Grants Awarded for Zoo Employee Ideas Grant Funds Provided by Randolph Friends of the Zoo

ASHEBORO, NC — The North Carolina Zoo Society and the Randolph Friends of the Zoo (RFOZ) announce awarding nine grants totaling more than $9,700 to North Carolina Zoo and Zoo Society employees.  Annually, employees are encouraged to submit requests with innovative ideas for supporting the Zoo’s conservation and education missions. After careful review of the nine applications, the RFOZ Grant Fund Committee approved all submitted grants to receive partial or full funding.

• Halley Buckanoff, Veterinary Technician II, is awarded partial funding in the amount of $1,000 to enable Buckanoff to participate in Traditional Chinese Medicine course and training at the Chi Institute in Gainesville, Florida.  
• A grant of $1,086 goes to Zookeeper Kelly Davis to attend a Giraffe Care Workshop at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Colorado.
• Zookeeper Natalie Johnson receives $800 to attend a conference entitled “Applying Behavioral Research to the Management of Bears” in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
• Avian Zookeeper Bailey Morgan receives funding in the amount of $1,775 to attend IAATE Conference in California.
• Kathy Osborne, Kidzone Coordinator, receives partial funding of $2,000 toward the purchase of video microscope and HDTV for use in Education programming at the North Carolina Zoo.
• Zoo Society Development Officer Chris Scott is awarded $2,500 toward the implementation of BidPal services and technology to maximize silent auction performance in the Society’s largest fundraising gala.  
• Zookeeper Jeff Souther is awarded $625 to participate in Coraciiformes (bird species) Husbandry Workshop at Nashville Zoo.

The Randolph Friends of the Zoo and the Zoo Society established the Employee Grants Fund in 2000. Grant funds are generated from a small percentage of the Society’s annual Zoo To Do fundraising event. RFOZ is a volunteer organization that supports the fundraising efforts of the North Carolina Zoo Society.

The North Carolina Zoological Society is a private, non-profit organization that supports the North Carolina Zoo and its conservation and education initiatives.

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