Origin of Autumn Hills Village Name, Logo
Coming up with a name for something that has to be as meaningful 50 years from now as it is today is hard. This is the story behind the Autumn Hills Village name and logo.
The business of LTO Ventures has always been the 3-pronged mission we continue to serve today: 1) building our own community setting; 2) paid consulting and project management services to helps others build theirs; and, 3) advocacy at local, state, and federal levels.
Our community setting model has always been a "live-work-play" mixed use concept. But it took me years to figure out what to name it.
After I moved to Texas in 2019, I used to meet up regularly with Jerry Horton, co-founder (with his wife, Judy) of Down Home Ranch to work on various projects. He thankfully, but relentlessly, pushed me to begin working on my own project. He also was adamant that while our organization was named LTO Ventures, our community setting should not be. He felt we needed a name with purpose, an emotional hook, and a story.
Some nonprofits that develop housing for adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD) have names that also work well as community names. Examples include: Benjamin’s Hope; Promise in Brevard; OASIS Community; 29 Acres; and, Casa de Amma
Other nonprofits have corporation names that, well, aren’t that well suited for marketing a residential community:
Advocates for Community Choice. Community Name: Bethel Hills Community
Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center: Community Names: First Place AZ and 29 Palms
So when it came time to name ours, I knew it had to have a story I could tell that would be impactful for the self-advocates and families we want to serve, and compelling to funders and donors. So here is how I got to “Autumn Hills Village.”
Autumn - Autumn, or Fall, is my favorite time of the year and I have very fond memories of life in parts of the U.S. where there are actual changes of season with falling leaves and colors.
Hills - This is an homage to the location of our community in the Texas Hill Country which is the product of an array of interesting geological features at the eastern edge of the Edwards Plateau also known as the Balcones Escarpment.
Village - Because it takes a village to raise our sons and daughters with IDD, from a network of families to advocacy groups, to medical and therapeutic professionals, and more. Because each individual with IDD is unique in many ways and truly understanding him or her often involves multiple perspectives.
So now that I have a name I was happy with, I needed the visual branding to go with it. After a couple of attempts to find a designer that could capture what I had in mind, I turned to an old friend - Mike Quon of Quon Design. We first met in New York when I worked there and we have remained friends since. His father was one of the original Disney animators and Mike himself is a world-renowned artist.
Mike has a style I love and I wish I could afford more of his work. In the Autumn Hills Village logo, we were able to capture Fall leaves, the Hill Country, and a small home, all key aspects of our community. If you are ever in Red Bank, NJ I encourage you to visit his store and studio.
Thank you for reading this story.