IMA Mourns Loss of Board Member

Rev. Samuel W. Dixon, Jr., who was trapped in the wreckage of the Hotel Montana in Haiti with our three IMA staff, passed away as a result of the hotel collapse. Rev. Dixon was a longtime member of IMA’s board of directors, as well as a friend and colleague. He was the Deputy General Secretary of Global Ministries & UMCOR.

“Sam was more than a board member or acquaintance. He was a vibrant and passionate force on behalf of the vulnerable and the poor. And he was our friend,” said Rick Santos, IMA president and CEO. Santos survived the hotel collapse after being trapped for over two days in the same area as Dixon.

“We all are devastated by the loss of Sam Dixon,” said former IMA president Paul Derstine. “He was a man of incredible good will and ability, and all of us who knew him deeply appreciated his commitment to serving those in need through the Church. And we will never forget his wonderful sense of humor.”

Dixon and his wife, Cindy, are the parents of four grown children. Dixon was 60 years old.

Another colleague, the Rev. Clint Raab, also did not survive the ordeal. Rev. Raab, a leader in The United Methodist Church's mission volunteer program, was trapped in the same area of the Hotel Montana as the IMA staff. He was brought out of the rubble and taken to a Florida hospital, but later died from injuries sustained in the collapse. Rev. Raab and his wife, the Rev. Suzanne Field Raab, have eight children, all of whom survive. Raab was 60 years old.