First Friday Volunteer Update _ 1/6/2023

Posted on By Amber Suttmiller

First Friday Update – January Edition

Since it is the first Volunteer Update of 2023, it is the perfect time to acknowledge the Logged Hour and Year’s of Service accomplishments of our Volunteers who served the Zoo this past year.  I am so honored for the chance to Celebrate all of you!

2021 Volunteer Logged Hours

  In a difficult year, under the dark cloud of a pandemic, 328 Volunteers logged over 40,000 hours at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden!   Your dedication to this organization is Mind-Blowing!
From all the staff and all the visitors…Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!  In the table below you will find the volunteers who logged over 100 hours in the past year.

100-199 Logged Hours
Gail B.

Wayne B.

Deanna B.

Lynn B.

Thomas B.

Jeannie B.

Larry B.

Becky B.

Kathy C.

Linda C.

Pamela D.

Jan D.

Debbie D.

Teagan D.

Mark D.

Don F.

Mallory F.

Mary G.

Sheryl G.

Michael G.

Nancy H.

Irene H.

Esther H.

 Toni H.

Suzanne J.

Barbara J.

Kristine K.

Lois L.

Anne L.

Pam L.

Gary L.

Donna M.

Ernie M.

Sue M.

Scott M.

Tom M.

Alyssa M.

Linda M.

Linda M.

Nancy M.

Linda M.

Barbara N.

Dara P.

Roberta P.

Michael P.

Nan P.

Jack R.

John R.

Gayle R.

Meg R.

Jan R.

Jerry R.

Jan R.

Jennifer S.

Karen S.

Eli S.

Janet S.

Judy S.

Christine S.

Sue S.

Peggy S.

David V.

Rose V.

Diane V.

Marge W.

Arlene W.

Lorraine W.

200-299 Logged Hours
JoAnne A.

Terri B.

Gay B.

Linda C.

Barbara D.

Jackie D.

Janet D.

Ann D.

Linda F.

 Ginny F.

Debra H.

Patrick M.

Debbie M.

Joe M.

Eldon M.

Pat M.

Judith N.

Kathy N.

Michelle P.

Judy P.

Roz S.

Philip S.

Karen T.

Martha W.

Mary Lou Z.

Alexis Z.

300-399 Logged Hours
Janet B.

Yvonne D.

 Jamie G.

Janet M.

Sue R.

Dave S.

400-499 Logged Hours
Mike B.

Richard B.

Mike C.

 Linda H.

Lisa H.

Karen J.

Anne M.

Melina M.

500+ Logged Hours
Myra B.

Barbara D.

Nancy H.

 Debbie H.

Jen M.

Sadie P.

Tracey S.

Linda S.

Kim V.M.

 

2021 Years of Volunteer Service

We are so lucky to have each and every one of you on our team, Thank you!  In the table below you will find a list of the volunteers who hit 5 year milestones in 2022.

5 Years

Lynn A.

JoAnne A.

Lauren B.

Linda C.

Angila D.

Jan D.

Barbara D.

Brittany G.

Nancy H.

Debra H.

Dianna K.

 Stacy K.

Lois L.

Donna L.

Kristine L.

Gary L.

Pamela M.

Mark M.

Kenneth M.

Jim N.

Cathy O.

Mary P.

Patrick P.

Melinda R.

Erin R.

Janet S.

Alaina S.

Nancy S.

Peggy S.

Abraham V.L.

Bob W.

10 Years

Deanna B.

Myra B.

 Susan B.

Ann D.

Linda F.

Jessica R.

15 Years
Connie B.

Linda H.

 Jack R.

Christine S.

20 Years
Wayne B.

Eldon M.

 Martha N.

Jerry R.

 Jan R.

30 Years
Scottie F.

Betty W.

35 Years
Claire D.

We have pins available to recognize your 2022 Logged Hours and Years of Service.  The pins will be available for Pick up starting the week of January 23rd.  Check out the next update for further instructions.

*If you feel that there has been an error in the logged hours or years of service calculations, please complete the form and write a note in the additional comments field at the bottom of the form.

 Volunteer Housekeeping:

Year-End Wrap Up:

We would love to hear from you about your Volunteer Experience in 2022.  For the next month we will have a survey available for all active volunteers so that we can hear your voice.  Click on the link below to complete the survey.

Click Here for the Volunteer Program Evaluation Survey

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Policy Updates:

We have updated our Volunteer Handbook with some new information.  I encourage everyone to take a look over the next month to refresh your memory on the Zoo’s policies and Procedures.

Click Here to review the Volunteer Handbook

COVID Policy

Our COVID-19 Policy was updated in November 2022.  If you are a volunteer in an animal area (Animal Enrichment, Cat Colony, Divers, Education, Keeper Assistants, Photographers, Wild Encounters Volunteers) You will need to make sure that you have your latest COVID Proof of Vaccination, including the bi-variant vaccine, updated in MVP by January 27th.  Please click on the link below to review the most recent COVID-19 Policy and reach out to me if you have any questions.

Click Here for the latest COVID-19 Policy

TB Tests

It is that time of year again to make sure that your TB Tests are updated in MVP.  If you are in an animal area (Animal Enrichment, Cat Colony, Divers, Education, Keeper Assistants, Photographers, Wild Encounters Volunteers) you are required to have a current TB Test, or the equivalent.  The Zoo will be offering On-Site TB Tests.
ON-SITE TB TEST INFORMATION
On the following dates, TB tests will be administered and read:
  • Tuesday, January 17th              2:00pm – 5:00pm        TB tests administered – Macaw/Sloth – Appointments required
  • Wednesday January 18th         2:00pm – 5:00pm        TB tests administered – Macaw/Sloth – Appointments required
  • Friday January 20th                    11:00am – 2:00pm       TB reads only (test date 1/17 and 1/18) – Orchid/Fig Appointments required for testing
  • Monday, January 23rd               1:00pm – 4:00pm       TB Reads only (test date 1/20) – Macaw/Sloth   No appointment needed. I added times for anyone who would like to sign up and get a reminder to have it read.
If you are interested in the on-site testing, please click on the link below to sign up for a date and time.

