WICHITA, KA (May 15, 2013) Meritrust Credit Union was honored recently with Tanganyika Wildlife Park’s inaugural Preservation Partner of the Year award at the park’s Twilight Tour fundraising event. This accolade recognized Meritrust for its support of Tanganyika’s passion for animals and its partnership with the park, located in Goddard, Kan.
“We just wanted to honor and recognize those who have made a significant impact in the stewardship of select species by assisting the park,” said Matt Fouts, Assistant Director, Tanganyika. “We are obviously a small, family-owned zoo with limited resources so we really appreciate those that help by sponsoring and volunteering.”
Tanganyika houses a few hundred animals – including the endangered clouded leopards, Indian rhinoceroses and ring-tailed lemurs – and aims to provide an educational, interactive experience for the public, while increasing the population of certain species through quality breeding programs. Educating the public is achieved through close contact with unique animals in an aesthetically pleasing setting, as well as educational tours through the park.
“We’re honored to partner with such a needed and passionate organization,” said James Nastars, President/CEO, Meritrust. “Tanganyika provides our communities with unique educational experiences that make learning come to life, all the while caring for our animal counterparts. That’s a mission Meritrust can stand behind.”
A longtime supporter of Tanganyika, Meritrust will return as the title sponsor of Tanganyika’s fundraising race event to be held this fall, the Meritrust Tiger Trot.
“Meritrust is very gracious to be the title sponsor of the Tiger Trot even with all the marketing benefits,” said Fouts. “We recognize that and really try to go above and beyond to promote their organization. We don’t just take their money and run (pun intended).”
About Meritrust
Meritrust Credit Union is the leading and largest Kansas-chartered community credit union with 75,000 members and $860 million in assets. Meritrust is open to the public with 14 branches in metro-Wichita, Junction City and Lawrence, Kansas. In 2012, Meritrust was ranked third in the nation in the Callahan & Associates Return of the Member Index and was recognized by SNL Financial as one of the top 20 best performing credit unions in the nation, among credit unions with total assets of more than $500 million. For more information, visit meritrustcu.org.
About Tanganyika Wildlife Park
Tanganyika Wildlife Park is accredited by the Zoological Association of America and is dedicated to sharing their passion for animals by providing REAL experiences that are entertaining and educational in order to have a significant impact in the stewardship of selected species. The Park has been operating since 1986 and first opened to the public August 2, 2008. Tanganyika Wildlife Park is west of 183rd St W on Maple in Goddard, KS. The Park’s hours are currently 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. For more information on the Park, please visit www.twpark.com.