Ruth Morris Keesling Colorado Alpha, University of Colorado, Animal Preservationist

Decked out in full gorilla regalia, Ruth made quite an exciting entrance to the Naples, Florida Alumnae Club's gourmet luncheon, which she hosted. Ruth's presentation about the problems, obstacles and thrills of saving gorillas kept all the club members spellbound. If they didn't know it before, all the club members now knew that Ruth is truly a preservationist with a passion. This passion began when she was a girl and her father opened the first animal hospital in the country.

Following graduation from the University of Colorado her passion continued to grow when she became a partner in her father's enterprises, which developed Prescription Diet for cats and dogs. Soon, she found a job in a public relations firm and later was the co-founder of her own PR firm with Morris Animal Foundation as one of its clients.

At the request of Dian Fossey in 1985, Ruth sent a veterinarian to Rwanda to help save the gorillas Dian was caring for. After Dian's death later that year, Ruth affiliated Dian's Digit Fund to the Morris Animal Foundation, organized its international headquarters in London and served both as president and on its board. While helping the gorillas, Ruth continually meets with the heads of countries to keep them up-to-date with the animals' conditions and to encourage them to preserve their land and animal resources. To help them do this, Ruth has developed a wildlife animal sciences department at the Makerere University in Africa to teach students how to care for their country's wildlife.

Ruth organized a worldwide meeting with the Rwanda government recently and the cabinet director appointed her head of a governmental task force. Its mission is to increase tourism, create a gorilla logo for the country and flag, get two hotels built, develop a credit program and World Heritage Site, establish a water bottling and recycling plant, and set up internet and Web site communications.

To help implement these projects Ruth established a non-profit organization titled the Mountain Gorilla Conservation Fund, and all contributions are 100 percent tax deductible. The'Web site address for the organization is mountaingorillaconservationfund.org.

Although the veterinary clinic that Ruth established has been robbed and broken into during days of political unrest in the country, she continues to persevere in saving these great creatures. Through the clinic and years of dedication, the estimated number of mountain gorillas has grown from 248 to 620.