Click Here to Sign Up for On-Site Testing

*The On-Site Testing is for Volunteers in Animal Areas ONLY.
If you are not able to sign up for the On-Site Testing, send me an e-mail for additional options.

 Just for Fun:

Pallas Cat

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Zero

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Willy the Llama

https://twitter.com/CincinnatiZoo/status/1605654973412478992?s=20&t=TLHBl1vzvk9f8pVLmQoU_w

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Grover

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Snow Day

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Snow Leopard

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Bowyer Volunteers

The Bowyer Volunteers were hard at work doing Fall Planting over the past few months.

This Fall they also took a trip to visit the Adams Lake Prairie Nature Preserve.  If you see a Bowyer Volunteer, ask them about their adventure!

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Cheetah Companion Dogs

Learn more about the Zoo’s cheetah companion dogs Remus, Daisy & Moose in this new podcast episode from The Dogist.
Click Here to Listen

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Penguins in the snow

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Red Panda

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Dilbert

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Bongo

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Celebrate Fiona’s Birthday

Plant & Animal Information:

 We have a Baby Tamandua

Learn More about how the Keeper staff prepared for the arrival:

Click Here to Listen
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Fritz Update

Fritz has started eating small amounts of all the produce that is offered to Bibi but still gets most of his nutrition from nursing.
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Lightning Update

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Manatee Update

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Arctic Fox Update

If in your travels around the zoo you notice that Sly, our arctic fox, isn’t in her normal area, it’s because she’s been moved to give her some peace and quiet away from the construction going on next door at North America. She’s decided to see what jungle life is like and can be seen in the former outdoor saki monkey exhibit along the trail in Jungle Trails. She has settled in nicely and seems to appreciate the relative quiet and level ground of her new digs. Unlike most of the rest of us, she enjoyed the weather on Christmas weekend. Stop by and see her sometime!

Conservation Corner:

Continuing from our webinars in December, we will have webinar presentations and Q&As with many of our global conservation partners to further connect our CZBG community to their work. These partners will present their projects, wildlife, communities, and conservation aspirations. This presentation will be followed by a Q&A, where our partners will take questions from our CZBG community. Feel free to tune in from anywhere, as these will be Zoom webinars. This is a chance to learn the stories of the conservation work the Zoo supports so you can share with our visitors and be advocates for the good work happening around the world.

The January and February webinars are as follows (and recording links will be updated here after each webinar):

Red Panda Network (Terrance Fleming)

Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation (Matthew Shepherd)

Bahamas National Trust (Catherine Booker)

VulPro (Caroline Hannweg)

Marine Conservation – CZBG Global Conservation Impact Fellow (T’Noya Thompson)

RAPTOR, Inc. (Jackie Bray)

Opportunities:

 Volunteer Roles Accepting Applications

Did you know that we are accepting Applications for several Volunteer Roles here at the Zoo?  Check out the areas that are currently accepting applications and share the links with your Friends and Family!

CREW Cat Colony Assistants _ Weekends

Click Here for the Garden Engagement Volunteer Application

Click Here for the Rockdale Urban Garden Volunteer Application

Click Here for the Pollinator Watch Volunteer Opportunity

 – OPPORTUNITIES COMING SOON –
Animal Enrichment – Weekends

New Faces:

Andrew Bermudez

SSA CNZ has a new Director of Food on our team, Andrew Bermudez.   Andrew joins the SSA family from Kings Island where he has spent the last 15 years.  He started out in the rides department as an associate and advanced his career to become the Food and Beverage Director.  Andrew brings with him not only years of management experience in the food and beverage department but also a hands-on style approach to working with his team along with the importance of a family work life balance mentality. He is very excited to begin his new journey here with us and we are thrilled to have him on board. 

Fun Facts About Andrew

  • I have 2 boys named Xavier and Christian. Another Boy due March of 2023 named Ari!
  • I was born in Queens, New York and lived down the street from Shea Stadium (Now Citi Field) 
  • My wife and I celebrated our 6 year anniversary this past August but we have been in a relationship for almost 14 years! 
  • I love visiting Gatlinburg early December because the weather is still mild, and I love Christmas time in Downtown Gatlinburg and Dollywood!
  • I can recite the movies Armageddon, Twister, Interstellar and How the Grinch Stole Christmas from beginning to end.

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Ben Liles

We are super excited to welcome a new member to the Park Services leadership team, Ben Liles. Ben will be joining us as our new Manager of Park Services.
Ben was born and raised in the Cincinnati area. Ben got his first job at Kings Island in 2006, starting as a Ride Operator and eventually moved to Park Services, where he served in various leadership roles. After 10 years at Kings Island, he began working at 3dx in Blue Ash, installing set pieces for live events, corporate conferences, and amusement parks. His favorite projects were the Grand Carnivale parades and working with Sesame Workshop. In 2019, he married his high school sweetheart and has been having a blast raising their two sons, Hank and Sam.
Ben will bring over 15 years of leadership and entertainment experience to the Park Services team.

Contact Information:

Brittany Garera-Stapleton 
Volunteer Relations Coordinator
(513)559-7768 
[email protected]