Public Service Award Recipient

Art of Volunteering

Traci Baker

Recently, before a meeting of ASCPA members, a casual conversation occurred among the participants about the various prominent Phoenix-area people they had met or known through the course of their lives as CPAs. Some referenced the Governor, mayors, some local celebrities and one man proudly said —”well, the only real celebrity I know is Ken Husband.”

When I shared that story with Ken, his response was as anyone who knows Ken would predict — disbelief and pure humility. But to many, Ken is a true star, the kind of radiating personality that makes everyone around him feel special. As the ASCPA 2006 Public Service Award recipient, Ken Husband is a shining example of a kind, humble, dedicated and genuine volunteer who is truly worthy of our admiration.

Husband’s volunteer work is as varied as it is extensive, ranging from the arts and cultural development, to bettering the lives of the elderly and most recently helping abused and at-risk children; not to mention, the rotary club and many other local, community and national organizations.

To hear Ken tell the story, it all begins with the Men’s Arts Council. Shortly after moving to Phoenix in 1973, a friend got him involved in the group of young professional men that was formed primarily to provide financial and cultural support to the Phoenix Art Museum. One of the major projects the council engaged in each year was the sponsorship of the Cowboy Artists of America Exhibition, arguably the best known collection of a group of Western American artists in the world. The event, which still takes place every year in October, is a major fundraiser. In fact, it consistently raises more than $150,000 a year in support of the museum. As his involvement on various event committees year after year escalated, so did his responsibilities. In 1985, Husband served as chairman of the Show and Sale and two years later, went on to serve as president of the Men’s Arts Council where he focused his efforts on directing volunteers help to the museum.

During the more than 30 years that Ken Husband has been associated with the Phoenix Art Museum and the museum’s support organizations, it has seen tremendous growth. What was once a small Western museum has grown to four times its original size and is now recognized on a global basis throughout the arts world, and Husband was always there to lend a helping hand along the way.

Some of his efforts include serving 15 years on the Board of Western Arts Associates; including seven years as treasurer. He was a founding member of the Planned Giving Committee and was heavily involved in building an endowment for what was considered a “young” museum.

Husband was a founding member of the 21st Century Society, an organization created to recognize individuals who have included the Phoenix Art Museum in their estate planning.

He served for six years as trustee of the Museum, including two years as treasurer and chair of the Operating Committee. It was during this time that the museum began its first major addition and where Husband served as a very active member of the building committee. “This time was a real kick for me, in the sense that this is taking a museum that was relatively new—museums on the East Coast are more than 100 years old—and helping it grow was a huge leap forward,” Husband said. “And in some small way I was a part of that, and that was very exciting for me.”

But Husband didn’t limit his involvement in the arts to the Phoenix Art Museum; he was also very active with the Scottsdale Art Center Association and Scottsdale Cultural Council, serving for nearly 10 years on the boards of both organizations. He served for seven years, including four years as treasurer and two years as president, on the Board of Arizonans for Cultural Development, an organization that provides advocacy for all of the arts organizations in the state. As president, he was often the spokesperson for the combined arts community at the legislature and civic and cultural venues.

When Husband isn’t volunteering with arts and cultural activities, you can probably find him at the Rotary Club of Phoenix, where he has been a member for more than 27 years. The Rotary Club is dedicated to providing community service to the people of metropolitan Phoenix, primarily children. Among the many activities he has participated in over the years, some of the highlights include helping build a Habitat for Humanity house; providing shots to dogs in low-income areas of town; and for the last two years, sponsoring a Little League Team in a low-income area where organized athletics had previously been unavailable.

“Both locally and internationally, Rotary does a phenomenal job in helping people,” says Husband. “I am extremely pleased to have been a part of the organization and to see what has been done on both a worldwide and local basis and to have participated in some way. It’s amazing to me to see what can be done when a bunch of men and women put their efforts together to make a difference.”

Most recently, Husband has been involved in two very different, but beneficial organizations; one involving seniors and the other, at-risk youth. The Beatitudes Campus of Care is one of the largest, nonprofit continuous retirement facilities in the state, and Husband has been on its board for three years. He is currently treasurer.

Beatitude’s mission is to provide excellent care to mature adults who might otherwise have difficulty affording a facility of its kind. The organization is setting the nationwide standard of good management and compassion, and is currently serving more than 600 residents.

“If you walk through the existing campus, it’s just beautiful and the residents are so happy,” Husband said. “But we are going through a big change. There is currently a $90 million expansion going on that will allow the campus to house more than 900 people. It is a very exciting project and I am so happy to be able to be a part of it.”

Husband is also currently volunteering his time as a mentor to the Crisis Nursery, a local charity to aid abused children. Part of how he came to work with the group was through Arizona Endowments Building Initiative, an organization formed in the past year to enable charitable organizations to build up endowments or permanent funds for their future growth.

“A charitable organization is only as successful as its ability to obtain funding to handle current operations,” Husband says. “Due to the cyclical nature of annual giving, it’s important to establish an endowment to provide income for the future, especially in down years.” He is taking an active role with the Endowments Initiative, developing the tools that will help future mentors assist other charitable organizations.

Husband, a past chair of the Arizona Society of CPAs, has dedicated much to the community, and the profession, over the past 34 years and has no plans of slowing down any time soon. “As long as I can make a difference and continue to contribute, I plan to do that.” If you ask Husband how he decided where to volunteer, he’ll tell you, “Probably, in very few cases, have I chosen an organization; somehow I “got” chosen. Through the osmosis of life, opportunities present themselves and you just find yourself doing because it needs to be done.” Spoken like a true public servant.

Please join us as we honor Ken Husband for his many outstanding contributions at the ASCPA Annual Meeting & Awards Luncheon on May 15 at the Arizona Biltmore. Registration is available at www.ascpa.com.

Traci Baker is Director of Communications for the Arizona Society of CPAs.

AZ CPA – March/April 2007