Novato Celebrates 2019 Citizen Of The Year

NOVATO, CA — Dale Kline worked at 78 rpm (look it up, kids) to help with the setup for the Novato City Birthday Party on Friday, Jan. 31, wrapping up hours of heavy lifting with some welcoming handshakes to the earliest of the well-coifed attendees. When it's Game Day, Dale always does his best to keep a welcoming smile on his face even as the sweat drips off his brow.

After assisting the restaurants, wineries, and breweries in putting out their “Taste of Novato” spread at the annual gala at Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Dale went into the auditorium with a few hundred others to hear the surprise announcement of the 2019 Novato Citizen of the Year award. He was to take a quick bow with other members of the City Birthday Party organizing committee, watch the surprise announcement of the Citizen of the Year, then dart back out of the auditorium for more “Taste of Novato” preparation.

But to Dale’s astonishment, former mayor Jeanne MacLeamy announced before several hundred revelers that the 2019 Novato Citizen of the Year was Dale Kline.

A fine evening of bussing tables and scraping food off plates was promptly ruined.

Dale, a Novato resident and Certified Super Volunteer since 1998, felt lucky that he had untied his apron in the main ballroom and put on a jacket before entering the auditorium. When his name was called, walked past the clapping masses giving him a standing ovation, and graciously accepted a trove of plaques and fancy certificates. The honor was the perfect complement to his 2018 Novato Chamber of Commerce Volunteer of the Year award & a Rotary Club Paul Harris award now being funded in his honor.

Amid the accolades, he looked to his left and saw all the family and closest friends who lined up against the auditorium wall and waiting to storm the stage. They were in on the big secret and hid in a back room before the announcement was made. Dale’s wife, Joan, had masterfully choreographed the plan with the Citizen of the Year committee. The group included his father, Jerry, and stepmother, Daphne, who flew in from the East Coast for the Citizen of the Year announcement.

“My first reaction was one of mixed emotions,” Dale said later. “While I’m honored and feel incredibly blessed to be recognized, there are several people that I feel are at least equally, if not more, deserving.”

Having none of that talk, Jeanne MacLeamy easily listed Dale’s qualifications. She is a past Citizen of the Year and board president of the nonprofit Paint the Town Red, Inc., which hosts the party.

“The breadth of his talents is extraordinary,” MacLeamy said. “He enthusiastically volunteers for a variety of community activities, and he follows through calmly, skillfully and collaboratively, which makes him a valuable member of any team.”

Dale knows how to adapt to any situation, and that’s apparently his key to keeping cool during his two-decade run as a civic MVP. He has been answering the call of community service with the multitasking efficiency of a 1940s switchboard operator, thoroughly impressing the Citizen of the Year committee – which is, most logically, comprised of past Citizens of the Year.

How did Dale earn such respect in his adopted hometown? His wife said Dale’s volunteer spirit probably came from his mother, Darleen Kline. In the 1960s when the family lived in Winslow, Arizona, she worked at the famous Hubbell Trading Post, now a national historic landmark. She encouraged Dale to learn the Navajo language, and he did.

The Klines then moved to western Australia, where Dale’s stepfather was based in the U.S. Navy. As a teen, Dale excelled in sports Down Under and even learned how to fly gliders. He grew up faster than he wanted to, though, when his stepfather was killed in a car crash. Dale, his brother, and his mother moved to San Diego to regroup and re-start their lives.

“Growing up, I saw my mother fight through a diagnosis of cancer at 28, deal with the unexpected loss of her mother at 30, and suddenly become a single mother of two boys due to the death of her husband at 33,” Dale said. “Through it all she not only was the rock that held our family together, but also the first person to help friends and family member face serious challenges of their own. It may seem hard to believe, but until this moment I hadn’t realized that some of her devotion to serve others had somehow manifested itself in me.”

“She was a wonderful role model who was always there to help anyone in need,” Joan said of Darleen Kline. “Dale always used to say that if the ship is going down, you would want her in your lifeboat because she would do everything possible to make sure everyone was OK. I think her legacy lives on in Dale.”

Dale and Joan met at UC San Diego the summer before their freshmen years while they were in a program that bridged the gap between high school and college. They dated for five years while he studied biology and economics and got married in 1984 while Dale was a facility manager for Price Club, an early competitor of Costco.

