Penguins at the Lehigh Valley Zoo

Check out the newest residents at the Lehigh Valley Zoo. South African Penguins got into their new home just in time for the holidays. Santa should have no problem finding them at the main entrance to the Zoo.

http://wfmz.com/view/?id=591682

Baseball Gods - Please forgive the Morning Call

Baseball Gods – Please forgive the Morning Call

I opened my Morning Call Sunday inserts to see the glossy poster celebrating the Phillies Playoff success, only to be stunned by the complete insult to the Team. Not sure what kind of thought goes into making a decision as to which players are named on the poster, but obviously not much. Not only did the poster only recognize a handful of players from the 25 man roster, it left off the coach and significant contributors from the NLCS like Matt Stairs, Ryan Madson, Joe Blanton and not to mention our own IronPig J.A. Happ, who saved our bullpen in game 3. There is still time to right this wrong and honor the whole team. Please reprint this poster and insert it on Wednesday, the first day of the World Series. If you do not comply, the Baseball Gods, will not be kind to the Morning Call. Take note how they treated the Chicago Cubs – another division of the Tribune Company.

Arlen Specter's response to No Bailout request

I could not reach Arlen Specter's Washington Office on Wednesday - but did send an email asking him not to approve the bailout legislation.
Here is his response. Nice to know they got my email and they cared enough to write.

