2007 AAZK/AKF Award Recipients

The following are recipients of awards presented at the 2007 AAZK National Conference held in Galveston, TX and hosted by Moody Gardens and the Galveston Chapter of AAZK. The Certificates of Recognition and the Certificates of Appreciation are given by the AAZK Board of Directors. The AKF Excellence in Journalism Awards are selected by the journal’s editorial staff. All other listed awards are determined by the AAZK Awards Committee from nominations received from the membership.

AAZK Lifetime Achievement Award

Mark de Denus, Reid Park Zoo
This award is based on his outstanding commitment to professionalism in his distinguished career as a zoo keeper. Specifically noted has been his work with L.I.N.K., Junior Keepers’ Forum, Zooquest, “Animal Matters” newsletter, AAZK Insight, and serving AAZK on Chapter and National levels. Also outstanding were his exhibit renovation and design, innovative breeding strategies, creativity, and communication skills promoting professionalism, conservation and a passion for wildlife. Such action earns the praise and respect of all members of the zoological profession.

Certificate of Merit for Zoo Keeper Education

Erica Calcagno, Oakland Zoo
for initiating and serving as Chair of the Keeper Continuing Education Committee which has led to the zoo’s general policy on keeper continuing education to a level where all staff are involved. She developed monthly quizzes, supplemented by handouts and reading options and encouraged keepers to join the committee which now has a mandatory Zoo Studies course for all new keepers. Noted are her efforts to provide staff members with opportunities to learn, teach, share and create in ways that are fun and enjoyable.

International Exotic Feline Sanctuary, Inc
for the development of an Intern program to instill a respect for nature and raise an awareness to preserve these species. They gain practical husbandry experience, learn habitat modification, are involved in education and enrichment programs and have the opportunity for scientific research. College credits can be earned at participating universities.

Lee Houts Excellence in Enrichment Award

Tessa Alden-Lackland, Theater of the Sea,
for developing a Zoological Enrichment Program which includes toy engineering, an approval system That reviews each new form of enrichment that is identified for supervised, unsupervised or daytime only interaction, an inventory checklist and an enrichment schedule for each animal in the park. She also has created over 75 unique toys and holds monthly enrichment meetings for the staff.

Joseph Svoke, Zoo Atlanta,
for coordinating the giant panda enrichment, and creating novel enrichment items for a panda research study. Also noted is the development of a enrichment log and schedule to allow for variability of enrichment presented to the pandas and sharing this information with the staff at the panda Chengdu Research Base in China.

Lee Houts Excellence in Enrichment Award – Honorable Mention

Jodi Carrigan, Zoo Atlanta,
for developing, implementing and evaluating A innovative giving tree that provides enrichment items for the zoo’s Animal collection.

Jillann Rawlins-O’Connor, Oregon National Primate Research Center,
for developing and implementing a new naturalistic structure for the Japanese macaques.

Kevin Mueller, Oregon National Primate Research Center,
for developing And implementing a new naturalistic structure for the Japanese macaques.

Mark de Denus – Lifetime Achievement Award

Mark started his career in 1976 at the Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg, Canada. He started experimenting with enrichment before it was “the thing to do”. Although he worked in all areas in the course of his 22 years there, the Tropical House was his favorite. Exhibit renovation and design, along with innovative breeding strategies, was a constant preoccupation. He was the major care- giver for the Lion-tailed Macaques whose specimens were one of the most successful breeding populations in North America.

Mark has always believed in the power of connection and bringing people together, so for years he wrote a monthly zoo newsletter “Animal Matters” at the Assiniboine Zoo. His belief in the educational power of our profession was the force behind this extracurricular commitment. He was the originator and creator of the board game Zooquest®. The goal was to spread knowledge of animals using fun facts in a game setting. He co-chaired the 1986 AAZK National Conference in Winnipeg.

He arrived in Tucson in 1998 where he brought laughter to the staff, but if someone needed help with a project or idea, he was the one they sought out for help. Mark helped redesign and construct the Spot-Necked Otter exhibit, designed a Flamingo feeder to keep out opportunistic feeders, redesigned the Lion-tail Macaque exhibit, designed an aviary field guide, and hand-reared an abandoned King Vulture chick that is now the most recognized education animal. He was constantly on grounds to interact with the public. He developed a talk using one the zoos most elusive animals, the Hoffman’s Sloth. Mark was the driving force behind the resurrecting the Tucson AAZK Chapter.

Mark has elevated the zoo’s two biggest events to the caliber they are today. For Howl-o-ween, along with assisting others with their projects, he created the “Beetle Juice” set and was the major actor in it. He spent hundreds of hours after work to transform the zoo into a Festival of Lights. He has created numerous cut-outs with backlighting like a polar bear sitting around a campfire reading to other critters.

