, located at 90TH & 1ST AVE., for THE social event of the year.  A $10 donation at the door gets you 2 free drinks, and great drinks specials ‘til 8 pm. In addition to the foosball table and dartboard, BZAAZK will have other specials activities.

AZF ENRICHMENT TAILS SUBMISSIONS:
Lauren informed us of AAZK’s Animal Keeper’s Forum (AZF) call for submissions for ENRICHMENT TAILS section of the magazine. If you submit your enrichment study or project paper before May 2011, it will be entered in the drawing for free registration for this year’s AAZK Conference in San Diego, August 24th-28th 2011.  Please give all submission to Josh Charlton for review before sending to AFK.  For more information on the conference: http://sdaazkconf.wordpress.com/.

NEXT MEETING AGENDA:
April 20th - Dues Deadline, Logo selection, BFR and NZW Committee formation, Summer Event Plans/Calendar, and Membership Celebration.