From the Nashville Post/City Paper:

The Nashville Zoo has added several prominent area executives to its board of directors. Chief among them is Dick Ragsdale, who has made the transition from honorary board member to chairman-elect. The veteran hospital entrepreneur will take over the chairman’s slot from Renée Chevalier in January.

Other local execs joining the board are Lee Beaman, chairman and CEO of Beaman Automotive Group, and Phil Wenk, president and CEO of Delta Dental of Tennessee. Beaman’s wife, Kelly, has served on the zoo’s board in recent years.

Also coming on board at the zoo are Chris Rayback, a real estate attorney at Bone McAllester Norton and a member of the Global Alliance of Hospitality Attorneys, and Cammy Price, who has been involved with the Zoo for many years and previously was a member of the Friends of the Zoo board.

This weekend the Nashville Zoo displayed two new clouded leopard cubs to visitors. There are among the first born in the United States in twenty years, and will be a part of the exhibit through at least November. Click here to view the Tennessean’s photo gallery. Below is a video of the cubs playing:

Continue reading ‘Nashville Zoo Premiers Leopard Cubs’

Social Media for Social Good in Nashville
Join Social Media Club Nashville and panelist from several local community and non-profit organizations to explore their use of social media and its impact in promoting community services, recruiting volunteers, and reaching fundraising goals.Wednesday July 15th from 6pm to 8pm at Center for Nonprofit Management in Metro Center
(44 Vantage Way, Suite 230 Nashville, TN 37228)
This event is FREE to attend; however, space is limited to the first seventy reservations. Please RSVP to socialmediaclubnashville@gmail.com

Below is a list of the panelists for the program and resources to connect with them online:

Sam Davidson- CoolPeopleCare, Inc.
Website: http://www.coolpeoplecare.org/
Facebook: http://www.new.facebook.com/coolpeoplecare
Twitter: http://twitter.com/coolpeoplecare
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/coolpeoplecare

Corinne Ciocia- Center for Nonprofit Management
Website: http://www.cnm.org/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/cnmmidtn
Blog: http://blog.cnm.org/

Jim Bartoo- Nashville Zoo
Website: http://www.nashvillezoo.org/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nashville-Zoo/97534520621
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NashvilleZoo and https://twitter.com/Gumu_at_the_Zoo
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/nashvillezoo

Kallie Bienvenu- The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee
Website: www.cfmt.org
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nashville-TN/The-Community-Foundation-of-Middle-Tennessee/55356141327
Twitter: http://twitter.com/cfmt

About Social Media Club Nashville:
Social Media Club Nashville is part of an international network of community groups that host conversations that explore key issues facing our society as technologies transform the way we connect, communicate, collaborate and relate to each other. The Club’s primary mission is to promote media literacy, promote standard technologies, encourage ethical behavior and share best practices.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=40982994791&ref=mf
Wiki: http://socialmediaclub.pbwiki.com/Nashville%2C-TN
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SMCNash
*If you blog, shoot video, take photos, tweet, etc, please use #smcnash as your tag

For more information about Social Media Club Nashville programs and events, please contact
Jessica Murray at jessicarmurray@gmail.com or Georgia Cross at georgia.cross@hotmail.com.

From today’s Tennessean:

The number of visitors to the Nashville Zoo at Grassmere has jumped 19 percent in a year, and park staff attributes the attendance spike to new animals going on exhibit and folks looking for entertainment closer to home.

More than 250,000 guests visited the zoo from January to May; the zoo celebrated its best April on record with nearly 87,000 visitors. The second-highest attendance day on record came April 11, with nearly 9,000 guests attending the zoo’s annual Easter egg hunt, Eggstravaganzoo.

In March, the zoo introduced two giant anteaters, eight Damara zebras and a pair of white tiger cubs. The tiger cubs will be on exhibit until Monday, when they return to their permanent home in Florida.

The zoo is open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily with extended hours for members. Admission is $14 with discounts for youth, senior citizens and groups. For more information, go to http://www.nashvillezoo.org/index.asp or call 615-833-1534.

Here is the story on the Twitter competition and last week’s winner:

 The Tennessean reports today on the event designed to encourage kids to get active:

The Tennessee Titans turned out in force at the Nashville Zoo on Sunday to remind children that exercise can be fun. In fact, it should be.

“Honestly, I think every kid likes to go outside and run around,” said Tennessee Titans defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch, surrounded by a crowd of sweaty, happy children who had turned out for the Titans’ “Play 60″ event at the zoo.

