It is with deep sadness that we inform our Animal Welfare League of Alexandria (AWLA) family that Shannon Swanson, former AWLA Director of Communications, passed away on May 12, 2018. All of those who knew Shannon were lucky to be touched by her creativity, compassion and vibrant personality. Her influence can be seen throughout the organization. She designed our new logo to reflect the modern, fun and expansive organization we had become. She created our new website, modernized our newsletter and created signage, handouts and so much more to tell the story of the AWLA and the animals we help. Shannon even created the shelter’s new mascot, Alex Meow. She also left us with so many ideas on how to continue to implement her vision for the AWLA, and her impact will continue long into the future.
Shannon was loving, funny, compassionate and outgoing, and she brought joy and happiness to the shelter. She had the ability to read people, knowing when they needed some words of encouragement or a special note left on their desk. Her empathy and emotional intelligence could not only be seen with people but also animals; she had a great understanding of their needs, and worked with several dogs with behavioral issues while helping them to find their future homes.
Shannon also design an “In Memory” card for us to share when we are notified of a death of one of our AWLA team members. She spent so much time on it, agonizing over everything detail in order to portray loss and sympathy in one, symbolic image. As always, she did it beautifully. It now has even more meaning.
