Gerth chats with Sara Kuhns, who was dropping off some CPR training mannequins at the Red Cross office.
A cabinet of CPR equipment.
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When she moved to Columbus in December 1979, she never dreamed she would one day serve as director for the well-known not-forprofit organization. Planning a teaching career since she was young, Anable felt her place was in the classroom. But after 20 years of teaching, she considered taking a break from the classroom to venture down a different path. “I loved teaching, but I’d also always kind of had this wish,” she said, “that someday if I was blessed to live into old age that somehow I might have at least three opportunities to have jobs that would allow me to not only make a living but serve the community.” The key to each opportunity would be the chance to learn more about her community and its organizations and provide for her family in the process. In 1994, she became the first executive director for a local chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association. Seeing the offer as an answered prayer, Anable smiles and says, “Looking back, the organization was very brave in their choice.” Jumping in with both feet, she worked with nearly 3,000 families over the course of her 10 years with the association. Then, in 2004, she became executive director for the Bartholomew County chapter of the American Red Cross. “It’s really been a little bit selfish for me, because my wish for my life has come true,” Anable said. “And I had these wonderful opportunities again to learn more about the community and the people we serve.” Jan Gerth, office manager at the Columbus office of the American Red Cross, describes Anable as the “perfect fit for a nonprofit organization.” Admiring her energy and compassion, Gerth first met Anable in 2004 while serving as the organization’s finance director. Gerth says Anable is someone who can handle unusual situations with unusual demands without missing a beat. “I don’t always love change,” Anable said, “but I have come to appreciate change.” She associates change with loss. Whether that loss is tangible or not, she says change does signify some degree of loss. Recognizing the fast pace of our world, she says change can also be difficult in the sense no one really has the time to pause and acknowledge its ubiquitous nature.
she magazine • january 2012