Antarctica and Georgia by Andrew Clarkson

Exhibit ran October 2007 in the Visitor's Center

Glimpse into the enchanting world of Antarctica and Georgia with nature photographer Andrew Clarkson as he captures the captivating world of penguins, sea lions and stunning frozen vistas.

The Antarctic continent constitutes one-tenth of the earth's land surface and is one-and-one-half times the size of the United States. Ninety eight percent of this land mass is permanently covered with ice formed by thousands of years of tightly compacted snowfall. The other 2% - much of it on the Peninsula - consists of exposed rock. Ninety percent of the world's ice is in Antarctica and at its deepest is over a mile thick.

January is the middle of summer in the Antarctic; on the Peninsula there are some 22 hours of daylight, providing for long, brilliant sunsets as seen in some of the photos. Weather is very volatile - blinding snowstorms followed by blue skies and temperatures in the high 30 degrees Fahrenheit. Apart from research stations established by several countries under the multi-national Antarctic Treaty, there is no human habitation, roads, or commercial airports; travel for tourists is solely by cruise ship (in Mr. Clarkson's case, Lindblad's M.S. Endeavour with 90 passengers) and zodiacs.

In Antarctica, plant life is essentially limited to lichens, while the largest land animal is a small winged mosquito. Seals, penguins and seabirds - such as skua gulls, shags and terns - are the only inhabitants of the Antarctic. Penguins can be found, however, in their comical thousands during the breeding season, as shown in the exhibit.

"Antarctica may sound a rather forbidding place to visit, but it is full of wonder and beauty - as hopefully depicted in some of the photos," Mr. Clarkson observed.

From 1966 to 1972, Mr. Clarkson was employed at First National Bank of Chicago, principally in a merchant banking subsidiary. From 1972 to 1982, he held various financial positions at General Foods Corporation, including Assistant Treasurer, Financial Director (CFO) of the U.K. subsidiary and Controller, General Foods International. From 1981 to 1983, he was Vice President and Treasurer of F.W. Woolworth and was additionally heavily involved in that company's Woolco and U.K. divestitures. In late 1983, Mr. Clarkson joined Malone & Hyde, Inc as Chief Financial Officer and a Board Director; in July 1984, KKR and management took the company private in the first-ever cash tender offer LBO. Subsequently, AutoZone - an autoparts chain - was 'spun off' to shareholders and all other business units were divested. AutoZone became a public NYSE-listed company in 1991, and Mr. Clarkson remained on the Board of Directors of AutoZone through November 2001.

Mr. Clarkson currently serves on the Boards of Amphenol Corporation, Royal Furniture, TruckPro, and Flynn Industries. He is actively involved with not-for-profit organizations through board positions on the Memphis Arts Council (Executive Committee), The Lifeblood Foundation (Chair), The New Canaan Elder Care Council, Nursing and Home Care, and the Jeniam Clarkson (family) Foundation. He previously also served on The New Canaan Town Long-Term Planning Task Force. He and his wife, Carole, have lived in New Canaan since 1972 and maintain a home in Memphis, Tennessee.