Determined to Be the Best Volunteer

Connie Pope is nothing if not determined. She and her husband, Larry, were teachers in Portland, Oregon—she in foreign languages, he in history. They worked, raised their children, enjoyed the beautiful outdoors of their Oregon home and went to the Portland Zoo. During school breaks, they headed to the warmth of Arizona and frequently visited the Phoenix Zoo.

Once they retired, they decided it was time to downsize in Oregon and spend part of the year in Arizona. They became snowbirds.

And one day, Connie went to Best Buy to get computer help from the Geek Squad. The person who helped her was Patricia Van Scoy, a new volunteer at the Phoenix Zoo. Patricia convinced Connie to come to the Zoo and walk with her on her rounds. "It was an amazing experience," Connie recalls. "I saw so many things I had never been aware of. So, I applied to become a volunteer, got myself a map and started trying to learn the trails and the animals on them."

It was a fine idea, but Connie knew there was something wrong. "I was out of my element," she says. "I really knew nothing about animals." And it was then that her innate determination kicked in. She would do whatever it took to be the best volunteer possible for a zoo she and Larry had come to love. She would go back to school.

"Every night, I was on the computer, studying diligently...learning, learning, learning. It was a real eye-opener for me." She saw in her studies and in her visits to the Phoenix Zoo how zoos had been changing over the years: adopting natural and realistic settings for the animals, landscaping, trees, foliage, keepers hiding food so animals had to forage as if they were in the wild. Everything was different!

Once she started, it was hard to stop. Her mentor, Patricia Van Scoy, told her there was a Zoo trip coming up to the Galapagos. Would Connie like to come with them? Would she ever! "My husband gets seasick on boat trips," she says, so she joined Patricia on the journey.

"The trip to the Galapagos was a life-changing moment," she says. "Not just because of all the wildlife we saw and learned about—which was a vast array! But also because of the people we met, many of whom had been active with the Phoenix Zoo for many years."

Connie was hooked. Since then, she has been on three other Zoo-sponsored trips: two to Africa, one to Australia.

She was determined to learn all she could in her early volunteer days. And the learning has never stopped. Connie and Larry Pope have now become members of the Zoo's Antler Society by designating a gift to the Phoenix Zoo in their estate planning. "We are so impressed with what the Zoo has done, at home and worldwide," Connie explains. "It is a place of learning for everyone; with its animals, its breeding efforts, its reintroduction of endangered species back into their natural habitats...and so much more. It is a joy for us to be involved."

There are many ways you can join Connie and Larry in supporting the Zoo's future. We can help you find the right gift for you. Contact Liz Toth at 602.286.3881 or ltoth@phoenixzoo.org to get started.