2023 is a big year for Sharpe Group. This year, the company celebrates its 60th anniversary. The world—including the charitable sector—has changed a great deal in the last six decades. At Sharpe, we are excited to celebrate by taking a trip down memory lane led by the one and only Barlow Mann, Sharpe Group’s general counsel.
Barlow is well known and highly regarded in the charitable sector as a consultant, writer, speaker and gift technician. He’s taught thousands of development professionals at hundreds of seminars. He’s written countless articles on gift planning and counseled a multitude of clients on best practices in planned giving. Simply put, he’s a legend in our industry.
Around the Sharpe offices, we know another side of Barlow. When he’s not writing Insights articles or preparing seminar presentations, we can count on Barlow to wear his Elvis shirt during “Elvis Week” (which we proudly celebrate in Memphis). Want to know about muscle cars? Ask Barlow (he’s owned a few). Most importantly, if you want to know trivia about Sharpe Group’s history, our longest-tenured employee has the answer!
So, as we take this year to celebrate Sharpe Group’s 60th anniversary, we thought it fitting that Barlow guide us through the company’s timeline decade-by-decade. We hope you enjoy the ride as much as we will!
Significant Events of 1963
- Zip codes are implemented in the US.
- President Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Texas.
- Dr. Martin Luther King delivers his “I Have a Dream” speech.
- Audio cassettes are introduced.
- Dr. Michael DeBakey pioneers the use of an artificial heart for use during heart surgery.
- At the movies: Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove & Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds.
- Harvey Ball, a graphic artist and ad man, created the first smiley face.
- Companies founded in 1963 include Comcast, CVS Pharmacy, the Sierra Nevada Corporation, Weight Watchers and, of course, Robert F. Sharpe & Company.
