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

Meeting Minutes- November 2011


Bronx Zoo AAZK Chapter Meeting Minutes
20 November 2011

1)      Membership voted to approve online voting
a.       Online voting will be available for votes requiring information 30 days in advance including amendments and elections
2)      Cindy proposed an amendment to include the city zoos in our chapter
a.       We are still working on ideas to make this possible and fun
b.      i.e have events at different parks along with a meeting?
c.       Perhaps meet at a central location and have dinner with the meeting?
d.      Voting for/against this amendment will be available online- membership will receive an e-mail telling them to do this, the cut-off will be 20 December 2011
3)      We are working out the detail to hold a fundraising holiday silent auction at the staff cafeteria
a.       Submissions are requested from all and any, please contact an officer if you or someone you know would like to donate or send an e-mail to bronxzooaazkweb@gmail.com
4)      Cindy talked about surveys
5)      Calendars are coming!
a.       Pictures have been narrowed down from 18 to 12
b.      They should be available by next meeting
6)      Elections for officers are upcoming and will conclude on 20 December 2011
7)      Training talks!
a.       Painting with capuchins
b.      Training with Chiani the sea lion before and after his surgery
c.       Komodo dragon training
d.      Ella the rhino and new white rhinos in Zoo Center

Meeting minutes- October 2011



Bronx Zoo AAZK Chapter Meeting Minutes
20 October 2010

1)     Bowling for Rhinos was a big success
a.       We earned over 3,000 dollars
b.      Paypal was very successful and we should use it next year
2)     We discussed the Girl Scout outreach program
a.       Plans are to move forward in January based on previous model sessions
b.      BZAC members will be able to sign up to work with troops on days they are available and will visit troops twice
c.       Please send photos of enrichment to Joanne to use in posters
3)     Cindy spoke about the National AAZK conference
a.       San Francisco has 11 facilities incorporated into its chapter and could help serve as a model for incorporating the city zoo into BZAC
                                                               i.      Moving meeting location around and having a special event at the meetings
4)     We talked about incorporating other zoos
a.       Video conferencing?  We’re looking into it but AAZK National did not recommend it.
b.      Meetings may have to be later for travel time
c.       We may want to have liaisons to other zoo; VP of BZAC may serve as liaison to other zoos
5)     We discussed online voting- online voting will be held for votes that require information to be received 30 days in advance (i.e. elections, amendments)
a.       Unfortunately we did not have enough members to vote for approval of online voting and will vote at next meeting
6)     We discussed changing the meeting venue
7)    Elections for AAZK officers will occur on 20 December
a.       If you are interested in running, please inform a current officer; candidates will be given a chance to address membership on 20 November
8)     An election bonanza will be held in November or December- members should think of ideas for large group projects
9)     Keepers chatted about some of their training projects
a.       Mike talked about training Tuco the gorilla to target train HIM
b.      Joanna talked about training a silver langur to target himself
c.       Amy talked about sea lion training; she has finally gotten a successful flip performed!

Meeting Minutes- August 2011


Minutes from Bronx Zoo AAZK Chapter
20 August 2011

1)     We began meeting with an update on Bowling for Rhinos planned for 3 October 2011 beginning at 6 p.m. at 300 New York.
A.      Pricing
                                                               i.      Members will be charged $25 or $26 through paypal
                                                             ii.      Non-members will be charged $30 in advance or $31 through paypal; $35 at the door
                                                           iii.      Entrance fee includes:
1.       Bowling from 7-9:30
2.       A $5 arcade game card
3.       Two beers or sodas
4.       Pizza
5.       Shoe
B.      Parking has generally been available on the street, the subway is close
C.       Volunteers were signed up to man ticket sales tables in the staff dining room
D.      Bowling for Rhinos committee is looking for pictures of zookeepers for a slideshow
E.      We discussed donations for merchandise/pursuing company sponsors
F.       Sheets will be handed out for individuals to raise further donations
G.      Bowling for rhinos requested up to $150 from chapter budget; these funds will include the purchase of a banner to use at ticket sale table and will be BZAAK generic for reuse
                                                               i.      Members approved the funds
2)     We discussed the Officer position of Secretary
3)     We discussed the two proposed amendments the to Bronx Zoo AAZK chapter constitution; amendments will be voted on at the next meeting
A.      When there is a tie in a decision made by ballet, the tie-breaking decisions will be made by the current officers
B.      If an officer resigns from their position during their term, they are not to run in the mid-term election for the position they resigned from.  They will be able to run for other positions mid-term or for officer positions during the yearly elections
4)     National Keeper Week received lots of positive feedback
A.      Event night went well
                                                               i.      The chapter raised about $600
B.      Ideas for next time:
                                                               i.      The poo was unmanageable in a bag; a plate, perhaps?
                                                             ii.      Hold the silent auction throughout the week in the staff dining room
                                                           iii.      Have categories to nominate keepers for recognition
                                                           iv.      Hold the event earlier in the summer and in a better location
C.       We hope to organize a holiday event/party
5)     We discussed Turtle Survival Alliance 9th Annual symposium
A.      TSA received several thousands of dollars from AAZK this year!
B.      This led to the suggestion of fundraising for one year for an organization
                                                               i.      We could place this information on our Facebook page to promote awareness
                                                             ii.      Members would present possible organizations to the group and the group would vote for the winner
1.       Further discussion needed for how to narrow the field, how presentations would work, etc…
6)     We discussed the calendar
A.      The calendar is ready to print and we hope to have it ready to sell with Bowling for Rhino tickets
B.      It will be shortened to a 12 month calendar
C.       We need to confirm sponsorship for the calendar
D.      We discussed how many we will need to order; discussed a preorder
E.      There are various options for the printer
7)     General
A.      We discussed voting online or by proxy for members who can’t attend meetings where a vote by ballot will occur
B.      We discussed skyping with city zoos to allow voting by AAZK members there
C.       We discussed integrating the Ornithology department
D.      We discussed some preliminaries for the next enrichment bonanza
                                                               i.      We discussed organizing stations for specific projects

