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6/16/20 - Bill Toone from ECOLIFE Conservation Joins us to Talk About Gorillas!

16 Jun 2020 5:04 PM | Anonymous

President Judy Leitner rang the bell at noon and the festivities started. Shaun McArdle led the pledge, followed by the invocation and then it was time to talk to attendees.

President Leitner welcomed guest Sue Varga from the Balboa Park Conservancy as well as Nancy McArdle, Shaun’s daughter, and Tim Rice from SDSU. June Birthdays brought on a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday for David Jay, Jennifer Lim, Eldon Thompson, Ryan Callan, and Justin Frisco.


Ms. Leitner asked Alexandra Kritchevsky from the New Children’s Museum to share their ongoing efforts to serve children. Downtown resident and Club member Jay Jeffcoat remarked that he walked his dog Buddy by the museum every day and that the Kiwanis Club Signage for their donation needed refurbishing. Before anyone could comment he also offered to pay for a new one! Thanks Jay!

Brian Krause introduced Tim Rice from SDSU who gave an update on the progress of the stadium site and ongoing work at San Diego State University. His slide show was informative and gave a timeline for when construction would begin and end.

Club member Carl Nettleton introduced the main speaker of the day, Bill Toone from ECOLIFE Conservation who with his position at the San Diego Zoo, traveled extensively and ultimately worked in over 30 countries including Papua New Guinea, Borneo, Paraguay, Cameroon, and Madagascar. He worked with animal species from the birds of paradise, iguanas, Chacoan peccaries, giant armadillos, elephants, and gorillas.

Bill shared some of his lesser known stories themed around Gorillas, including the time he accompanied Joan Embry and a juvenile gorilla to meet Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show! The meeting adjourned at 1:30 with some staying on to socialize and ask Bill questions.

Please join us for our virtual Club meetings on the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of the month at noon!

Watch Bill Toone in action below! 

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