Have it your way!

Having spent nearly 30 years in the broadcasting industry, I have a great appreciation for a good business slogan. Big companies pay big dollars to advertising agencies to come up with something that people remember. 

A few examples: 

On jewelry: Diamonds are forever

On soda pop: The pause that refreshes

On coffee: Good to the last drop

On fried chicken: Finger-lickin’ good

On automobiles: Let’s go places

On cigarettes: Winston tastes good like a cigarette should. 

One of the very first slogans I can remember did not promote a product. It promoted a standard for living. AI is telling me that this slogan dates back to the 50s and 60s. AI is wrong. Its origin goes back at least to the 1940s. Those were the summers that I attended the YMCA’s Camp Pendalouan on Big Blue Lake in Muskegon County. 

I never forgot the campground slogan: I’m Third! Time and again the counselors and the camp director reminded us: God first, the other fella second, I’m third! Truth be told, that’s profound…that’s scriptural! It’s a simple way to explain Jesus’ summary of the law: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Love your neighbor as yourself.” 

Now to the point of this essay. 

As the founder of HUMANITY FOR PRISONERS, and as a prisoner advocate for three decades, I have come to appreciate a slogan heard often in our office. It dates back to 2021 when my son Matt was Executive Director of our agency. Matt coined the phrase for HFP--- You Matter! Our staff was directed to use the slogan on all communications with incarcerated men and women. A year later, we even had t-shirts made bearing those words. 

This slogan goes far beyond trying to sell cars, fried chicken or cigarettes. These are simple words of encouragement to an element of society whose members often feel beaten down, abused and even abandoned. In response from behind bars, one guy said to me, “I’ve never been told that before.” 

Just recently, our team received this email message from a client: “You always add ‘You Matter’ at the end of every message. Those two words hold a lot more weight than you will ever know. You matter, too, because without y’all there at HFP, a lot of things would not come about for prisoners. I truly appreciate all of you and will continue to keep all of you lifted up in prayer.” 

“A person’s a person, no matter how small.” – Dr. Seuss 

“You’re braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” – A.A. Milne 

“You are unique and irreplaceable.” – Dolly Parton 

One of my favorite Psalms (139) tells me: “You are fearfully and wonderfully made.” 

Same goes for my incarcerated friends. 

All of them. 

Thanks, Matt!