A sign of our times

Logos define organizations. They define the people who work there, what they believe in and what they stand for.

Since the Daughters of Charity founded St. Mary’s in 1872, we’ve always stood for patient-centered, holistic care for everyone who comes to us in need, with special emphasis on the poor and vulnerable. That’s always been our Mission and always will be. But, we didn’t always have a logo to portray that.

So, Sister Theresa Peck, a Daughter of Charity and former St. Mary’s Medical Center Administrator, challenged the St. Mary’s Board in 1977 to design a symbol that would best reflect our Mission.

Board member, Robbie Kent, Sr. accepted that challenge with excitement and purpose. The owner of Kenny Kent Chevrolet is a generous and loyal St. Mary’s supporter and advocate. Robbie will tell you that he was born at St. Mary’s and he’ll die at St. Mary’s.

In order to bring life to Sister Theresa’s request, Robbie enlisted the services of good friend, Steve Nienaber, a local marketing/advertising executive and professional. Robbie met Steve in 1975, when Steve’s company helped promote Kenny Kent Chevy’s rise from the ashes of a fire that threatened the car dealership’s future.

To determine St. Mary’s future, Steve looked to our past. He decided Christ needed to be in the logo, because who better to identify our Mission than our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Steve said, “A good logo makes one think and have discussions about the meaning and logic behind it.”

The logic behind Steve’s vision aligned with Sister Theresa’s image. “You see it and immediately think of St. Mary’s,” Sister Theresa said. “It gets in the minds of people and they don’t forget it. It’s part of who St. Mary’s is.”

Sister Theresa and the St. Mary’s Board approved a similar version of the logo that is still being used today. The 1978 logo was round compared to today’s oval, but the central Christ figure was always present, in addition to the three segments depicting

concern for the whole person: Body, Mind and Spirit. The circle isn’t complete, because St. Mary’s continues to grow and reach out to the community.

“We are open to everyone and all people are welcome,” said Sister Theresa. “It’s important for us to see Christ and all the good that comes with it and our patients.”

St. Mary’s patients and the Tri-State Community have seen our logo change only a handful of times since 1978. In addition to the switch to an oval-shaped icon, the motto “Healing Body, Mind and Spirit” was added to the logo in the Spring of 1996.

“Things change, but I’m so happy and proud the logo is basically the same today (as it was in 1978),” said Sister Theresa. “It’s very enduring and speaks to our heritage.”

St. Mary’s heritage is alive and well today and will endure well beyond our time and efforts. And our logo will continue to define who we are, what we believe in and what we stand for – patient-centered, holistic care for everyone who comes to us in need, with special emphasis on those who are poor and vulnerable.

Thank you for believing in our Mission and for supporting our Ministry. We wouldn’t be who we are today without you.

Blessings,

Rick Peltier
Director of Foundation Operations
St. Mary’s Medical Center and St. Mary’s Warrick Hospital