Ken Clark

Meet Ken Clark, longtime Dixon member, trustee, and supporter. Ken is sharing some of his Dixon experiences and his personal inspiration to elevate both his participation and his support.

Now retired from active practice, I live in a retirement community; continue to go to the office on a daily basis; read and work out regularly; and maintain an active social life. In short, for the first time in my life I have time to share with the Dixon.

Indeed, my earliest experiences with the Dixon arose through my law practice, when I had the privilege of representing Donors of both the wonderful porcelain and pewter collections, as well as a major early financial benefactor. Those engagements were rewarding from a personal standpoint, as I experienced first-hand the motivations of dedicated collectors who cared passionately about their contributions' potential impact on the Memphis cultural community.

To be a "fly on the wall" during the negotiations between Warda Stout and Abe Plough for his gift to the Dixon of a gallery dedicated exclusively to housing her porcelain collection, was an absolute delight for a young Connecticut Yankee practicing in King Cotton's court!

With no background in fine arts, it was with the Gardens that my wife and I primarily connected. For several years, during which she was wheelchair bound, our Sunday afternoon strolls through the ever changing floral landscape of the Dixon gardens were fun and relaxing for us both, and witnessing, first hand, the wide diversity of visitors to the grounds made a lasting impression. By the bequest of Hugo Dixon to his adopted American community of his gracious home and surrounding formal English gardens, he left us all a cultural gem.

But it was only after my wife's death, that I became actively involved with the Dixon. I was recruited to do a very specific job for the Endowment Fund, and with that came membership on the Board. That has been an enjoyable learning experience, during which I have been able to provide some counsel in the deferred giving arena.

As the parents of five children and a host of grandchildren, until most of them had cleared college our charitable resources were both limited and focused primarily on education. Only when relieved of those obligations were we able to search for broader cultural horizons. And because my association with the Dixon came later in life, on the eve of retirement and the cessation of an earned income, I chose to support the Dixon Endowment through the purchase of a Charitable Gift Annuity, which preserves for me a guaranteed revenue stream for life and provides a gift to the Dixon.

The Charitable Gift Annuity is a vehicle which has particular appeal for retired persons living on a fixed income, and for whom preservation of principal is a significant concern. It was my hope that by developing that product for the Dixon, and subscribing to it for myself, I might influence fellow trustees and older supporters of the Dixon to realize its benefits in a time of low interest rates and returns. It is a wonderful product for post-retirement donors.

Thank you, Ken, for sharing your experiences and for your generous support both financially and as a volunteer member of the Dixon Board of Trustees. An investment in a Charitable Gift Annuity will support the Dixon while providing fixed payments for life. To learn how a Charitable Gift Annuity could work for you, please contact the Office of Planned Giving at (901) 312-1243 or sjohnson@dixon.org, or your trusted financial advisor.