Behind the scenes, Sumner Crosby was one of the people who helped make New Haven the cultural capital of Connecticut. Following are rememberances of Crosby written upon his passing, by an old ally and friend, Alderwoman Frances “Bitsie” Clark; and three other friends and colleagues.
“An Example For Future Generations”
By Frances “Bitsie” Clark
In December, our community lost one of its great benefactors, a man who during the last twelve years of his life made an extraordinary difference in the development of the arts as a powerful economic factor in the growth of the Greater New Haven region. Sumner McKnight Crosby, Jr. died peacefully in his home following a long illness. He accomplished incredible things and was held in high esteem by the Arts Council and the arts community.
As the executive director of the Arts Council from 1983 to 2002, I came to know, admire, depend on and love the man who was my boss for four years and who has left a great legacy of community service and leadership in the arts. I have known Sumner since the 1970s — he and his wife Sue were distinguished and generous members of the community and he and his extended family shared the responsibility for the Carolyn Foundation’s extraordinary support of New Haven for so many years. Social service, health, and education were the areas in which Sumner did most of his individual community work, so I had very little opportunity to work closely with him until he became actively involved in the arts, beyond the scope of the Carolyn Foundation’s generous support.
In the early part of the 1990s, when money became tight and the fortunes of downtown New Haven seemed to be declining, the arts felt frustrated that city and state government and the business community did not consider the arts an essential part of the future of the city and region. Arts leaders were not included in the business and government planning agencies. The arts community believed that the arts should be a flagship for the city; instead they were seen as nice and fun, but definitely a frill in the important work of making New Haven grow and prosper. In fact, in an economic growth initiative to develop regional assets, the arts were not even listed, but were lumped under “Minor League Sports and Entertainment”!
During that time, the Arts Council brought together the arts organizations to develop a series of actions to address an escalating concern about the long term viability of the arts industry in Greater New Haven. This was a community that was not used to working together, so it took a while for people to see that in unity there was strength. During this time the Chamber of Commerce and the Arts Council formed an Arts Business Roundtable that met once a month and out of that effort grew the idea of developing a cultural plan for the entire region.
I met with Sumner in late 1995 to discuss the possibility of the Carolyn Foundation funding the major portion of a fee to hire the premier cultural planning agency in the nation — the Wolf Organization of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Sumner was immediately interested. He was the most practical of men and he knew full well the world class nature of the arts in New Haven and the lack of recognition the arts received from the government and business powers in the community. He not only became a passionate advocate for our proposal at the Carolyn Foundation, but also became engaged in the entire effort that defined his tremendous leadership of this important and far reaching endeavor over the next seven years.
The planning process for the Regional Cultural Plan was completed in 1997. Then it had to be implemented. It was complicated, multi-faceted and bold, addressing facilities, marketing, education, cultural diversity and the stabilization of the region’s eight major arts institutions. This last and most important goal required the raising of five million dollars to be used to reward the eight arts institutions for meeting benchmarks in fiscal, governance and management responsibilities over a five-year period. Quietly, tactically, and with great skill and persistence, Sumner took on this challenge. He strategized about where this money could be found and who would be the best person to “do the ask.” In many cases, Sumner made the calls himself and his profound belief in this cause resulted in contributions which often exceeded his expectations. He led this effort and his committee of community leaders brilliantly, and within one year, they had raised all of the funds.
In 1998, Sumner was elected president of the Board of the Arts Council. It was an exciting and challenging time. The Council was the parent organization of the Regional Cultural Plan and the president had the task of integrating both the funding and management of these two efforts. Sumner, although often dealing with severe back pain and Sue’s illness, was everything you want in a terrific boss — accessible, kind, sensible and wise! I loved working with him.
Now in the 21 century, the arts community is a major player in the economic and cultural development of the Greater New Haven Region. Arts leaders are part of the region’s planning agencies and arts needs are in the forefront of our community’s legislative agenda for state government. Our region is now considered, and referred to by government, the corporate community and all the marketing entities, as the cultural capital of the Connecticut. This major accomplishment is one of the many extraordinary legacies that Sumner Crosby left to the Greater New Haven community. His good works have touched and inspired countless individuals and organizations and have set a stellar example for future generations.
This article was written and edited for the upcoming issue the Arts Council’s monthly Arts newspaper.
“He “Would Help Anyone”
Sumner was my first manager in the insurance industry in 1985. Since he was my manager, he had to deal with any problems I had with underwriters. Every time I took him a problem, he fought for me. I was always amazed that he always believed me enough to fight on my behalf with an insurance company. He never questioned me, he was a great advocate. He taught me to believe in people and always fight for them, it is a lesson I still believe in.
He was so comfortable with the younger agents in the office and never had a problem if someone knew more than him, he really developed a team atmosphere. I still use many of the things Sumner taught me.
When working in New Haven, I met my wife Sudie; she worked at the Tennis Tournament. He treated Sudie as well as he treated me, he would always ask her how things were going and have nice conversations with her. Sudie also really liked and respected him because he took the time to get to know her and treated her with respect. Years later, Sudie and I would see Sumner in New Haven and it was always great to catch up. We always felt as though he cared about us!
More importantly, Sumner taught me to be involved in the community and to always help other people. Sumner also would help anyone; he didn’t care if it was a poor file clerk from New Haven or the president of a corporation, he treated everyone the same. He also was so quiet with his help, he would never brag about what he had done. I imagine nobody really knows how many people he helped, he was that willing to help and quiet about it.
Sumner was a man we all respected, at work, but most importantly in life! He truly made New Haven a better place.
He will be missed, but never forgotten.
Douglas F. Danaher, CIC, MBA
Managing Partner
“An Amazing Person”
I had the great pleasure of having Sumner enter my life back in 1981 when he hired me for my second job post-college and it was the beginning of a wonderful relationship w/the entire Crosby family. It’s incredibly hard to express in words what kind, thoughtful, warm, generous people he & Sue were.
Over the years, Sum’s generosity & kindness touched many people but you would never know it if the recipients themselves didn’t tell you as he always worked quietly behind the scenes. I have no doubt there are a lot of people who can repeat the same story. He was a great man!
I distinctly recall telling him when my son was quite young that I hoped I could raise him as well as he & Sue raised their children & only realized as I grew older that what they instilled in their children was a reflection of who he & Sue were. The world has lost another amazing person and he will be sorely missed.
—Stephanie MacCatherine
Friends From IMI
Sumner was just a real guy, as unpretentious as they come.
And if anyone needed help, you could always count on Sumner being there to assist. He helped many people, very quietly, with no fanfare, not looking for recognition or accolades. He helped because he cared about people.
Neil W. Garbatini CPCU
Nicholson Associates