When Trouble Strikes, Nation's Animals Have a New Friend: American Humane Association Announces New National Director of Red Star® Rescue for Animals

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On the eve of its 100th birthday, American Humane Association's renowned Red Star Rescue program is giving the nation's animals a gift, naming veteran emergency response expert Randal "Randy" Collins as its new National Director of Red Star Rescue for Animals. The program began in 1916, when the Secretary of War asked American Humane Association to care for 68,000 horses wounded each month on the battlefields of World War I Europe. Since then, Red Star Rescue has led hundreds of domestic and international emergency aid efforts following such disasters as the Great Ohio Flood of 1937, the attack on Pearl Harbor, Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, the Haitian and Japanese earthquakes, the Joplin tornado, and Superstorm Sandy. Red Star Rescue also responds to other significant events challenging local communities' resources, including animal hoarding, cruelty cases, and puppy mill seizures.

Collins has a long and remarkable history in emergency response including work with the Department of Homeland Security, FEMA, incident management, and law enforcement and the armed forces.  He has served as an emergency management specialist for Southern California Edison, is the president of the All Hazards Incident Management Teams Association, has had assignments with the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA, and is a former K-9 law enforcement officer. Before moving to California, Collins was an executive with the Indiana Department of Homeland Security where he established the Indiana Incident Management Program and the District Response Task Force program. He also had a collateral duty where he commanded the state's Incident Management Assistance Team. His team and the teams formed in his programs responded to emergencies and disasters including Hurricane Sandy in Long Beach, NY and the Southern Indiana Tornado Outbreak in Henryville, IN. Collins has also worked with the City of Indianapolis as the Deputy Director of Preparedness and Operations, and was a police officer in the Town of Mooresville. Collins served in the United States Marine Corps for six years on active duty and six years in the reserves.

Collins is a graduate student in the Executive Master of Leadership program at the University of Southern California. He completed his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Indianapolis in 2002 where his major was law enforcement. He is a Certified Emergency Manager through the International Association of Emergency Managers, and is qualified as a Type 3 Incident Commander in Indiana. Collins continues to maintain membership on the Indiana District 1 Incident Management Team. He will assume his new role with American Humane Association on October 1.

"I am honored to have been selected for this very prestigious and necessary position," said Mr. Collins. "I accepted the opportunity because I believe that I can bring new ideas drawn from my emergency management experience to American Humane Association that will enable us to better serve those who need help. It is an honorable and worthy cause which I am passionate about, and it has become clear to me that American Humane Association is the preeminent humane organization in the world. I am excited to work with these great leaders."

"America's animals face many challenges, from increasingly destructive storms to abuse and neglect and substandard breeding facilities such as puppy mills," said American Humane Association President and CEO Dr. Robin Ganzert. "Randy Collins brings a wealth of experience and leadership skills, as well as a passion for helping those in need. As we prepare to celebrate Red Star's 100^th birthday, he is a remarkably timely gift for this legacy program and the nation's animals."

About American Humane Association
American Humane Association is the country's first national humane organization and the only one dedicated to protecting both children and animals. Since 1877, American Humane Association has been at the forefront of virtually every major advance in protecting our most vulnerable from cruelty, abuse and neglect. Today we're also leading the way in understanding the human-animal bond and its role in therapy, medicine and society. American Humane Association reaches millions of people every day through groundbreaking research, education, training and services that span a wide network of organizations, agencies and businesses. You can help make a difference, too. Visit American Humane Association at www.americanhumane.org today.

About Red Star® Rescue
American Humane Association's Red Star program was created in 1916 at the request of the U.S. Secretary of War specifically to rescue war horses on the battlefields of World War I Europe.  Since then, Red Star has been rescuing animals of every kind and have been involved in virtually every major disaster relief effort from Pearl Harbor to 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the Joplin, Missouri and Moore, Oklahoma tornadoes, the Japanese and Haitian earthquakes, and Superstorm Sandy.  Over just the past ten years Red Star teams have saved, helped and sheltered more than 80,000 animals.

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SOURCE American Humane Association

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