July 2009
An Early Platypus Member Carl Gosewehr has been a member of the Platypus Society since it started 27 years ago, in 1982. He’s one of the longest-term members. And he’s very clear about why. “Everybody thinks the Zoo is a great asset to the community. There’s no question about that. The Zoo is not only entertaining, but it’s also educational. Then there are all of these programs that the Zoological Society continues to add to teach people about animals and the environment. The Zoo and the Zoological Society have so many virtues, I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t put them up high on their list to support.” So when Gosewehr was president and chief executive officer of Oilgear Company and also president of Oilgear Ferris Foundation, he made sure that the foundation supported the Milwaukee County Zoo through the Platypus Society. And when he retired in 1996, he switched his Platypus Society membership from a corporate one to a patron membership. “I never let it lapse,” he says. Then he increased his personal support and, in 2002, made a very generous donation to the New Zoo II capital campaign. He and his late wife, Ruth, gave the major gift to remodel the Zoo’s old Monkey Island and build a new facility for the Japanese macaques. It really wasn’t that Carl and Ruth loved monkeys. It was that children loved monkeys, he says. “We both enjoyed kids, and we knew the kids would enjoy the monkeys.” He particularly liked the fact that the macaques, also called snow monkeys, were outdoors year-round. The new Macaque Island opened in 2002. Ruth Gosewehr died the next year, and her name, along with Carl’s, graces a sign next to the Island. With Carl’s love of the Zoo, it wasn’t unusual to find that when he re-married, it would be to someone who was also a Zoo aficionado. Carl and Karen, who had been a family friend, married in 2006. “My children and my grandchildren have been coming to the Zoo for decades,” says Karen. “My oldest daughter, Lara, is 41, and she was here before she was 6 months old. All
the kids were at the Zoo when they were babies.” Adds Carl: “Now we’re here with the great-grandchildren.” Karen loves the orangutans and Carl is taken with warthogs. Both Carl and Karen each have four children from their previous marriages. “We always had a pet in the house when they were small so that they knew how to take care of an animal,” says Carl, adding that appreciation of animals comes naturally to him. “I was raised on a farm. We always had a dog. We always had cats. We had young calves. Animals were part of life.” So to someone who is thinking about joining the Platypus Society and supporting the Zoo, Carl Gosewehr would say: “Any organization is made up of people. Just to be involved with the people who work at the Zoo and Zoological Society, and to see the dedication that they feel and show, is inspiring. They just exude their love of what they’re doing.” Organizations that bring out that type of passion in people are worth supporting. By Paula Brookmire
PLATYPUS SOCIETY STEERING COMMITTEE Robert Anger Paul Cadorin Dr. Bert Davis Gerald Dias Mary Ellen Enea Mike Grebe Karen Peck Katz Maria Gonzalez Knavel Joe Kresl (chairman) James Kuehn Carrie Lemke Daniel F. McKeithan Jr. Shelley Mechenich Deborah Musante Bernard J. Peck Joan Prince, Ph.D. Andrew T. Sawyer Jr. Judy Holz Stathas
DEVELOPMENT STAFF Beth W. Carona Vice President of Development Katie Hess Annual Giving & Events Coordinator Lisa Ruidl Development Assistant Cassie Jeffery Grant Writer
NEWSLETTER STAFF Paula Brookmire Editor & Writer Julia Kolker Writer Kevin de Wane Designer Richard Brodzeller Photographer (Unless otherwise noted)
The Platy Press is a newsletter for members of the Platypus Society. The Platypus Society is the highest level, donor-member-recognition group in the Zoological Society of Milwaukee’s network of support. Members include about 375 area foundations, businesses and individuals contributing more than $700,000 annually with in-kind services and support. The Platy Press is published four times a year by the Zoological Society of Milwaukee, 1421 N. Water St., Milwaukee, WI 53202. www.zoosociety.org
Flocks of F They flew and fluttered. They chirped and sang. They ate millet seeds right from guests’ hands and landed on their shoulders. The Australian parrots in Wings From Down Under made the Platypus Society/VIP premiere of this special summer Zoo exhibit a highflying success. Sponsored by Lowe’s, this exhibit at the Milwaukee County Zoo features hundreds of birds such as cockatiels, parakeets and eastern rosellas that visitors can touch and feed. Guests at the premiere marveled at the birds’ bright feathers as the parrots flew through two aviaries (guests who didn’t wish to touch these creatures could view them from outside the enclosures). The photo below shows Lowe’s representatives feeding a flock of cockatiels at the May 21 event (the exhibit opened to the public May 23). From left are Amy Tymm of Hartland, Tom Nommensen of Gurnee, Ill., Stacy Jones of Mukwonago and Aaron Stierman of Richfield. The exhibit runs at the Milwaukee County Zoo through Sept. 7 in the Otto Borchert Family Special Exhibits Building; admission is $2 per person.
