Page 19 - Gateways_Fall2021

DISPLAYING COURAGE IN A CRISIS

Strahl had planned to retire in 2020. Those plans were suddenly
postponed with the arrival of the coronavirus. “It was by any
measure a brutal experience,” said Randy Vickery, secretary of
the CZS Board of Trustees. “But for the leadership of Stuart and
our executive team, we would have been hit much harder. They
were extraordinary, and I think we navigated it as best we could.”
Strahl credits the Board of Trustees and staff who responded
quickly to the crisis.

We were all very nervous about the future
of the zoo when we learned about COVID
and Stuart was quick to put together a
working committee to respond and was very
courageous in making some hard decisions.
He’s been resilient and faced adversity with
a lot of care and concern.

John P. Grube

VICE CHAIR AND IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIR
OF THE CZS BOARD OF TRUSTEES

A Small Business Administration loan and the Board’s
successful Above & Beyond fundraising campaign prevented
CZS from going into debt. Even with the zoo closures and
capacity limits, 2020 attendance was around 800,000—higher
than anyone had expected.
“While we’re not through COVID entirely,” said Grube,
“we’re on very sound footing financially and we’re looking
forward to the future when things start returning to normal

with a lot of enthusiasm.” █

BROOKFIELD ZOO | FALL 2021 19