To commemorate Humana’s 50th anniversary, Chairman and CEO Mike McCallister, Co-founder and Chairman Emeritus David A. Jones, Humana board members and guests gathered at the New York Stock Exchange, where McCallister rang The Closing Bell on Aug. 17, 2011. (Mike McCallister and David A. Jones are in the front row, third and fourth from left.)

Thousands of Humana associates, supporters and friends gathered in the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the company and its legacy of service.  The anniversary event featured remarks from Humana Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Mike McCallister; Humana Co-founder and Chairman Emeritus David A. Jones; former board chair and current board member David A. Jones, Jr.; as well as acknowledgements from Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer. The River City Drum Corp played and a comedy troupe performed sketches that chronicle Humana’s history and future aspirations.

The Aug. 18 celebration was the last of a series of events that Humana has held in the last few months to honor the people it has helped, the communities it serves and the associates who’ve made it all happen.  Other highlights include:

• On Aug. 17, Mike McCallister, David A. Jones and Humana board members gathered at the New York Stock Exchange, where McCallister rang The Closing Bell.
• Humana and 125 of its South Florida associates built and donated an innovative multigenerational playground in Lauderhill, Fla.
• A Well-being Fair was held at Louisville’s Bardstown Road Farmer’s Market. Humana provided blood pressure and BMI screenings and partnered with Peopleforbikes.org on wellness checks for bikes.
• Each associate received a book that documents Humana’s legacy: the company’s longtime commitment to people and its dedication to helping them achieve lifelong well-being.

David A. Jones and the late Wendell Cherry founded Humana as a nursing home company on Aug. 18, 1961. Jones and Cherry demonstrated a unique ability to forecast change and adapt quickly, resulting in five decades of success as the company transformed from the largest nursing home company in the country to the largest hospital company to a leader in the health insurance industry.  That innovative spirit and commitment to service, health and wellness continues today.

In the last few months, Humana has taken time to reflect on its history but remains focused on the future as it helps people achieve lifelong well-being.

Humana Chairman and CEO Mike McCallister joined more than 140 associates who volunteered to build an innovative, multigenerational playground in the city of Lauderhill, Florida. Humana volunteers built the 2,500-square-foot playground at Ruth Rothkopf Park, as well as five standalone exercise stations for adults and senior citizens. In addition, volunteers also built new picnic tables, benches, shade areas, and an enhanced walking path. Humana continues to celebrate its 50th Anniversary. Fifty years of helping people. The playground build is part of a continuing effort to say thank you to the communities where our members live.

On July 28, Raja Rajamannar, senior vice president and chief innovation and marketing officer of Humana, delivered the keynote address at the World Congress mHealth Summit in Boston.

In his keynote address, Raja discussed several important issues relating to the connection between mobile technology and health. In delivering one important key message, Raja told attendees that man has developed a new organ – the mobile phone.

Raja explained that, much like an essential organ, the mobile phone is almost permanently attached to our bodies. As Humana works to help people achieve lifelong well-being, we are working to find ways to utilize this connection to mobile technology to help people track and change their health behaviors.

You can read more about the technology discussed here. Reactions to the conference were tweeted by several attendees. You can check out the positive response to Raja’s speech on twitter via the hash-tag #mhealth11.