With two young sons in tow, the Klines moved to Novato from Kirkland, Washington, in 1998 after Dale accepted an operations manager position with Marin Tug & Barge. As young Chris and Robert Kline went through Novato public schools, Dale always found time to coach their sports teams and volunteer on campus.

“Family is very important to Dale,” Joan said. “He would do anything to support his boys and our grandchildren. Dale would drop anything he’s doing if his family needed him.

“Dale always reminded me when I was being too easy on the boys that we’re raising future husbands and fathers and therefore I need to be more focused on what matters most for that goal instead of that moment. Now I think he is most proud of the incredible young men that they have become.”

In his professional career, Dale has owned and operated restaurants, run a furniture store, run a tugboat and barge company, and run a towing company. He’s worked with Sutter Insurance since 2005, lately as operations manager. On the side, he’s hustled for public school bond measures, served on the School Fuel & Chamber of Commerce boards, helped organize the City Birthday Party, assisted with the Relay for Life, and even judged at major chili cookoffs.

“He has brought his skills as an organizer and leader to every event he volunteers for and he always puts his heart and soul into each event,” Joan said. “Dale tries to put the needs of his community first, donating his free time to charitable endeavors by organizing, cooking, cleaning or doing whatever is needed to get the job done. He stands out as an amazing example of selflessness, positivity and vision.”

Dale’s friend MJ Lonson inspired him to put his skills to work in a more official way, gradually leading him to the board of the nonprofit School Fuel group. Joan said Dale was inspired by the selfless volunteer efforts of Elizabeth Sleath, Susan Mathews, Kathryn Hansen, and many others along the way. School Fuel’s signature annual fundraiser is the Tour of Novato, a festival each May that includes a fun bike ride around the city. Dale found his volunteering groove helping to run that event with dozens of other volunteers. He’s been the event director the past 10 years.

“Never in my life have I met more selfless individuals that I’m honored to have been able to volunteer with,” Kline said of his School Fuel cohorts.

Lonson tells the story of her first meeting with Dale at a Novato High School PTA session. They were to discuss the creation of Academic Boosters to support student learning and the need for technology teaching tools requested by teachers. Lonson knew getting Dale involved would be key to raising funds and outreach to the NHS community since he had been successful in elevating donations to NHS Sports Boosters. But Dale also wanted to add an after-school tutoring club if the PTA could raise funds beyond fulfilling the technology needs. Everybody was sold on the idea, and NHS Academic Boosters was born in 2009 with Dale as the chair.

“Besides being a valuable volunteer and someone you can always count on to get the job done, one of the best parts of working with Dale is the manner in which he assesses the plan and suggests and implements improvements,” Lonson said.

It was the same thing with the Tour of Novato, she said. He not only took the lead, but he worked to improve it every year. Despite the pressure to one-up the previous year’s event, Joan said she finds Dale oddly calm just before every Tour of Novato.

“I think this is because he is usually so organized and prepared,” she said. “He is always making lists for everything that needs to be done and checks them off one by one. I am the one who is crazy before each event, because I’m constantly asking him questions on the eve of the event, trying to make sure that nothing has been forgotten.”

The same goes for military veterans. Dale volunteered with Lonson and Hansen last November on Veterans Day, serving hot dogs and sausages to the vets who got free service at Matt & Jeff’s Car Wash.

“Dale grilled for the entire day, taking a vacation day from his work, to thank veterans for their service and reciprocate Matt & Jeff’s for their support of School Fuel since its inception,” Lonson said. “Dale has a heart of gold and is always there to lend a helping hand.”

Now, with a Key to the City plaque with his name on it, Dale Kline’s volunteerism won’t be forgotten, either – not now as he’s become a bit of a local legend.

“He gives wise counsel as a board member,” MacLeamy said. “He is a skilled event planner, a hot dog barbecue master, and a steadfast, passionate participant in youth activities and fundraising to benefit our schools. Rather than personal recognition, Dale’s reward comes with successful completion of a worthy goal that contributes mightily to the wellbeing of our community.”

With the influence of his mother as my foundation, Dale said it was his desire to be the man that his wife and children deserve that influenced who he is today.

“We all too often cast stones or rely upon someone else to step up and fix what we see as wrong or broken,” Dale said. “I choose to try and take constructive action to fix, or at least make better, the things I can.”

“His mother would have been so proud of him today,” Joan added.

— Written and submitted for publication by Brent Ainsworth