Dear Mr. Marzano:
Thank you for contacting my office regarding the financial rescue legislation. I appreciate your views on this matter.
I reluctantly supported this package because the failure of Congress to act would run the risk of dire consequences, including an economic downturn which could cause more foreclosures, jeopardize retirement accounts, and further restrict credit which is necessary for small businesses to operate. I am philosophically opposed to bailouts. I think that when you have Wall Street entrepreneurs who take big risks to make big profits and they go sour, they ought to sustain the loss themselves and not look to the government for a bailout which ends up in the laps of the taxpayers. However, I supported the plan to avoid economic disaster that would extend well beyond Wall Street.
From the outset, I cautioned against Congress's rushing to judgment. When the initial proposal was made in mid-September, I wrote to Majority Leader Harry Reid and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell by letter dated September 21, 2008 urging we take the time necessary to get the legislation right. By letter dated September 23, 2008, I wrote to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke asking a series of questions which have not yet been answered. Then by letter dated September 27, 2008, accompanied by a Senate floor statement, I made a series of suggestions to the executive and legislative negotiators. Again, there has been insufficient time for a reply. Copies of these letters are available on my website: http://specter.senate.gov <http://specter.senate.gov> .
Whenever we deviate from regular order which has been developed during more than 200 years of serving our country very well, we are on thin ice. On regular order, the legislative process customarily begins with a bill which members of Congress can study and analyze. After the legislation is in hand, there are hearings with proponents and opponents of the bill and an opportunity for members to examine, really cross examine, to get to the heart of the issues and alternatives. Regular order calls for a markup in the committee of jurisdiction going over the language line by line with an opportunity to make changes with votes on those proposed modifications. Then the committee files a report which is reviewed by members in advance of floor action where amendments can be offered and debate occurs. The action by each house is then subjected to further refinement by a conference committee which makes the presentment to the President for yet another line of review. The process used to finalize this legislation drastically shortcut regular order.
The legislation passed by the Senate is enormously improved over the first Paulson proposal. The $700 billion is not to be authorized immediately, but instead there are installments of $250 billion, $100 billion at the request of the president and $350 billion more subject to congressional objection, although the latter phase may be unconstitutional under INS v. Chadha, which requires following regular legislative process with passage by both houses and Presidential approval to overrule Presidential action and perhaps inferentially legislative conditions. For protection of the taxpayers, the proposal contains a provision that if the government does not regain its money after five years, the President would be required to submit a plan for compensating the Treasury "from entities benefiting from the programs." While that provision is a far way from a guarantee or even assurances that such recovery legislation would be enacted, it gives some important comfort to the taxpayers' position.
There are provisions for multiple layers of oversight including a Financial Stability Oversight Board that will meet monthly to oversee the program. The Treasury Secretary will be required to report to Congress on a regular basis on the actions taken, along with a detailed financial statement. These reports will include information on each of the agreements made, insurance contracts entered into, and the nature of the asset purchased and projected costs and liabilities. Additional oversight will be provided by the Comptroller General (reports to Congress), a new Inspector General (audits and quarterly reports), a congressionally-appointed oversight panel (market and regulatory review, and reports to Congress on the program and the effectiveness of foreclosure mitigation efforts), and by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) (cost estimates). A report will be required from the Secretary of the Treasury with an analysis of the current financial regulatory framework and recommendations for improvements.
There are substantial limitations on having benefits for entities which created the problem and limitations on executive pay. In cases where financial institutions sell troubled assets directly to the government with no competitive bidding and where the government receives a meaningful equity position, the legislation states that, until that equity stake is sold, executives would not get incentives "to take unnecessary and excessive risks" and would have to give up or repay bonuses or other incentives based on financial statements that "are later proven to be materially inaccurate." The bill also would prohibit "any golden parachute payment to senior executives."
The legislation is less stringent in provisions for financial institutions that sell their assets to the government through an auction. Such provisions would apply only to companies that sell more than $300 million in assets and would subject companies and employees to extra taxes. Corporations would not be able to deduct any salary or deferred compensation of more than $500,000, and top executives would face a 20% excise tax on golden parachute payments if they left for any reason other than retirement. In evaluating limitations on executive salaries, it is relevant to note that the Institute for Public Studies found that chief executives of large U.S. companies made an average of $10.5 million last year. That is more than 300 times the pay of the average worker.
The final proposal does provide for debt insurance, as advocated for by House Republicans, but leaves it to the Secretary of the Treasury to utilize that approach so it seems unlikely that it will be implemented in light of the fact that Secretary Paulson has bluntly stated his disagreement with it. Had there been floor amendments, Congress could have structured standards for utilization of debt insurance.
Had we followed regular order with an opportunity to propose amendments, consideration could have been given to my proposal, S.2133, which would have authorized the bankruptcy courts to restructure interest and scheduling of payments. The so-called variable rate mortgages have confronted many homeowners with the surprise that original payments, illustratively, of $1200 a month were soon raised to $2000 which resulted in defaults. Individualized examination by the bankruptcy courts might show misrepresentation or even fraud to justify revising the interest payments and rearranging the payment schedule. Or consideration could have been given to Senator Durbin's proposed legislation, S.2136, which would have authorized the bankruptcy courts to reset the principal balance depending on the value of the home. I opposed that bill because I thought it would discourage future lending, and in the long run raise the cost to homebuyers. But at least, following regular order, there would have been an opportunity to consider Senator Durbin's proposal as well as my suggested legislation.
