Rick Dehner

Creating Lasting Friendships and an Opportunity for Giving

Significant opportunities have a way of finding their way into Rick Dehner's life—and he has a way of making the most of them. So when opportunity arrived via an athletic scholarship from Briar Cliff, Rick readily embraced the experience, and he's commemorated it with a planned gift to the university.

Getting a higher education wasn't always top of mind for Rick, who grew up in Alton, Iowa. Yet his girlfriend Jan—who is now his wife—was headed off to school and his mother was urging him to attend college. So Rick enrolled at Briar Cliff and discovered it was a great fit.

"Briar Cliff grew on me—from the hill it's on and the lilac bushes in the spring to the lasting friendships with the guys in my dorm and the education I received from my professors," Rick recalls. "I also played baseball all four years there. It was a tremendous experience."

After graduating in 1983, Rick was recruited to become a financial representative, but opted to work for Diamond Vogel Paints. Yet he yearned to reclaim the opportunity he was presented with several years before. So in 1991 Rick joined Northwestern Mutual, and has achieved success with the company as a trusted financial representative.

In 1998, Rick created a planned gift by naming the university as the owner and beneficiary of a life insurance policy. This helped spread out his premium payments over a period of time, while counting them as charitable donations. He adds, "The university worked closely with me to make giving a gift an affordable option.

As for the gift the Dehners have provided, Rick reflects, "When I think of Briar Cliff, it puts a smile on my face. Maybe there's someone who knows me from those days and if they hear about this gift, it might do the same thing for them. Hopefully our contribution can help someone else enjoy the benefits of a Briar Cliff education, just as I did."

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