Thank you Zoo
supporters…
Thanks to all who
voted in support of 1a. We are incredibly grateful and, despite the outcome,
know that together we will continue to ensure that Pueblo has a world-class zoo
to visit with friends and family. While I was hoping to use this blog to share
words of celebration and visions for the future, I know that celebrations of
exciting things lie just around the corner. That being said, this
was a tough morning for me, personally, to get moving and inspired to come to
the office. After a couple of heavy sighs, I reminded myself that my “office”
is the Pueblo Zoo…and I got myself outside and just spent the past two hours
walking around with a smile on my face as I talked with staff and checked-in on
some of my favorite colleagues…our animals.
I was reminded of what I often take for
granted…THIS IS A FABULOUS ZOO! And I further reminded myself that the outcome
of this election is in no way a reflection of what we contribute to our
community. I reflected on the many ways that this community shows us how much
they appreciate us and all that we do…it’s more than the outcome of an
election. It’s in the many stories we hear from parents and teachers of how our
programs and our animals have enriched their lives and education. We see it in
the record-breaking attendance over the past year despite not having a
new exhibit. We see it in our wildly successful “Check Out the Zoo” partnership
with the Pueblo City-County Library District and in the smiling faces at
ElectriCritters.
The outcome of this election, by no means,
changes our commitment to doing all we can to provide the very best in animal
care and the very best in guest experience and educational programs. If nothing
else, this outcome willdouble our commitment to ensuring that the public sees
and experiences our direct impacts to our community.
While I don’t know the timing of the City’s
budget decisions, nor do I have a reliable sense of what they will do, I do
know this…tough decisions lie ahead and it will take all of us to pull together
to find just the right solutions that allow us to ensure we continue to provide
the quality experience that Puebloans have come to expect without compromising
the quality of our animal care. It will
be a balancing act…but we can do it.
Onward and upward…the future remains bright for
us.
Thank you for your support.
-Stephanie
