Weekly comments from Dale Martin

Dale Martin
City Manager
Fernandina Beach
April 1, 2016

Today marks my twentieth anniversary as a municipal manager. Although the title has changed as needed (Village Manager, Town Manager, City Manager), the duties and responsibilities have been similar. Never did I expect such an interesting career.

After serving as an infantry and intelligence officer and then separating from the Army in 1994, I believed that I was well-positioned to start a new career as a municipal manager: I had obtained my Master’s degree in public administration prior to serving and, with the military, I had some of the best leadership training available. Unfortunately, city governments really didn’t have much use for my ability to maneuver armored vehicles, call in airstrikes, or throw grenades (I learned quickly, though, that “catching” grenades is a necessary skill for managers). The first question in my sadly infrequent interviews was, “What is your budgeting experience?” My inevitable and truthful answer was “None.” The interviews didn’t last much longer.

While I was pursuing a municipal career, I had returned to work for a previous employer, the Detroit Pistons, assisting in that team’s retail operations. The organization knew that I was pursuing a different career, but it was wonderfully supportive of me and my young family during my search. While I continued to apply and hope for a municipal opportunity, the likelihood of landing such a position was becoming more remote. I opted to leave the Detroit Pistons and attempted a different career as an executive recruiter.

That was awful, so I won’t spend much time relating that experience. It didn’t take long for me to honestly assess that perhaps I needed to return to an apparent strength of retail operations. A new national home electronics store was moving into Michigan and sought store managers. I applied and began my training with that organization in September, 1995, earning a salary far exceeding anything I previously earned (especially as an Army lieutenant). My wife was happy that we were ready to move on with a real post-military career (throughout this period, we had been living with my brother).
At Thanksgiving, a family friend, who served as a community planner, inquired how my municipal efforts were going. I responded that I had set those efforts aside for the time being and I was taking a different path. He asked what, if any, applications I had unresolved and encouraged me to contact those communities when I resumed my training, which was in Wilmington, Delaware, after Thanksgiving.

I called the Village Clerk in Lexington, Michigan (population 800), and was informed that the review process had not formally started. I half-heartedly indicated that I remained interested. Surprisingly, a few days later, I was invited to an interview later in December. Now, working retail doesn’t leave many opportunities for time off around Christmas, but ironically, my only scheduled day off was the day of the interview. I drove back to Michigan throughout the night, cleaned up, went to the interview, loaded up with coffee, wrote thank-you notes, and drove through a blizzard in Pennsylvania in order to make it back to work the following day.

After Christmas, I was called back for a second interview, and was offered the job. With my wife’s reluctant blessing, I took the job and the associated fifty percent reduction in pay. I was now a Village Manager.

I later came across the files associated with the search process. Interestingly, when the seven members of the search committee had been asked to list their leading candidates, my name did not appear on any list. When I asked as to how I was then selected for an interview, I was told that one of the Village Council, a veteran of the Battle of the Bulge, argued that I should be extended the courtesy of an interview because he understood the leadership and management skills necessary to be an infantry officer and that the community should at least schedule an interview. So my career began thanks to the Honorable (now deceased) Ernie Jackson.

The first question that I fielded in my career was “How many chickens can I keep in town?” The variety of questions, people, and issues hasn’t stopped since April 1, 1996. Perhaps I am the fool, but I truly enjoy this exciting field of building relationships and communities and look forward to the next twenty years.

Many people, in addition to Mr. Jackson in Lexington, in my subsequent communities of Linden, Dowagiac, and Davison, Michigan, and Winchester, Connecticut, have had a remarkable influence upon me. While I miss several of those mentors, friends, and peers, I expect that I will form many similar bonds with the people of Fernandina Beach.

Thank you for the opportunity to mark my twentieth anniversary with you and to serve this wonderful community.