Friendly Birds
Dan and Marge Korsi of Brookfield feed cockatiels and parakeets with their granddaughter, Brooklynn Hess, 10 months, of Pewaukee. The Korsis are Platypus Society members.
Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker (right) talks with Tom Dempsey, vice chair of the Zoological Society of Milwaukee (ZSM) Board of Directors. Kathleen and James Polaski of Pewaukee watch parakeets and cockatiels perch on their arms. James Polaski is president of Allied Insurance Centers, Inc., a corporate member of the Platypus Society.
Gene Mallinger of Brookfield encourages his granddaughter, Claire, 1, to touch a cockatiel. Mallinger is a patron member of the Platypus Society. Representatives of New York Life Insurance Company were photographed at the premiere. From left are Shawn Young of Delafield, Gail Gabrelian and Carrie Lemke, both of Franklin. Lemke is a new patron Platypus Society member and steering committee member.
Development Office 1421 N. Water St. Milwaukee, WI 53202 (414) 276-0843 Please remember the Zoological Society in your will or estate plan.
printed on recycled paper 4113F09
New-Member Profile Names: Bill and Jeri Penzey. Bill is the owner of Penzeys Spices, which sponsors the Zoo’s carousel. City: Wauwatosa, Wis. Web site: www.penzeys.com Reason you joined the Platypus Society: We like the Zoo. It is really an amazing place. We travel a lot and we always hear that the Milwaukee County Zoo is an amazing one. We realize that having this wonderful Zoo is not just luck. There are all these people making the Zoo a great place to be.
Platypus Society events and exhibit premieres, and we like meeting the people who work behind the scenes at the Zoo. It’s great meeting the directors of the Zoo and the Zoological Society. Plus, the Zoological Society is turning 100 next year. Just how many things get to be 100? And how many of those are even more valuable than when they started?
Personal history with Zoological Society and Milwaukee County Zoo: I grew up in Wauwatosa, and the Zoo was always a spot where we would go. It was a part of my childhood. Now that Jeri and I have Teddi, our 5-year-old daughter, the Zoo has rejuvenated those feelings of what a wonderful place it is. I love watching the penguins; they’re so sure of themselves. Maybe wearing a “tuxedo” does that to you! We like how the Zoo has moved from structures of concrete to natural-looking exhibits. You can read about nature and what it means, but once you see it at the Zoo you get a sense of how valuable it is. Why the Platypus Society is important: We’ve been a business supporter of the Zoological Society, but we joined the Platypus Society for that personal level of involvement. We enjoy the
Bill and Jeri Penzey with daughter Teddi, 5, feed parakeets.
Calendar Now through-Aug. 30
Playhouse Raffle 2009, sponsored by Northwestern Mutual Foundation (kid-size playhouses and Zoo prizes up for raffle. Playhouses displayed at Zoo in August; raffle is Aug. 31).*
Now through-Sept. 7
Summer special exhibit at the Zoo: Wings From Down Under, sponsored by Lowe’s; $2 entry fee
July 22 & 29
Sunset Zoofari, sponsored by Tri City National Bank, 6-9 p.m. Zoo band concerts
July 27
The Zoological Society’s 20th Annual Birdies & Eagles Golf Tournament, sponsored by MillerCoors*
Aug. 5
Platypus Society Picnic at the Zoo, 5:30 p.m.; look for your invitation in the mail.
Aug. 20-23
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel a la Carte at the Zoo, with major support from MillerCoors
Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.
Sept. 13
Ride on the Wild Side Family Bike Ride, sponsored by The Wisconsin Heart Hospital and Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare-St. Joseph.*
Sept. 19
Aug. 28 & 29
8th Annual Great Lakes Bat Festival at the Zoo, sponsored in part by BATCONE™
ZSM members’ field trip to Harry Potter exhibit in Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry*
Aug. 29
Oct. 1
Animal Safari, sponsored by Welch’s and Pick ’n Save; animal sponsors get behind-the-scenes tours at the Zoo.*
Platypus Society Recognition Dinner, 6 p.m., Peck Welcome Center; look foryour invitation in the mail.
Sept. 12 & 13
*For more information, call (414) 258-2333 or go online at www.zoosociety.org.
Family Farm Weekend, sponsored by GG Golden Guernsey Dairy® & the