The legislation contains authority for the Treasury Secretary to compensate foreign central banks under some conditions. It provides that troubled assets held by foreign financial authorities and banks are eligible for the Toxic Assets Recover Program (TARP) if the banks hold such assets as a result of having extended financing to financial institutions that have failed or defaulted. Had there been an opportunity for floor debate, that provision might have been sufficiently unpopular to be rejected or at least sharply circumscribed with conditions.
As a step to help keep borrowers in their homes, I proposed language found in Section 119 (b) of the bill to address the concern that some loan servicers have been reluctant to modify home mortgage loan terms because they fear litigation from investors who hold securities or other vehicles backed by the mortgage in question. The loan servicers have a legal duty to the investors to maximize the return on their investments. In testimony on December 6, 2007, before the House Committee on Financial Services, Mark Pearce, speaking on behalf of the conference of State Bank supervisors, discussed a meeting with the top 20 subprime servicers. He explained that "many of them brought up fear of investor lawsuits" as a hurdle to voluntary loan modification efforts. Because the rescue legislation encourages the government to seek voluntary loan modifications, it is important to remove any impediments to such modifications. To that end, the language provides a legal safe harbor for mortgage servicers making loan modifications, if the loan modifiers take reasonable mitigation steps, including accepting partial payments from homeowners.
On reforms to prevent a recurrence of this crisis, we need to question whether the rating agencies adequately analyzed mortgage-backed securities before issuing investment-grade ratings. These agencies appear to have failed. In July of 2007, when it became apparent that ratings issued by the big three rating agencies-Moody's, S&P and Fitch- could not be relied upon, I urged the relevant committees to look into the ratings that those agencies issued in recent years regarding mortgage-backed securities. Financial institutions that issue asset-backed securities obtain ratings for such securities. The failure to issue reliable ratings misrepresented the facts and fed the ability of financial institutions to tout the value of securities even though their value was declining. Congress and the regulators need to take up the rating agencies issue, and consider whether ratings agencies that have utterly failed to detect and reflect the risks associated with the securities they were rating should be accorded any reliance or role in our financial system. Some have suggested they should be regulated and we may need to consider that.
In addition, Congress and the regulators should review "off-balance sheet" transactions and leveraging. There should be a close examination on whether banks are sufficiently transparent and providing accurate accounting that truly reflects risk and leverage. Similarly there should be a review on Credit Default Swaps (CDS), which are privately traded derivatives contracts that have ballooned to make up what is a $2 trillion dollar market according to the Bank of International Settlements. They are a fast-growing major type of financial derivative. Many experts assert that they have played a critical role in this financial crisis as various financial players believed that they were safe because they thought CDS fully insured or protected them, but the CDS market is unregulated and no one really knows what exposure everyone else has from the CDS contracts. Consideration should be given to subjecting all over-the-counter derivatives onto a regulated exchange similar to that used by listed options in the equity markets.
Overleveraging has been a contributing factor in the turmoil that now threatens our financial institutions. We have seen a massive expansion of the practice of leveraged financial institutions (banks, investment banks, and hedge funds) making investments with borrowed money. In turn, they borrow more money by using the assets they just purchased as collateral. This sequence is continued again and again. The financial system, in its efforts to deleverage, is contracting credit. They must guard against future losses by holding more capital. Deleveraging is leading to difficulty on Main Street for individuals seeking to get a mortgage or buy a car. If a financial institution is able to unload its toxic assets onto the government, it will again be able to resume its lending activities that are crucial for economic growth in the United States. Unfortunately, much of the financial crisis has arisen from miscalculations of the risks involved with purchasing large amounts of securities backed by subprime mortgages and other toxic assets. We now see a situation where we are not just talking about a handful of firms. This is a widespread problem that should be addressed by this package and in future reforms of our financial regulatory structure.
In addition, the package crafted by Senate leaders includes two notable changes from the version that was rejected by the House on Monday. It includes a tax package that was previously passed in the Senate by a vote of 93-2 on September 23, 2008, but has since been rejected by the House in a dispute over revenue offsets. It includes tax incentives for wind, solar, biomass, and other alternative energy technologies. It also includes critically important relief from the Alternative Minimum Tax, which threatens to raise the tax liability of over 22 million unintended filers in 2008 if no action is taken. Finally, the package includes a host of provisions that either expired in 2007 or are set to expire in 2008, including the research and development tax credit, rail line improvement incentives, and quicker restaurant and retail depreciation schedules. I supported the Senate-passed tax extenders bill because it struck a responsible balance on the issue of revenue raising offsets.
The package also includes a provision to temporarily increase the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance limit to $250,000. Currently, the FDIC provides deposit insurance which guarantees the safety of checking and savings deposits in member banks, up to $100,000 per depositor per bank. Member banks pay a fee to participate. The current $100,000 limit has been unchanged since 1980 despite inflation. This approach is supported by both Senator McCain and Senator Obama, by House Republicans, and by the FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair. Raising the cap could stem a potential run on deposits by bank customers, particularly businesses, who fear losing their money. Such fears contributed to the collapse of Washington Mutual and Wachovia Bank.
Congress has been called upon to make the best of a very bad situation. Careful oversight of the authority given to the Treasury Department will need to be undertaken, and a review of our regulatory structure will be necessary as we move forward.
Again, thank you for writing. The concerns of my constituents are of great importance to me, and I rely on you and other Pennsylvanians to inform me of your views. If you require assistance with a federal agency, please contact my state office in your area. The contact information can be found on my website at specter.senate.gov.

