It feels as if summer is slipping by so fast this year. Whether it is due to the cool weather we saw in June or the fact that schools are getting ready to start up again, you must ask where the time went. Perhaps it’s the fact that last week’s Bacon & Brew event was the zoo’s last big event for the summer. Much of this summer’s success is the result of the community support the zoo received. While I wish that I could thank every individual or business that has been a part of this success by name, we sincerely appreciate all they do to make the zoo a special place for everyone.

First, thank you to those vendors who offered their time, talents, and treasures to make the Bacon & Brew event successful. In our current economy, it can be difficult to step up and donate their time and often their staff, prepare dishes, and create new recipes that did win the hearts of the attendees. Everything that I tried was amazing and was told by others that those I missed were just as good. Thank you for participating and for supporting the zoo in its endeavor to keep moving forward.

While the vendors for Bacon & Brew began setting around 4 p.m., preparation for the event started much earlier with a small group of volunteers setting up tents on Wednesday. On Thursday morning, the real work began to prepare the zoo for the evening’s activities. Our Zoo Teen volunteers worked throughout the day getting tables set in place, sweeping pathways, and anything else that was asked of them. The Zoo Teens began volunteering at the end of May and have served the education department all summer by assisting with the zoo camp and engaging with guests. When they weren’t helping in classes, they cleaned, took online training classes, and even got to shadow zookeepers at the end of their season. We had a great group of young people this year and finished off their summer of volunteering last weekend, as they prepare for the upcoming school year. I hope they got as much out of the experience as we did and look forward to many of them returning next year. Thank you, Zoo Teens, for all your hard work.

And finally, we want to thank those young men and women from Minot Air Force Base that have given of their time for a myriad of projects throughout the year. They have been instrumental in making sure our education programming was successful both onsite as well as our Outreach programming. They have helped with exhibit renovations and overall clean-up projects. The folks from the air base are not just an asset to our country, but to our community.

It is one thing to have a great staff working at the zoo day in and day out but with the help of those volunteers, it is the icing on the cake. They deserve all the appreciation we can muster and that they’ve earned. I may not be able to thank them all individually but am hopeful they know how much they mean to the zoo and the difference they make in the community.