Former Councilman and Logo Designer Shares His Enthusiasm For Serving His Community

Former councilman Dan Kirby moved to Monrovia when he was 12, and since then he has invested much of his life into serving his community.

Kirby always saw helping others as a natural way of life. Many of his family members served as an example by helping the community through their church activities. His future wife, Joelle, lived two houses down the street from him when they were growing up, and it’s because of their close ties to the area and his desire to assist others that Kirby decided to get involved in Monrovia’s government.

"It’s another way I can give to my neighbors and make their lives better," he said.

Kirby was on the Monrovia City Council for six years, serving twice as mayor pro tem, and currently is Monrovia’s representative on the San Gabriel Valley Mosquito and Vector Control board. While on the council, Kirby said he played a large part in the city’s decision to provide its own animal control services, a decision which he said "worked absolutely marvelously." He is also extremely proud of the council’s work to fund a new building for the .

"It’s our crowning achievement," he said.

Kirby has been in the commercial printing business since 1986. Most recently, Kirby’s company, Patriot Design, created a new logo for the city in honor of Monrovia’s 125th anniversary. In the course of designing the logo, he and his business partner, Mark Acquazzino, interviewed residents and studied the history of Monrovia and it’s surrounding cities. Every design project presents unique challenges, Kirby said, and that’s especially true when creating something that should work equally well on a business card or a billboard.

Kirby's design recently attracted a strong reaction from Councilman Tom Adams, who questioned whether the .

Kirby declined to comment on the controversy over the logo.

In addition to working at his printing and graphic design company, Kirby also teaches beginning band at Pearl Preparatory School, and middle school marching band and high school symphonic band at Rio Hondo Prep in Arcadia, his alma mater.

On the Rio Hondo campus where his four children attend school, he interacts easily with students playing basketball on the playground. He knows them all by first name. Kirby tries to go to as many of his childrens’ athletic and extracurricular activities as possible, and has also coached boys teams at the Rio Hondo-affiliated Kare Youth League. He gestures with pride at the site where a new Rio Hondo gymnasium is planned, telling about fundraising for the project and the school marketing materials he produces.

"It’s not my nature to tear down, but to build up," he said.

While attending Rio Hondo Prep, Kirby had no idea that one day he’d be teaching music there. He initially resisted piano lessons as a child, but began to love playing it when he was in middle school. He went on to play clarinet and saxophone in high school, then earned his degree at Cal State L.A. playing the pipe organ.

Although his main objective is to teach music, he also enjoys arranging and composing. He has written vocal arrangements of hymn tunes, and he wrote a piece for students to sing as a tribute to their grandparents during a summer theatrical production.

"My strongest desire was to work with kids. That meant more to me than seeing my name on a CD cover. It just did," he said.

"It’s a great joy of my life," he added.

Kirby sometimes plays the keyboard at the nondenominational Kare Youth Church, where the youth take part in many church functions, including ushering and playing music.

"Kids perform a lot," he said. "It’s a fun, lively place."

The rewards of teaching music also come when Kirby witnesses the accomplishments of his students. Recently, he watched one of his students perform Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Pasadena Community Orchestra.

"To see him blossom as a musician and as a person is very rewarding," he said.

It also helps Kirby feel like he’s made a difference to his students when they recognize him and express their appreciation for his music classes after they have grown up and married.

Whether he is teaching music, working on graphic design projects, or participating in the city’s government, Kirby strives to improve the lives of others according to the principles of serving the community that he witnessed as he grew up in Monrovia.

"My favorite thing about Monrovia is the people that live there and how much they appreciate the city and work together to help each other," he said.

"I enjoy the variety of activities," he added. "I love all the things I do."