Jun 01 2010
Guest Column: CA Winery Stops HSUS Donation
UPDATE: The Animal Agriculture Alliance is reporting that Jordan Winery still plans to give the money from this fundraiser to HSUS.
UPDATE 2: Troy H. reports that as of this morning, Jordan Winery is promising him that they're doing the right thing:
I talked to John Jordan again this morning. As of yesterday, any of the money donated will NOT be given to the HSUS. He said that some money was already sent to the HSUS before they realized their mistake, but anything that is raised from here on out will be given to two local shelters and that Jordan's will be handling that personally. He also stated that neither himself nor Jordan Winery has donated any money to the HSUS nor will they ever. The event is still going to take place although he didn't know if Pacelle would be attending or not. The invites were sent out 3 months ago and they felt it was too late to cancel the fundraiser altogether but they are trying to fix their mistake by doing what they can get the money going to the local shelters.
Troy Hadrick, as everyone who's seen his "Yellow Fail" Youtube video can tell you, is a fifth-generation rancher from South Dakota. He's also a stand-up guy who does more than most of his peers to make sure the Humane Society of the United States can't put the entire animal agriculture sector out of business.
His "Advocates for Ag" blog is popular among farmers and ranchers, but the broader HumaneWatch audience should know about it too. So it's great that Troy has agreed to co-publish his latest blog article here. And it's a doozie.
Last week HSUS announced that Jordan Vineyard & Winery would be hosting a celebrity fundraiser for HSUS on June 5. But as of today, Troy reports, the deal is off. The money raised on Saturday will be going to local pet shelters instead.
In doing the right thing, Jordan is joining Yellow Tail Wines, Pilot Travel Centers, Mary Kay cosmetics, Precious Cat kitty litter, and Hill's Science Diet dog food in recognizing that there are better ways to help animals than giving money to HSUS.
CA Winery Stops HSUS Donation
This weekend I found out that Jordan Vineyard and Winery in Sonoma County, CA was going to be hosting a HSUS fundraiser on June 5. After my involvement in getting Yellow Tail wine to stop their donation to HSUS and my now famous YouTube video I received many emails asking if I was going to dust off my video camera for another round.
But this time I picked up the phone instead and called the winery this morning. I explained who I was and what my concerns were about their planned donation. The helpful lady on the other end of the line took down my information and said she would have someone get back to me. A few hours later my phone rings and it’s none other than John Jordan himself, owner of the vineyard and winery.
Right off the bat he explained to me that they had made a mistake and were trying to fix the situation as best they could. He admitted that he really didn’t know the HSUS wasn’t associated with any dog or cat shelters. The intention was to raise money to help unwanted animals and he mistakenly assumed the HSUS did that. The truth of the matter is they don’t and Mr. Jordan understands that now too.
While the fundraiser for this Saturday night is still going to happen, the HSUS will not be receiving a penny of the money that will be raised. All proceeds will be given to local pet shelters that will actually use the money to help pets.
While there’s no word on whether or not Wayne Pacelle will still be attending the fundraiser, the good news is that those who need the money the worst and can use it best will be getting it.
Tonight I will be raising my glass to John Jordan and his family for realizing their mistake and making it right.
Posted on 06/01/2010 at 04:04 PM by the HumaneWatch Team
Animal Agriculture • Fundraising & Money • (19) CommentsComments
I’m glad that in spite of the death threats, this winery was able to stick to their charitable ethics and provide financial resources for the animals directly instead of to legislative endeavors. Hats off to Mr. John Jordan and his family!
Good to hear that the fundraiser continues and will actually benefit local shelters rather than an organization that likes to take underground film but nothing up front.
I would think the likelihood of Wayne showing up now is as good as the likelihood of him showing up in the Gulf Coast and donning safety gear to save a few sea birds.
Hmmm… interesting position that John Jordon apparently now states, given that he wrote emails to people a few days ago, as reported on the net which said he realised that not much money would actually go to shelters, “I completely understand that the fiscal relationship between the local shelters and national non-profit is limited.”
How is it that he knew that the money wouldn’t be going to shelters last weekend, but between now and then, he has forgotten that fact?
Raising my glass? I’m off to the wine store today to buy a case of Jordan wine.
John Jordan allowed himself to be educated and made the correct decision for the animals. Nice job!