Sincerely,




Arlen Specter

Support your Zoo - Tell Lehigh County Commissioners to support Quality of life initiatives

Dear Friends of the Lehigh Valley Zoo:

We need YOUR help today!

At Lehigh County's Budget Hearing Overview on September 25th, Gregg Marzano, Lehigh Valley Zoological Society's Chairperson and Stacey Johnson, Lehigh Valley Zoo's Executive Director presented a solid case for support to the Lehigh County Commissioners to request an additional allocation of $200,000 in the 2009 County budget, thereby continuing taxpayer support of the Zoo at the level of $350,000 annually.

YOU can help the Zoo by contacting all of the Lehigh County Commissioners: commissionersoffice@lehighcounty.org by Wednesday, October 1st to express your continued support for your Zoo and to request that the County of Lehigh continue taxpayer support of the Lehigh Valley Zoo at the level of $350,000 annually. The Lehigh County's Budget Overview Follow-Up is scheduled for Thursday, October 2nd.

Why should the County of Lehigh fund the Lehigh Valley Zoo?

· There is a renewed sense of energy and purpose for the Lehigh Valley Zoo.
· It is a key community institution in Lehigh County.
o Attendance recovery: increased more than 45% over three years, from approximately 63,000 to over 98,000 between 2005 and 2007.
o Membership increased from 100 families to more than 1,800
o Fifteen percent of the Zoo's annual attendance comes from school field trips
· The zoo is the first place where many of our guests make their first connection with animals.
o One example: in 2007 a middle school student from inner city Allentown arrived on a field trip and was frightened even to walk under the trees because they might fall on her - but by the end of her visit was excited and looking forward to the next time.
· Professional accreditation by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) in 2006.
· Seven new animal exhibits have been created in three years by utilizing or remodeling existing structures to make best use of resources at hand.
· Active working partnerships with Wildlands Conservancy, Da Vinci Science Center and Lehigh Carbon Community College to improve science education in the Lehigh Valley and provide dynamic opportunities never previously available.
· Successful completion of third-year lease review in collaboration with a County-appointed blue ribbon panel in 2007. Among the committee recommendations:
o The Zoo's completion of a five-year strategic plan outlining program growth, capital exhibit development and fiscally conservative business management in 2008.
o Routine and basic reporting of operational data (examples: animal inventory, attendance, profit and loss statements, etc.) to Lehigh County administration.
o Continued AZA accreditation as a condition of future funding.
o Lehigh County should continue operational support at a level between $250,000 and $400,000 annually beyond the first five years of the lease.
To date, the Zoo continues to comply with each of the recommendations set forth in the committee's final report.

Continuing Community Engagements

· Four Sunset Safari after-hours events hosting community and state leaders to acquaint them with Zoo programs and initiatives, June-September, 2008.
· ZooGala with more than 200 guests, September 2008.
· Recent editorial endorsement of progress and goals by The Morning Call.
· The Zoo hosted WFMZ's Sunrise program at the Zoo in July 2008.
· Stacey Johnson initiated monthly visits to WFMZ Sunrise program (this week) in September 2008.
· Fashion photo spread in Lehigh Valley Social magazine in June 2008.
· Multiple RCN4 Community Spotlight program and Connections features filmed during summer 2008.
· East Penn Business Journal feature in 2007.

Economic Impact

· According to the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, a cultural institution in the region with an annual attendance of approximately 100,000 and an annual budget of approximately $1million (Lehigh Valley Zoo budget in 2008 is $1.75million) creates 128.5 full-time jobs with over $4.7million in expenditures; generating local revenue of $275,161 and state revenue of $308,356.
· Tourism and hospitality are the fastest growing industries in the region and the Lehigh Valley Zoo has an economic and quality of life impact on the residents of Lehigh County.

Institutional Goals

· Become the zoo experience which Lehigh Valley residents recognize and seek before traveling to another metropolitan area.
· Become the most-visited community-owned family attraction in the Lehigh Valley
· Establish the Zoo as the reliable wildlife conservation resource in the Lehigh Valley.
· Reach and maintain annual attendance of 200,000.
· Manage a consistently balanced budget by 2013.

Background statistics on 204 accredited zoos and aquariums in the United States

· Across the country, accredited zoos are viewed as important community assets and a large majority receive significant public operational support:
o 83 are 100% publicly funded
o More than 56 receive some significant public support
o 65 are privately funded
· Nationwide public opinion is overwhelmingly pro-zoo:
o 88% have a favorable opinion of zoos
o 76% are likely to visit in the next year
o 70% say they are important to their community's quality of life
o 80% say zoos are important enough to be partially supported by government funding
· Partial public support tends to range between 15 and 30%:
o Philadelphia Zoo receives in-kind city support via paid utilities.
o Beardsley Zoo receives 30% of its annual budget from the city of Bridgeport.
o All the accredited zoos in New Jersey are completely funded by their county governments.
(The aforementioned selected data compiled from a census-representative survey conducted by the PRIME Group in 2008, 2020 people surveyed; +/- 2.2% margin of error.)

