Ed Schulze Named 2017 Novato Citizen of the Year

NOVATO, CA – For most of his life, Ed Schulze has been a hunter. On the land and in the marshes, it’s been for ducks and pheasants. Under the waters of the Mendocino County coast, it’s been for abalone. In his daily life, it’s been ways to make Novato a better place to live.

A rich legacy of community service led to Ed’s selection as the 2017 Novato Citizen of the Year. He was honored before a crowd of more than 200 on Friday, Jan. 19, during Novato’s birthday party celebration (previously called Paint the Town Red) held at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging.

“I recently learned that Ed was a volunteer from the beginning of the very long public process to bring the Buck Institute to Novato, so I think it was very fitting that the city’s annual party took place there,” said Jeanne MacLeamy, chair of Birthday Party committee, member of the Citizen of the Year selection committee and a former Novato mayor.

Marilyn Schulze, Ed’s wife of 50 years, said prior to the party, “I can’t fathom how he’s going to react to this. He’ll be shocked.”

How can Ed’s contributions be summed up? It has to start with his roots. Schulze was born in Sacramento and spent his first nine months in the state capital, but grew up in Kentfield in what Marilyn described as a “loving, kind and caring” family. Ed attended Sir Francis Drake High in San Anselmo and then transferred and graduated from Redwood High in Larkspur. After a year at College of Marin, he started as an apprentice at Mare Island.

Ed married Marilyn Beccio in 1967 and moved to Novato in 1973 to cut down on his daily commute. The couple raised two children in town, Heidi and Richard, while Ed worked at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo for the U.S. Department of Defense. He was proud to work at the military installation where the Napa River flows into San Pablo Bay, partly because it was the first U.S. Navy base in the Pacific zone, predating the Civil War by nine years. To this day, it’s a National Historic District and a California Historical Landmark.

Early in his career in Vallejo, he worked as a civilian electrician on the submarine fleet. Later, he assumed administrative roles, dealing with a wide array of human resources tasks. He had a hand in merit promotions, performance evaluations and arbitration negotiations. As employment laws changed, he helped the shipyard address emerging priorities such as equal opportunity employment and sexual harassment training. The Navy decommissioned the shipyard in 1996, but Schulze stayed on as administrative officer for the base’s production department. When he retired after 36 years that year, his official title was budget analyst.

“He was one of the last ones to go,” Marilyn said.

One of his first civic volunteer posts in Novato was with his homeowner’s association in the townhome neighborhood near Scottsdale Pond. Once he started, he just couldn’t stop. He contributed on that board for 31 years, even after Ed and Marilyn bought a home off Indian Valley Road.

“That was the start of it all once we got to Novato,” Marilyn said of the experience on the homeowner’s board. “Since then he has participated or supported so many causes that are really too numerous to list.”

Public safety has been a signature Ed Schulze priority. It dates to his 17 years as a volunteer firefighter in Kentfield, a time when he received a lesson in how important it is for such agencies to build strong relationships with the community. Through the years he served on several committees for the Novato Fire Protection District, including one to help pass a tax measure. He’s a certificated alumnus of the Novato Police Department Citizen Police Academy and the Marin County Sheriff’s Citizen Academy. He spent years with the Marin County Parole Board, the Marin County Major Crimes Task Force Oversight Committee and the Marin County Operational Area Disaster and Citizen Corps Council.

“If there’s one area that he’s probably the most dedicated, I’d say it’s police and fire services,” Marilyn said. “He knows that families have a strong need to feel safe.”

There is no doubt about Schulze’s dedication to nature and environmental causes. Marilyn said it could be traced to Ed’s family roots as farmers in the Marysville area. For 22 years, he co-chaired the city’s Clean & Green Day with another past Citizen of the Year, Susan Stompe. For even longer, he’s been involved as a founding member and occasional chair of the Novato Streetscape Committee. He also reviewed the use of bond funds on the city’s Street Improvement Oversight Advisory Committee.

Ed’s hunting excursions in Lucas Valley, Lassen County and Colorado only deepened his appreciation for wildlife. He served on the Marin County Fish and Wildlife Commission and worked closely with West Marin residents and organic farmers on pesticide restrictions while representing the Marin/Sonoma Mosquito & Vector Control Board. The former abalone picker has been an alternate on the State of California’s Abalone Advisory Committee.

Local schools and child-oriented nonprofits have benefited greatly from his contributions, especially during the time when the Schulze kids were going through public schools in Novato. There were various assignments with the Novato Unified School District such as a long-range facilities planning committee and a group that reviewed the possible sale of unused district owned property. He was a soccer coach and a Boy Scouts leader as well.

Ed has helped choose Novato’s next generation of leaders and influencers, too. He was appointed to a citizen selection committee to find a police chief in 1992 and reviewed candidates for a top city engineer post in 2001. He’s a graduate of the Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Novato program, which educates residents about all the workings of the city and challenges grads to get involved in leadership roles. One year, he served as moderator for all the monthly Leadership Novato day-long sessions. He served 2 ½ years on the Marin County Civil Grand Jury, acting as a watchdog to make sure all government-funded agencies were acting in the best interests of Marin residents. He also trained and groomed grand jurors after his stint was completed.

All of this adds up to a legacy worthy of Citizen of the Year recognition, which recognizes long term dedication to the Novato community. About the only thing Marilyn put the kibosh on was a run for City Council, an admirable but time-consuming job that might have prompted him to back away from many causes he loves due to a lack of time. The things he loves include barbecuing, dancing, driving the grandkids around town in his 1945 Willys Jeep, and making everybody he meets feel at ease.

“He has found other ways to contribute,” Marilyn said. “For every committee he’s on, he studies every issue thoroughly and makes sure every detail is covered. He has given his whole life not only to serving the city but also the county and the state. I do not ever foresee my husband ending his concern for our community.”

Becoming a Citizen of the Year will be a pleasant surprise for Ed, his wife said a few weeks before the announcement went public (only a handful of people know the recipient’s name before the city’s birthday party).

“Ed’s long history of sharing his time and talents and fully living life allows him to regale all with fascinating tales,” MacLeamy said.

“People have been thankful for him for a long time,” Marilyn said, “but he’s always been an under-the-radar kind of guy. We surprised him on his 50th and 65th birthdays – he was blown away at those – and I think this is going to be another really memorable surprise for him. This will be over the top because there are a lot of qualified people who have done a lot of good here.”

Despite all the civic commitments, Ed is still grounded in what matters most. These days it’s all about the grandkids. “He still has time for his family,” Marilyn said. “He knows that’s No. 1. He tries to make everyone happy. That’s our whole family … we thrive on love and being together.”

Story and photos by Brent Ainsworth

Main photo: Novato Citizen of the Year Ed Schulze with a proclamation from the California Legislature in his honor.