Great news! Being a Sonoma County girl, as soon as I learned about this I zipped over to the Sonoma County Farm Bureau to get them involved. I then immediately followed it up with a personal visit to Jordan Winery to educate these well intentioned folks as to what their funds truely were going to. Looks like I’ll be headed back to Jordan Winery…this time with a big thank you gift for the Jordans, to let them know we appreciate their reconsideration. Great work Troy!
Fantastic news! The dark curtain is being drawn back, and I’m pretty sure Wayne is not a happy guy today. Any word from the celebrities, Kelly and Pierce Brosnan and Loretta Swit? Ellen DeGeneres, are you listening?
Good work all you CA folks!
First, I think it’s fantastic news that Jordan Winery has decided to help local shelters instead of a political machine that spends more on their payroll and pension fund than in direct care of animals truly in need. Kudos to them for wanting to do a good thing and taking the time to listen and make an informed decision.
I do have one question that is lingering in the back of my mind. You have to wonder if the Jordan Winery was upfront with the H$U$ regarding what their intentions were with the fund raiser (wanting to help unwanted animals in need) and if the H$U$ told them that’s what they do? I wouldn’t put it past Wayne and his spin doctors to come up with an answer that on the surface sounded like they planned to help just as Jordan Winery wished, but instead planned to place this money into their bloated coffers to use on more payroll…..
Thank you John Jordan!
I could not help to keep form laughing when thinking about the look on Wayne Pacelle’s face when he got the news!!!
AWESOME!!! Fantastic news! And this went so quickly, too. If everyone keeps chipping away at the lies of HSUS, then that corporation will fall under the weight of its own truth.
@ Michael A
HSUS does think they are helping the animals I think, by legislating them out of existence!!
based on some statements I’m seeing circulating from some HSUS folk, they seem to think the event is still going to be held for their benefit.
I’d like to see a formal statement from Jordan Winery to the effect that this will indeed benefit local shelters. Area groups are starting to get their hopes up as word spreads that they may be recipients of the fund raising and it would be cruel to discover it was a lie. those animals need the help.
hmm her is what was said on a commnent on another siTe
Hi Troy,
We at the Animal Ag Alliance also spoke with Mr. Jordan this afternoon, but we didn’t get the same response. He indicated that the money from Saturday’s gala would still be going to HSUS but that he would take care when choosing future organizations to support. He even said that he would contact the Alliance before selecting another animal organization.
Mr. Jordan also told us that HSUS had agreed to put all the money raised during Saturday’s event towards hands-on animal care programs.
So, while Mr. Jordan was very courteous and spoke highly of animal agriculture, HSUS will still be receiving the funding from Saturday’s gala. (As far as we know!)
Troy, thank you for your work and leadership on this!
Oh, boy - if it sounds ‘too good to be true’ it is ‘too good to be true’.
Sounds very similar to Yellow Tail Winery’s situation - they couldn’t get back the first installment of a large donation. I would give anything to see the contract that HSUS has these businesses sign. “Ironclad”? They certainly have enough lawyers on staff.
Unless Jordan Winery can witness a signed check to their local animal shelters - and I highly doubt that will happen - they are just another victim of a gi-huge-ic scam.
I wonder if a rep from the Ag Alliance can be welcomed to this event as an honored guest/advisor for future donations to make Wayne squirm . . .
even if they have a contract, how great would it be to blow that up in the media- “Heartless Humane Society Refuses To Allow Local Winery To Assist Area Shelters, Sue To Keep Funds For Lobbying”
I think I’ll start the base for the article now and go visit the folks at Jordan for an interview
Oh, I like it, Danielle! I hope you are serious.
The Wisconsin Dept. of Natural Resources has recently found out how foolish it was to accept any offers of “help” from HSUS. Mr. Jordan should start a dialogue with the WI DNR, they can commiserate. I can provide some examples of the back-stabbing. Not to mention the hostage situation that the DNR found itself tangled in, inadvertently offending both sides, in spite of good intentions.
And to think it all started with a feel-good offer of a reward for poachers. I wonder how Mr. Jordan and his family will feel when they realize they are caught between a rock and a hard place with this ill-considered business move.
Lord help me, I love the way all of you guys think, and Troy for trying!!!! GOOD JOB, ALL OF YOU!
This is beginning to sound like a slippery slope where a surprise result will only be made public long after the fact.
Comments are moderated, and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive. Extremely lengthy comments and those that contain obscenities may be edited before they are posted.
Add a comment:
OUTSTANDING news! hurray for the local animal shelters! hurray for JORDAN WINERY! I think I’ll visit them this week and thank them in person.