March 2008
Two Decades of Dedication Donald and Janet Greenebaum of Mequon are two of the Platypus Society’s longest-term members. In 2008 they celebrate 20 years of membership in the Platypus Society, the Zoological Society of Milwaukee’s (ZSM’s) highest-level donor group. “I guess we’ve always been zoo people,” says Janet. For Janet, it all started with childhood trips to the zoo. “When I was a little girl I lived in the Chicago suburbs and my parents would take me to the Lincoln Park and Brookfield Zoos,” she says. After the Greenebaums married and moved to Milwaukee, they visited the Phoenix zoo when wintering in Arizona and the Milwaukee County Zoo during the summer. “I think the Zoo is a necessity in a city,” says Janet. “It can open the eyes of people who would never be able to see an elephant or a polar bear or a moose up close.” Animal lovers who have gone on safaris in Kenya and Tanzania (including a ZSMled safari), the Greenebaums have been involved with the ZSM and the Platypus Society since 1988. “The Platypus Society is an opportunity for people to give more than the bare necessities,” explains Janet. “It’s a chance to give to something they believe in.” Throughout the years, the Greenebaums have donated more than $20,000 to ZSM projects such as capital campaigns and annual appeals. That’s in addition to their Platypus Society membership. “The Zoo is a very important part of the community and we’re happy to help,” says Donald. Good animal care and up-to-date exhibits inspire the Greenbaums to support the Zoo. For example, “I’m delighted with what the Zoological Society has done for the giraffes,” says Janet. In
2006, the Miller Brewing Company Giraffe Experience opened as part of the ZSM’s New Zoo II Capital Campaign, conducted in a public-private partnership with Milwaukee County. This exhibit features a remodeled, indoor area for the giraffes as well as an outdoor observation deck from which zoogoers can feed the animals. “I was absolutely thrilled to be a participant in that project,” says Janet. The Greenebaums’ favorite Zoo animal, however, is the ring-tailed lemur, which Janet first saw at the zoo in Phoenix. Some of the Greenebaums’ best memories come from taking their four now-grown children and eight grandchildren to the Zoo throughout the years. “Our kids always wanted to go on the train [now called the North Shore Bank Safari Train], and if we went around and saw the animals first, there was screaming,” says Janet with a laugh. Another time, Janet’s grandchildren gave a tour of the Zoo to her. “I had just had hip replacement surgery. My grandkids were off from school and we went to the Zoo. They pushed me in a wheelchair instead of me pushing them in strollers. We all enjoyed the Zoo that day!” The Greenebaums look forward to visiting the U.S. Bank Gathering Place, a new entrance to the Zoo opening May 10, with a Platypus Society/VIP Premiere May 8. (The Gathering Place groundbreaking is featured on the inside pages). Says Janet: “I’m just so glad the Zoo is here and we’re able to be part of it.”
By Julia Kolker