Didn’t most people already call it the Y? Wasn’t the logo already a Y? On the heels of General Motors asking people to start calling Chevy by its full name, Chevrolet, we now have a marketing genius at the Young Men’s Christian Association saying that officially, the YMCA will now be the “Y.” Thank you [...]

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We are fascinated by the whole idea of the woman’s exchange movement, which started in the 1830s to allow “nice” women to sell goods on consignment to make spending money. In an age when there were few jobs for women and working outside the home had a stigma, this was a revolution. Through the years, [...]

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UMATILLA, Florida – Saw it with my own eyes. The Elks, that would be the Benevolent Order of Elks, are recruiting members and advertising themselves with Yahoo banner ads. Good job. In our Bowling Alone era, most hereditary and benevolent societies are struggling, and none more struggling than what were traditionally male benevolent groups. All [...]

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RICHMOND – I am a bit partial to the Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities. They saved Jamestown Island, began the effort to save Williamsburg and have saved hundreds of historic houses across the state with their many affiliate groups. They have been a strong and potent advocate for quality of life issues in [...]

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Of all the great institutions of the world, the Catholic Church has the most staying power. But with priestly scandals and Vatican II modernization, the “brand” has been tarnished, and millions of communicants have left. To deal with this, in 1998 the Diocese of Phoenix started an effort to bring lapsed Catholics back to the [...]

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