Your support has propelled the board and staff of the Lehigh Valley Zoo to work diligently to improve the Zoo for families of all ages. We want to keep the excitement at your Zoo and we are certain you do too.

Please join us in a united effort to petition Lehigh County Commissioners by Wednesday, October 1st to continue taxpayer support of the Zoo
at the level of $350,000 annually.
Your voice will make a difference!
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Lehigh Valley Zoo 5150 Game Preserve Road Schnecksville PA 18078

Passenger Rail - Now is the time!

Regional rail to NYC and PHL will open the Lehigh Valley to millions of potential visitors from NY, Boston, PHL, Baltimore and Washington, DC. As residents of the region we would not only benefit from access to high paying jobs, but also access to some of the finest parts of our country for vacations and weekend escapes. As someone, who drove to Lansdale daily, only to pick up the train to reach center city PHL for almost 2 years from 1999-2000, I know how difficult this trek was then, it has only become less apealing over the last 8 years as traffic on the TPK has increased and made the trip to Lansdale, less reliable. Imagine, getting on a train in the Lehigh Valley to take a plane out of PHL. Or picking up a train in the Lehigh Valley for a show in NYC.
Imagine, the growth in tourism in our region and the increase in jobs as access to millions of residents flock to our regional attractions, festivals and museums. Here is a link to a blog that has contacts and links for additional information. http://lehighvalleytrains.blogspot.com

Thoughts from Training Time: Tips to plan an effective and memorable team building event

Thoughts from Training Time: Tips to plan an effective and memorable team building event

Four Day Work Week Could Boost Local Tourism

Four Day Work Week Could Boost Local Tourism

May 23, 2008 - Lehigh Valley PA. Dutch Springs Aqua Park, Lehigh Valley Zoo, Dorney Park, Davinci Science Center, Rave Motion Picture theater, and the shops at the Lehigh Valley Mall are just a few of the local attractions and destinations that could benefit if the larger local institutions and businesses in the region would adopt a 10 hour four day work week, says Gregg Marzano, President of Rainmakers Lehigh Valley, a local sales and marketing firm specializing in travel and tourism markets. “Adding a third day to either side of the weekend will spur spending, improve attendance at local attractions, and offer consumers value at the gate,” offers Marzano. In addition to saving money from not having to commute in and out of New Jersey, Philadelphia and New York, Valley residents will be able to take advantage of lower midweek prices at local attractions and benefit from smaller crowds on off-peak days”, explains Marzano.

Hotels would also feel the benefit as other cities join in the growing trend of rotating staffing schedules and providing employees with a four day work week. Sunday night traditionally has the lowest occupancy in area hotels. This change in work scheduling could boost occupancy significantly since Sunday nights have the biggest upside in any hotels inventory, hovering around 40% occupancy. Selling 10 more rooms on a Sunday night could increase that night’s revenue by 20 %, based on a 100 room hotel. Multiply this by 50 weeks a year and you are looking at an extra $50,000 in revenue for the hotel. In addition, the local governments would see increased tax revenues from the local hotel occupancy tax.

“Give people another day off and they will spend”, predicts Marzano. “We put to much pressure on the economy having only 2 days a week to spend our money. If the weatherman calls for a chance of thunderstorms, it can reduce attendance significantly if it falls on a Saturday or Sunday. Giving the consumer another day to enjoy all this area has to offer and allowing the attractions a more even traffic flow would do a lot to jump start the economy”, Marzano offered.

Rainmakers Lehigh Valley provides sales and marketing solutions for small businesses in the travel and tourism industry and is a member of the Lehigh Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce. Contact: Gregg Marzano, 610-248-4389 gmarzano@rcn.com www.rainmakerslv.com.