On a national level, Mark knew that the future of our zoos and wildlife would one day be in the hands of the children. To help them see why they should care not only about zoos and the animals housed in them, but their wild counterparts as well, he served as Editor of Junior Keepers’ Forum. He served as Exhibit Design Form Chair, Chair of L.I.N.K. (Liaison and Information Network for Keepers), and was Editor of the LINK Bulletin. Along those lines he has developed and is Editor of AAZK INSIGHT with the goal of unifying Chapters and allowing them to connect by opening the lines of communication. Mark received the Meritorious Achievement Award in 1991 and served on the AAZK Board of Directors from 1991-1995.

Mark’s ability to connect with people has been a great asset in promoting professionalism, passion for wildlife, conservation and a greater understanding of why we do what we do. His creativity, passion for problem solving, and drive to make improvements has enriched the lives of animals, keepers, and visitors. Mark inspires us to be greater than we already are.

Certificates of Recognition

Jacque Blessington, Kansas City Zoological Gardens, Board of Directors 1997-2007

Norah Farnham, Woodland Park Zoo, Board of Directors 2005-2007

Andy Henderson, Lincoln Park Zoo, Board of Directors 2005-2007

Tammy Root, Indianapolis Zoo for her assistance in developing the original draft of the AAZK Membership Survey

Bob Cisneros, San Diego Zoo, for his work on National Zoo Keepers Week

Diane Olsen, Moody Gardens, 2007 National AAZK Conference Chair

David Partington, Toronto Zoo, for his work in writing, producing and directing the Keeper Profiles DVD

Certificates of Appreciation

Moody Gardens – AAZK 2007 National Conference Host Institution

Tricia Newman, Brigham Young University, for the development and analysis of the membership survey

Brynn Janke, Brigham Young University, for the development and analysis of the membership survey

Jessica Church, Brigham Young University, for the development and analysis of the membership survey

Dr. Jeff Thompson, Brigham Young University, for fostering the relationship between AAZK and Brigham Young University

Representative Nancy Boyda, Democrat - Kansas, for Co-Sponsoring the resolution for National Zoo Keeper Week

Representative Susan Davis, Democrat - California, for Co-Sponsoring the resolution for National Zoo Keeper Week

Susan Chan, National AAZK, for her work on the polar bear issue of the Animal Keepers’ Forum

Robert Buchanan, Polar Bears International President, for his cooperation in producing the polar bear issue of theAnimal Keepers’ Forum

Barbara Nielsen, Polar Bears International Newsletter Editor, for her cooperation in producing the polar bear issue of the Animal Keepers’ Forum

Chapter of the Year Recipients

Cleveland Chapter of AAZK

Southern Ontario Chapter of AAZK

Distinguished Service Plaque

Galveston Chapter of AAZK AAZK, Inc. 2007 National Conference Host Chapter

Excellence in Journalism Award Recipients

“Scale Training the Malayan Flying Fox (Pteropus vampyrus)”
Victor Alm, Keeper II and Adam Fink, Relief Keeper,
The Oakland Zoo, Oakland, CA

“Positive Reinforcement Training for Biomedical and Reproductive Research of Giant Panda”
Laurie Perry and Lisa Stevens, Dept. of Animal Programs David Powell, PhD., Dept. of Conservation Biology
Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park, Washington, DC

“Management and Treatment of Avian Chlamydiosis in a Captive Magellanic Penguin Colony (Spheniscus magellanicus) at the San Francisco Zoo”
Brenda Melton, Victoria McCloskey, Rachel Orlando, Animal Keepers
Bird Department, San Francisco Zoo, San Francisco, CA

“Radiograph Training of Juvenile Male African Lion (Panthera leo) Using Operant Conditioning”
Erica Calcagno and Kasturi Mukherjee-Kahol, Keepers, The Oakland Zoo, Oakland, CA

“Breaking the Cycle: Hand-rearing and Early Reintroduction as a Step Towards Appropriate Behavioral Development and Successful Family Bonding in Two Species of Callitrichids”
Stephanie Forbes, Roz Sealy, Harmony Frazier, Norah Farhnam, Linda Moneymaker and Greg Toffic, Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle, WA

“Training 0.1 Reticulated Giraffe for Voluntary Transabdominal Sonograms Using Operant Conditioning and the Ttouch Method®”
Amy Phelps-Kinzley, Keeper II and Melissa McCartney, Keeper I African Veldt, The Oakland Zoo, Oakland, CA

“Target Training and Voluntary Blood Drawing of the Aldabra Tortoise”
Amy C. Davis, Audubon Zoo, New Orleans, LA

“The Evolution of Protected Contact Tapir Training at Disney’s Animal Kingdom”
Angela Cecil Binney, Lois Johannes, Maureen Leatherberry, Jennifer Metzler, and Angela Miller, Animal Programs Department Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Lake Buena Vista, FL

2007 AKF Cover Art Award

Asian Elephants (Elephas maximus) published in the November 2007 issue of Animal Keepers’ Forum
Cynthia Marcou, Tulsa Zoo & Living Museum, Tulsa, OK