DEE ST. CLAIR

On another hot day in the Dominican Republic, Dee St. Clair sat on their sailboat in a sun-splashed marina emailing friends, reading news of the world while her son took an online geometry test - instead of at a bakery or bar - the normal location. Within an hour they’d racked up a $6,928 Verizon bill using 333,533 kb of data Wi-Fi charges on her Verizon bill, although she was able to negotiate the bill down to a fraction of the cost.

Today Dee is the Finance Director at the Canton Museum of Art, the culmination of a long career in non-profit finances.  She took a meandering path to our offices, befitting a woman whose family spent a year sailing around the Caribbean and southern Atlantic.  

Sailing around southern seas isn’t exactly what she dreamt about while growing up in the rolling hills of Athens, Ohio.  She was raised by an elementary school teacher mother and physics and chemistry teacher father.  Her father was so well known in the community that she soon tired of hearing, “Oh my goodness, that’s your dad?!”  She wanted out and soon found herself working for the one of the big 4 accounting firms, Deloitte Touche in Dayton.  

Dee ended up in Canton when her husband started a commercial contracting business with his brother-in-law.  Somehow, she found the time to work with several area non-profits, including three years on the Canton Museum of Art’s board where she was on the finance committee that recommended a more diverse approach to the museum’s investments that continues today, as well as Treasurer of the CMA Museum Guild.  

In 2009, after about 20 years on the fast track, it was time to change lanes.  Her husband sold his interest in the general contracting construction company and office buildings to their brother-in-law.  Enter the sailboat and a year on sun-kissed seas with her husband and 14-year-old son. 

Upon returning, Dee studied to earn her license as a Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) and often helped value businesses for various reasons.  She also continued working with area non-profits, including a stint on the Palace Theatre board as Treasurer.

Dee’s keen interest in the Canton Museum of Art was sparked by classes she took at the School of Art. By her account, she has taken about five or six jewelry-making classes, several pottery courses, and painting classes over the years. Dee continues taking jewelry-making courses and enjoys repurposing heirloom jewelry. 

One recent jewelry-making course possibly saved her life.  For her home studio, Dee had purchased soldering tanks and had them turned up so high her CMA instructor feared she was going to blow herself up.  As Dee told us, “That tip alone made the whole class worthwhile.”

In addition to taking CMA classes, Dee also enjoys cooking, entertaining and still does some business valuations.  It is a rich, diverse life for a woman who once lived in the shadow of a well-known father and who now casts a considerable shadow of her own.