Philadelphia is Your Destination, Philadelphia-Philadelphia.blogspot.com: Free Four-part, interactive Leadership Training Course

Philadelphia is Your Destination, Philadelphia-Philadelphia.blogspot.com: Free Four-part, interactive Leadership Training Course

Lehigh Valley Hotels need to add Green meetings with outside team building packages

Lehigh Valley Hotels should cater their meeting packages around green events and unique team building events to compensate for new competition. As more and more hotels pop up with little or no meeting space, the full-service big boys should be looking to green meetings to fill the lost transient business. Green meetings will seperate them from the competition and allow the event planner to get some green points with their company. Benchmark Hospitality just released their Top Ten Meeting Trends - Green meetings and outside team building are high on the list.


#1 - Green Meetings. Demand continues at an even higher level than last year. More and more RFPs are inquiring about the conference centers' green policies as a selection criterion.
#2 - Keeping up with technology. Wireless connectivity is now an expectation, advanced technology such as 360-degree cameras are being installed in conference rooms to enable meetings to patch in persons from around the globe, and at a moment's notice. The challenge is to stay ahead of the curve when it's difficult just to keep up.
#3 - Laptops now encouraged in the meeting room for note-taking or facilitator-directed research, not e-mail. It's also a nod to going green, as typing notes into a laptop uses zero paper and eliminates waste.
#4 - Paperless negotiation. More than 80 percent of RFPs, proposals and contracts are now delivered and returned online, saving great amounts of paper but increasing the pressure to respond in real time.
#5 - Healthy break snacks. Choice, variety and selection are all still important, but the requests to make sure it's healthy have come back strong, and low carb is not the only criterion. At least healthy today is synonymous with flavorful, low fat and low cal.
#6 - Teambuilding activities in high demand. From the traditional to culinary cook offs to white-water rafting, teambuilding activities as part of a meeting are more popular than ever, often driven by the destination and with a preference for outdoor, physical activities.
#7 - All-inclusive package pricing still preferred. There are fewer meetings with a greater number of attendees per meeting, for enhanced cost efficiencies, but package pricing remains solid.
#8 - Critical to stay current on industry segments delivering business to your property. Change happens faster all the time, with company mergers, products becoming obsolete as technology delivers the next generation, global competition bringing rapid paradigm shifts, and social networking systems revolutionizing how information flows from person to person, group to group.
#9 - Destination recreation activities increasingly important. More than golf and spa sessions, attendees are looking to experience all that a destination has to offer, including walking and biking through natural forests, touring historic sites, climbing mountains and mesas, descending into canyons and even shopping.
# 10 - Interactive event Web sites. Set up by group leaders for a particular meeting for attendees to reference before the meeting begins, and throughout a conference as a review of the material discussed during the day. The sites also enable feedback and continued group interaction after hours by contributing to a dialog or meeting blog.
Bonus Trend #1 - Latin America is increasingly attractive. With geographic proximity, growing business climates throughout the region, a ratcheting up in demand for corporate meetings and the movement toward recognizing all the Americas as one, Latin America is not just for incentive groups anymore.
Bonus Trend #2 - So is Japan. Interest in conference centers in Japan is growing faster than in many other established regions in the world. Corporate Japan is actively embracing the meetings concept that Europe and America adopted over a quarter century ago. Proposals for new purpose-built conference centers in Japan are surfacing every day and the country is projected to lead the concept as it migrates throughout Asia.
**

Take a backyard vacation at the Lehigh Valley Zoo

Lehigh Valley Zoological Society and Lehigh Valley Zoo
Celebrate Fourth Spring with Founders Club Celebration

It has been over three years since the Lehigh County Commissioners and Administration partnered with the Lehigh Valley Zoological Society (LVZS) to keep the Zoo at the Trexler Nature Preserve open. On Saturday, March 8th, the Zoo will recognize some of the leaders in our community that had the vision and passion to say “I love the Lehigh Valley and I love the Zoo – keep it open!” These leaders ranged from government officials to everyday folks like you and I. A group of very passionate local residents formed the Lehigh Valley Zoological Society and poured their time and personal resources into starting a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization – hiring the staff, creating infrastructure for the business, and soliciting support. Over 300 members of the community signed on as Founder’s Club members. Since then, 3,000 more have joined the Lehigh Valley Zoo as loyal members and close to 250,000 guests have visited. The professional team of skilled educators, animal care personnel, guest service staff, and recognized leaders in Zoo management, operate the Lehigh Valley Zoo and also manage and care for the Elk, Bison and Palomino herd on the scenic 1,100+ acre Trexler Nature Preserve. This dedicated team is second to none. They educate over 30,000 children a year, maintain a diverse collection of animals, and provide a clean, safe, and rewarding experience for all the families and visitors of the Lehigh Valley.