Meeting Minutes- July 2011


BZAAZK Meeting Minutes July 20, 2011

In attendance: Danielle Steele, Amy Golden, Megan Baumer, Paul Kmiotek, Vanessa Jones, Mike Wrubel, Linda Edge,  Dawn Davis, Cindy Maur, Sara Koplish, Alexis Amann, Michelle Medina, Jason Castro, Florence Klecha, Roxy Watts


Committee updates- NKW and BFR
Detailed plan of NKW night event discussed
Treasurer candidate introductions
Treasurer candidate vote and results- Megan Baumer and Amy Golden were tied and it was agreed by all members at the meeting that they should be co-treasurers

Meeting Minutes- June 2011


 BZAAZK Meeting- June 20,  2011

In attendance: Lauren Augustine, Sara Koplish, Mary Gremler, Linda Edge, Sabrina Squillari, Avril Armstrong, Megan Baumer, Alyssa Borek, Vanessa Jones, Cindy Maur, Dawn Davis

-Lauren Augustine, treasurer, announced her resignation from the chapter since she is no longer going to be working at the zoo
-Linda Edge, vice president is the interim treasurer
-Election for the treasurer position discussed, including responsibilities
-The vote will take place at the next monthly meeting- all interested parties are to contact Linda via     email
-Megan Baumer gave our first informal training talk on komodo dragon crate training
-Committee updates- NKW, BFR
-Discussed chapter details- membership, $ in bank account
-Talked about us being in the AAZK Forum magazine
-Discussed membership benefits
-Please send ideas for the chapter to us via email

Meeting Minutes- May 2011


 BZAAZK Meeting Minutes- May 20, 2011

In Attendance: Lauren Augustine, Jason Castro, Cindy Maur, Rebecca Yee, Dana Canton, Tony Buffill, Jessica Chin, Michelle Medina, Giselle Guadalupa, Danielle Steel, Mike Wrubel, Amy Golden, Sara Koplish, Daphne Revie, Mary Gremler, Stephen

NKW Committee Updates were discussed
 
Enrichment bonanza items made: small monkey toys, monkey fist rope toys, ladders, pvc pipe toys, pvc pipe and firehose swing, firehose carwash… please add to the list if an item you made is not listed
 
Pasta Challenge Winner- Mike Wrubel

Meeting Minutes- April 2011


BZAAZK Meeting Minutes -- April 20th, 2011

In Attendance: Cindy Maur, Dawn Davis, Mary Gremler, Mike Wrubel, Vanessa Jones, Jason Castro, Flo Klecha, Sara Koplish, Linda Edge,  & Lauren Augustine.

OLD BUSINESS:
Logo Selection:
We voted on the BZAAZK logo by secret ballot. The logo with the most votes was designed by Dawn Davis.  The logo and a photo of the artist are being sent to the Animal Keepers Forum for publication.

EVENT NEWS
BAR-NANZA: A Night of “FUN” Raising at BAR EAST, yielded $1200 which was divided 70/30 between Turtle Survival Alliance and BZAC.  Thank you to all who came and made this so successful. Contributions are still coming in and decisions on how to split those funds are yet TBD.

COMMITTEES ARE FORMED!
Bowling for Rhinos (BFR) – Alexis Amman, Lauren Augustine, Amy Golden, & Sarah Koplish
Annual National Keeper Week (NKW) –  Lauren Augustine, Dawn Davis, Vanessa Jones, Cindy Maur, & Sabrina Squillari.

For more information, please check out these websites: http://aazkbfr.org/ and http://aazk.org/national%20zookeeper%20week.php ,

NEW BUSINESS:
GIRL SCOUT PRESENTATION
Dawn shared the events of the first Girl Scout Enrichment Night. Dawn and Joan McGillicuddy met with her daughter’s troop and had a very productive evening.  See the photos on www.bronxzooaazkblogspot.com .  Committee meetings are being held to finalize this project. Members who are interested in giving back through this program are asked to contact officers via email. 

MEMBER’S FEEDBACK:
1.      How can we make things better for BZAC members?  Some of the suggestions were:
               Big discounts at all our events,
                           Committees and outreach programs - members only
               Members only “appreciation” events.
2.      From Barnanza Social Night Event:
                        Add guest list
                        Add a band
                        Add a food sponsor
      Eliminate any competition (i.e. pool league night)

3.      Flo Klecha shared a great idea for NKW.  Recognizing keeper’s accomplishments with some sort of showcase for their project results or conservation efforts, in a special print, Awards show or at exhibit site. Lots of other ideas were exchanged, prizes offered (drawings of animals), keeper olympics, game night, patron outreach with displays at exhibits,   candy donations, or ice cream sponsor.

4.      Can we get permanent and regular access to a storage space in the enrichment trailer?

         NEXT MEETING AGENDA:
May 20th – Enrichment Bonanza 2 and Pasta Challenge
An Enrichment Creation Party and Make your favorite Pasta dish, hot, cold, or mac and cheese, whatever-edible.  Any special needs, wants, trades; please contact BZAC officers. Current list: A33 barrels, gardening stuff, seeds, rope, fire hose, soldering gun, additional tools, and a Toddler toy trade off.