The Titans are part of a nationwide push by the National Football League to encourage children to get up and play 60 minutes a day.

From WSMV:

The Nashville Zoo is offering evening picnics designed to bring families together for food and fun. Zoo-rific Family Romp & Chomp takes place after zoo hours from 6 to 8 p.m. and will be offered on June 7, July 12, Aug. 9 and Sept. 6.

The event includes a family-friendly, all-you-can-eat buffet, free carousel rides and access to the zoo’s popular Jungle Gym playground.

Each Romp & Chomp will have a different theme to the event:

June 7 – Mexican Fiesta

July 12 – Southern Style Barbeque

Aug. 9 – Classic American Fare

Sept. 6 – Fish Fry

Admission to the Romp & Chomp is $29 for adults and $20 for children ages 2 to 12. Price includes zoo admission all day as well as the after-hours event, which includes buffet, unlimited carousel rides and Jungle Gym access from 6 to 8 p.m.

Zoo members can attend for $15 per adult and $10 per child.

Discounts are offered for those registering for three or more evenings. Reservations are required and can be made at http://www.nashvillezoo.org or by calling 615-833-1534.

A great opportunity for prospective volunteers is being offered by the Nashville Zoo:

Those interested in being Nashville Zoo ambassadors can learn about volunteering as a docent on Saturday.

Docents are specialized volunteers who teach guests about the zoo’s animals as well as conservation and wildlife issues using live animals, fossils and other hands-on materials. The zoo will have a docent information session at 11 a.m. Saturday in the Croft Center.

Docents must volunteer at least 75 hours per year, pay a one-time training session fee of $55, and attend the training series beginning Jan. 25.

“The main focus of the program is getting zoo guests excited about conservation and our natural world,” said Chris Kline, the zoo’s manager of onsite interpretation.

“The best feedback is seeing children’s faces light up when they see a snake, a tiger skull or an ostrich egg during a docent presentation.”

For more information, call Kline at 615-833-1534, ext. 146, or e-mail ckline@nashvillezoo.org.

The Tennessean has a story on the Nashville Zoo’s renovation of a children’s playground:

The renovated 66,000-square-foot playground is a long-awaited update to one of the zoo’s most popular attractions. Zoo officials say they hope the Jungle Gym will give the park the boost it needs to reach its goal of 550,000 visitors this year.

Right now, the nonprofit is about 30,000 people shy of that goal, said spokesman Jim Bartoo.

“We’re just seeing a little lag in our attendances but that’s understandable with the way the economy is going right now,” Bartoo said.

The renovated playground features streams of water that shoot in the air and fall on children, as well as more animal sculptures that children can climb on, like concrete crocodiles, Bartoo said.

The zoo also changed the playground’s flooring to rubber mulch; added new thatching to the roofs of the playground’s towers; replaced worn-out ropes, hoses and chains; and repainted the structures.

Kelly and Dan Crockett donated the renovation to the zoo for an undisclosed amount, Bartoo said. The Jungle Gym was closed for about six weeks while the renovations were taking place, zoo officials said.

The Jungle Gym was one of the first structures added to the zoo when it opened in 1997. More than 6,000 community volunteers helped build the playground’s roughly three-story wooden tower, which children can reach by climbing up blankets of nets or hiking up a labyrinth of staircases.

Here is the announcement from the Nashville Zoo:

Holy Halloween Batman, it’s almost Ghouls at Grassmere time! Nashville Zoo’s 11th annual Ghouls at Grassmere is October 17 – 19 and 24 – 26. This year, Nashville Zoo is adding a new aspect to this family-friendly, spooktacular event – PreBoo.

PreBoo serves as a dress rehearsal for Ghouls at Grassmere and is Thursday, October 16 from 6 – 8 p.m. Nashville Zoo would love to share this special shriek peek with other local non-profits, specifically those serving children and families.

PreBoo is designed for families with children 3 – 12 years old. Fun activity areas, such as Carn-Evil, Monster Mash, Haunted Hayride, Scary-Go-Round, Monster Lab and a limited number of treat stations, will be open for all those invited to enjoy free of charge.

A limited number of PreBoo tickets are available to interested non-profits. To request tickets, visit http://www.nashvillezoo.org/request_form.asp?rID=PreBoo.

Please Note: Transportation to and from PreBoo is the responsibility of the ticket holder. All children must be accompanied by an adult.