Dwight Mason '57

It is possible that Dwight Mason's '57 long and distinguished career in public service can be traced back to his election as a floor leader at the end of the fourth form, a role that included membership on the Student Council and Student Court. Dwight recalls that the faculty always ratified their court decisions without comment — astounding, in retrospect, since that sometimes resulted in expulsion. However, he points out that classmate Bob Backus decided that the accused needed defense counsel, which he proceeded to provide, laying the foundation for a future as an attorney and New Hampshire state legislator.

Dwight also joined Debating, which turned out to be a very formative experience and perhaps his most rewarding activity at Holderness. Dwight and Bob won the New Hampshire Beginners' Debate Championship at Dartmouth and were selected to compete at the National Debate Tournament in Lexington, Kentucky.

At the end of the fifth form, he was elected school vice president (which included the presidency of the Student Council) and House Leader of Niles. He also managed the baseball team, joined trail crew to engage his love of the woods, and won the Latin 2 Prize.

Following Holderness, Dwight attended Brown and found that he had qualified for what amounted to sophomore status because of his preparation at Holderness. In fact, one of the essay topics students could choose to write for the Brown English placement exam was essentially the previous year's national debate question. Dwight recalls he even had enough time to go back and insert an outline at the beginning! He graduated cum laude and with High Honors in history and then received a master's degree from the University of California at Berkeley and later served as a Mid-Career Fellow at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University.

He then embarked on a nearly three-decade career with the US Foreign Service including postings in Tangier, Morocco; Barranquilla, Colombia; Quito, Ecuador; Washington, DC, and Ottawa, Canada, where he served as Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy. There he played an instrumental role in trade negotiations, defense relations, environmental matters, maritime boundary disputes, and fisheries matters.

In 1994 President Clinton appointed Dwight as Chair, United States Section, of the Permanent Joint Board on Defense — US and Canada. The board is responsible for advising the President, the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of State on US-Canadian political-military issues. He participated in negotiations regarding the environmental cleanup of former US military installations in Canada, two renewals of the North American Aerospace Defense (NORAD) Agreement, and the restructuring of binational command arrangements in North America in light of the creation of US Northern Command. The board also focused on ballistic missile defense of North America, increased Canadian naval support to US counter-narcotic efforts in the Caribbean, and joint intelligence estimate on threats to North America. The board is viewed as a symbol of the special relationship shared by the two countries. Dwight has since donated copies of some of his correspondence with President Clinton to the school's Archives.

Dwight has been a frequent author, penning articles in publications such as National Security Law Report and Foreign Service Journal and for the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC, where he served as Senior Associate of the Canada Project for 10 years.

Dwight credits his Holderness education for many of his successes at Brown and later in the Foreign Service. He says that Mr. Henderson and Mr. Abbey stand out among his teachers, recalling that Mr. Abbey's English class was the hardest but also the most interesting. It was a full year of studying poetry and writing 1,000 words analyzing a poem every weekend. He soon realized that there were no right answers, just well-reasoned ones. These teachers taught him how to think analytically and write clearly, and that is why he has chosen to give to Holderness since graduation. In fact, he is now in his seventh decade of support!

Dwight has chosen to support Holderness through the creation of a Credit Remainder Unit Trust, and in return the school is proud to recognize him as a member of the Balch Society. He chose a CRUT as a vehicle for his contributions to Holderness because most of his assets are invested in a single corporation. The stock in this corporation has appreciated significantly over the years, but its yield in dividend income in percentage terms is low. The position has an extremely low basis, but by giving Holderness stock in this corporation via a CRUT, he is able to diversify without adverse tax consequences, to increase the income yield several times over, gain a tax benefit each time he adds to the CRUT, and have Holderness ultimately receive the principal.

Dwight reflects on how much the school has changed since he made his first gift back in 1958. The entire notion of guidance and counseling was absent. Now the school has a better library and students have access to research resources that did not exist. He remembers arriving for his interview and encountering a man wearing beaten up work clothes raking leaves. This proved to be Mr. Wiles, the Senior Master, who was going to interview him! The facilities have also improved. He remembers the radiators in Marshall House being so hot that they could heat cans of soup on them!

Holderness expresses its deep appreciation to Dwight for his many years of support, ensuring that the school continues to grow and excel, preparing current and future generations of students for service to their community.