Tulsa Zoo To Offer Free Admission to Military Families with Deployed Members

Mayor Kathy Taylor has announced that the Tulsa Zoo will offer free admission Mondays through Fridays to those Tulsa families who have an immediate family member deployed in the War on Terror.

“Tulsa recognizes the sacrifice that our families are making,” said Mayor Taylor. “Their loved ones are overseas, many serving deployments lasting over one year. This is one small way that we can say thank you to the spouses and children of those who are now serving and offer them our continued support.”

Over 125 families in the Tulsa area are believed to be eligible for free admission to the Tulsa Zoo on week days. The head dependent of the family will be required to show deployment orders and an Armed Forces dependant I.D. to be admitted at no charge.

Mayor Taylor is placing continued emphasis on providing services to military personnel in the Tulsa area. The Military and Veterans Resource Lounge at Tulsa International Airport recently opened to supply a place for our servicemen and women to gather and regroup as they return to Tulsa. This facility has been consistently busy since opening and offers an introduction to the many programs available for returning service personnel.

The City, with the guidance of Matt Stiner, Assistant to the Mayor/Veteran’s Affairs, has also developed a Veteran’s website with links to a wealth of information for service personnel. The website, accessed at www.cityoftulsa.org/community/veterans/index.asp, contains program and service details as well as job search help.

Currently, the State of Oklahoma ranks third in the nation in National Guard and Reserve activations. Oklahoma has 3,368 of its service members deployed. In addition to the many Reserve units deployed, the Tulsa unit for the National Guard, the 279th, has experienced the largest deployment of troops since the Korean War.