In 2008, Wildlands Conservancy, DaVinci Science Center, and Lehigh Valley Zoo have partnered on many educational and fun activities that should touch every student in the Lehigh Valley. In addition, Lehigh Valley Zoo has formed unique partnerships with the Allentown Art Museum, Allentown Public Library, Lehigh Valley IronPigs, PBS 39 WLTV, and the State Theater Center for the Arts. Collaborative community partnerships like these make the Lehigh Valley a great place to live, work, and recreate.

Financially, the Lehigh Valley Zoo relies on support through a combination of grants and donations. Lehigh County has provided operating support for the past three years and will continue to provide support through 2009 as part of the lease agreement with the Lehigh Valley Zoological Society. Local businesses including Ironton Telephone, The Lehigh Group, Lehigh Cement Company, Air Products and Chemicals, Keystone Nazareth Bank & Trust, Embassy Bank, and many others have taken a leadership role in supporting the Zoo. Public grants, individual support, membership, admissions, education programs, and concessions provide the remainder of the $1.9 million operating budget for the Zoo.

In 2006, the Lehigh Valley Zoo received accreditation from the prestigious Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA), which places the Zoo in the top 10% of zoos in the country who have earned this professional status. Our Executive Director, Mr. Stacey Johnson, is a recognized leader in the Zoo industry. He serves on the AZA accreditation review committee, and Chairs the Species Survival Plan Committee for Jaguars, and the Bear Taxon Advisory Group.

Over the past three years, the Lehigh Valley Zoo has consistently worked hard to provide exceptional care for the animals by improving the veterinary clinic, increasing the number of animal keepers, and developing enrichment programs for all the animals. The Zoo has introduced several new exhibits since 2005 including Outback Adventure, Lorikeet Landing, and the first-phase of Wanyama Africa featuring Aoudad, Crowned Crane, Dromedary Camel, Plains Zebra, Scimitar-horned Oryx, and Spurred Tortoise. The Zoo also added a playground and relocated the children’s touch and learn area. To participate in AZA’s Year of the Frog, the Zoo has acquired a collection of amphibians to enhance the Zoo’s educational outreach programs and address amphibian conservation. Later this year, the Lehigh Valley Zoo plans to add Mongoose Lemur and other captivating animal species.

As a leader for tourism and quality of life in the Lehigh Valley, I would like to suggest that the families of the Lehigh Valley add a “backyard vacation” to their list of things to do this year. Re-invest back into the region with a trip to the Lehigh Valley Zoo, catch a ballgame, spend an evening at the theater, an afternoon at the museum, a walk on one of the rail trails or a hike in the Trexler Nature Preserve. This is how we can all do our part to make the Lehigh Valley a sustainable community.

Allentown Art Museum

This past Saturday I attended the opening of the new exhibit at the Allentown Art Museum. What a night, the turnout was astonishing and the event first class. I was excited to see such support for a top attraction in our region. I even had a chance to visit the new restaurant in the PPL plaza, Johnny Mananas. Just found this great blog Allentown good news has more local information on JM and what's happening in Allentown. JM's should do well, nice design and great location, hopefully they can get some well lit signage, so ppl know it is there.
This is my first comments about the Morning Call, probably not my last, as I use this space to hopefully share my thoughts on something dear to my heart, I hope to get some feedback on what is happening in the local print media. First, let me say, it must be a very hard task to print a daily newspaper. Just the amount of staff alone to cover, comment, advertise, print and distribute every day is a monumental task. One of my pet peeves is the half sheets in the classifieds. The savings would be better spent donating the space to all the 501c3's in the Valley that need the support. Second, Sam Zell came to town and none of the subscribers or advertisers where informed or offered a chance to provide our feedback on the paper. As a keen business owner, I am sure he would like to hear our input. Kudos to the Advertising team and the MCALL senior staff for recognizing the best advertising sales person in the Valley - Kathy McGlade. She spent many a late night rewriting ads for me and literally stopping the presses a few times to make sure the ad was perfect. Congrats Kathy.