The AZA Commercial Member Engagement Council 
Founded in January 2020, The Commercial Member Engagement Council (CMEC) goal will be to find the intersection between economic, environmental, and social aspects of business to set the standards for the industry in carrying out AZA’s mission of respecting, valuing, and conserving wildlife and wild places.
The CMEC will explore how AZA’s community of nearly 280+ commercial members can align their strategies for Good Corporate Citizenship with each other and with AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums. Good Corporate Citizenship is an evolving business practice that incorporates sustainable development into a company's business model. The practice also provides a new brand platform companies can use to leverage their cause marketing initiatives to the general public and to niche markets.
“Corporate citizenship extends across a broad field that includes good governance, sound, transparent financial reporting, and ethical decision making,” said Dan Ashe, AZA’s President and CEO. “AZA’s commercial members are already exhibiting such initiatives, large and small.”
For more information on the impact of the CMEC and how to involve your company, please connect with Amanda Johnston, Director, Integrated Marketing and Development.
Event Network was born in 1998 and began with a store for the Titanic Artifact Exhibition in Boston. Larry Gilbert and Helen Sherman, co-founders of the company, led the effort to create a robust retail offering for Titanic and, in the process, planted the seed for what Event Network is today—the leading operator of experiential retail stores for a variety of cultural attraction and lifestyle destinations. In addition to the significant financial benefits, our retail partners enjoy a highly collaborative, turn-key retail solution that allows them to focus on their core business while we maximize the retail potential and eliminate the liabilities associated with self-operated retail. Event Network’s core purpose is to extend and elevate the guest experience and maximize the retail potential on behalf of our partners. This is achieved by exclusively focusing on retail.
We strongly believe in the notion of being a “for purpose and in service” company, a motto that guides how each and every one of our team members thinks and operates each day. From supporting our partners’ missions and brands, to celebrating and representing local artisans and communities, to ensuring that all product and materials for our store environments are sourced ethically and responsibly, our goal is to provide the best possible experience for each guest that comes through our partners’ doors. We are excited about our first 20 years, but even more so about the future and the opportunity to be in service to our wonderful guests and partners for many years to come!
Since its network television premiere in 1963, “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” has been one of the most loved and respected wildlife programs in television history. It took viewers to the far corners of the world and studied wild animals in their natural habitats.
The show was the first reality TV show – you never knew what was going to happen next!
Hosts Marlin Perkins, Jim Fowler and Peter Gros wrestled anacondas, swam with sharks and were chased by a herd of elephants. They provided a look at an often unseen animal world and emphasized the importance of conservation while creating family-friendly entertainment.
The show also was known for its infamous segues from the hosts’ adventures to commercials for its sponsor - “just as the mother lion protects her cubs, Mutual of Omaha can protect your family.”
“Wild Kingdom,” which received 41 major awards including four Emmys, remained in production through 1985 and in syndication through the mid-1990s. The show returned to television in 2002 on Animal Planet and remained a mainstay for Sunday night programming on that network through 2011.
In 2021, “Wild Kingdom” returned to television in its original Sunday night timeslot on RFD-TV and is available to stream on the RFD app. Viewers can relive favorite memories of the original episodes with updated content. Fans also can engage with the programming on the Wild Kingdom TV YouTube Channel and by liking the Wild Kingdom TV Facebook page.
To learn more about “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom,” access www.wildkingdom.com.
Satisfi Labs is a conversational AI company. Our AI-powered virtual assistants enable Zoos & Aquariums to provide automated and on-demand answers for visitors so they can access, discover, and purchase directly through a chat assistant on your website, app, and messaging channels.
We built zoo & aquarium-specific virtual assistants based on knowledge gathered from over 30 AZA clients and hundreds of thousands of questions. AI-powered virtual assistants help AZA facilities optimize the guest experience on-site, drive revenue, uncover customer insights, and lighten the workload for guest service staff.
SSA Group partners with cultural attractions across the United States to drive revenue, innovation, and impact. Our success as a partner for zoos, aquariums, museums, and other attractions isn’t an accident; it’s a formula. Decades of partnership with the best cultural experiences in the country has allowed our experts to build relationships that inform every innovation we pioneer at SSA.
SSA manages the entire revenue generation flow for cultural attractions through our best-in-class integrated services. This unified operational platform means more opportunities to maximize both the attraction’s mission and the guest experience across [creative and local food services] + [unique and guest-centric retail], + [smart and proven admissions], and more.
SSA was built by family, for families, with a family’s sense of love and dedication. With pillars of focus like sustainability, inclusivity, and innovation, SSA is transforming the cultural attraction industry. We don’t just rely on the best practices in our space; we customize best practices for each partner to set the bar higher and higher, always. We do all we can to further the mission of our partners because their guests and the communities they serve deserve it.
From one generation to the next, SSA will always be there for our partners, our guests, and our people.
The future of cultural attractions is ours, together.