Aquarium Employees (Chattanooga, Monterey, Lookout Mountain: 2009, place to live, restaurant)

[LauraC]

I went to the Aquarium in Chattanooga today for the first time. It's wonderful but even more impressive than the Aquarium is the caliber of employees that work there. What a helpful, kindly, knowledgable and polite bunch! I was totally impressed with ALL of them and I interacted with at least ten in two different buildings. I looked for an e-mail link on the website so I could tell someone directly but didn't see one so I'm posting it here and hope someone at the Aquarium sees it.

[slowes]

Laura, that is so cool that you want to commend these folks. Have you tried calling and talking to the manager?
I don't know if you are local or not but you could also try writing the chamber of commerce.
Maybe you can try putting an article in the newspaper. Sometimes they have a section for letters from the public.
Oh, they are really going to appreciate that, I know I would.......LOL

[SPLIT]

LAURA: Glad to hear from you , & read such a positive report.. I just told Mrs "S" who will do her Friday afternoon session.
.. This must be the 1st thread where we do not see one of your wonderful photographs.? Hope it did not get dropped in the shark tank.?
.... Yes , all the volunteers get quite a bit of training in all the animal identification & information. Even all the scuba divers are volunteers, which I thought was strange. . It is a good win - win location as the helpers get some evening perks. . Not to mention some celebrities that show up . Last week Mrs "S" met her most famous Ice Skating celebrity & a quite known modern country singing star.

[Jon F Moss]

LauraC! you came and saw but didn't tell us you were coming - hope all is well

[LauraC]

I was with a group of people from my retiree program. We came down by bus. First we went on the incline tram to Lookout Mountain, then to Point Park, then for lunch at the Chattanooga Choo Choo restaurant (not sure of the exact name) and then to the Aquarium where we were on our own. It was my first time in Chattanooga.

I did see the sharks but since I'm originally from Long Island, NY, I've seen sharks all of my life at Montauk and that wasn't a big deal to me. I was more interested in the Butterfly Garden. Took lots of photos. I missed the penguins. I'll go back and spend a day sometime maybe in the early Spring. I want to do more exploring with my car and I'd like to do one of those boat tours in addition to going back to the Aquarium.

[Grey_Day]

I'm forwarding this thread to someone I know who works there. :-) I'm told Chatt's aquarium is better than Atlanta's. Haven't been to the latter.

[RiverAveGuy]

Sounds a little fishy to me.

[WOWAddict]

Have to agree with Laura's comment about the employees they are great I was there a couple of weeks ago.

Originally Posted by Grey_Day

I'm forwarding this thread to someone I know who works there. :-) I'm told Chatt's aquarium is better than Atlanta's. Haven't been to the latter.

The Chatt aquarium is really nice but I still favor the Atlanta one just a little due to the layout. One thing I loved about the Chatt aquarium had that the Atlanta one didnt have, at least not the last time I went, is the butterfly area. My son spent 45 mins in that place and he was amazed.

[Grey_Day]

I think the butterfly garden is my favorite part. I'm from Florida and have gone diving and snorkeling most of my life, both inland freshwater and in the ocean - so I've seen most of the fish before... eaten some of them too (shark meat makes such a nice steak, especially after said shark ate the yellowtail you were going to have for dinner). Love the dragons and seahorses - I could watch them all day.

[SPLIT]

LAURA: You thought your great comments from a month ago would not lead to much .!
..The Tennessee Aquarium has been awarded the nation’s highest honor for museums and libraries – the 2009 National Medal for Museum Service from the Institute for Museum and Library Services. This is a very significant honor because there are nearly 140,000 organizations that are eligible. This annual award recognizes institutions for outstanding social, educational, environmental or economic contributions to their communities.

The Tennessee Aquarium is only the fourth aquarium in the country to receive this honor. Other honored aquariums include Shedd, Monterey and National Aquariums. This award comes with a $10,000 cash prize and significant national, regional and local recognition.

2. We have also been notified that we will receive a $1.3 million Ocean Education Grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This grant will allow us to vastly expand our educational infrastructure and programming, specifically by increasing our ability to serve underrepresented students and others who cannot afford to pay for Aquarium programs and admission. This is, by far, the largest grant the Aquarium has ever received and work will take place over a three-year period.

Both of these awards are a tribute to our dedicated staff, trustees, volunteers, donors and community supporters who have worked tirelessly to connect people with nature in a meaningful way and to make Chattanooga a better place to live. Without the tremendous support of donors, foundation and the community, the Aquarium would not have been able to qualify for and obtain these awards.