In 2012, I was honored to join the American Humane Association as a member of the Board of Directors. As a lifelong animal lover, it has been a privilege to get a first-hand look at the work and dedication of the people who are part of the organization.
This past year, our exceptional President and CEO, Dr. Robin Ganzert, suggested it might be time for a 'facelift' of sorts for the AHA, which has been part of the public conversation since it was established in 1877. The plan was to revamp the iconic branding in order to best communicate the spirit and the work of the organization in contemporary times.
We looked to our Board Member Tim Lane, the former CEO of PepsiCo International, for his knowledge and expertise in creating brands that connected with people around the world. He was instrumental in leading the board through a review process that enabled us to come to the conclusion that the words AMERICAN and HUMANE were so powerful in themselves that we no longer needed the word Association to follow.
We also wanted to create a brief logline that would define our work in an impactful way and as part of the process reviewed the many milestones credited to the AHA over the years. These included the fact that the AHA began the first farm animal certification program; was the first to be on movie sets certifying that "No Animals Were Harmed"; were the first responders for animals via our disaster animal rescue program; was the first organization to serve our military veterans, both two-legged and four; and was the first to create a zoo and aquarium certification program 100% focused on animal welfare. With all of the 'firsts' it became clear that our logline would be: 'First to Serve.'
We improved our website with a revised mission statement and sorted our programs into six key areas of focus: Rescue, Farms, Humane Hollywood, Grants & Awards, Military and Conservation. Even better, we created a user-friendly page to show the many ways that the public can get involved with American Humane.
I'm thrilled with our new look and hope that everyone agrees! When you get a chance, please take a look at Americanhumane.org. Thank you!
