Linsey Dale ready for a new challenge
EStaff Writer closelyL CENTRO -- After spending more than a decade working with the agricultural community of the Imperial Valley, executive director of the Imperial County Farm Bureau Linsey Dale is looking forward to a new and different challenge and serving her community at a different capacity.
At the end of the year, Dale is set to leave her current role at the Farm Bureau, and move across Broadway where she will take over as the new Public Information Officer for the county of Imperial starting in January.
Dale said she is the type of person who seeks new challenges on a regular basis and when the opportunity came she sensed it was a good challenge to take on.
“I have a great love for this Valley. An opportunity to represent the entire county is very appealing to me,” she said. “The opportunity to use the skills that I’ve gained here through communications and my relationships with the media and the opportunity to represent the entire community seems to be a perfect fit.”
She will begin her new job on Jan. 2, and her duties will include developing a comprehensive public outreach program that includes maintaining a social media presence, producing marketing and promotional materials and disseminating information to the media.
Dale will also be in charge of a range of media relations functions for all of the county departments. She will replace Rebecca Terrazas-Baxter, who is now working as the county’s Intergovernmental Relations Director.
As thrilled as she is regarding her next step in her career, Dale said it’s difficult to leave the Farm Bureau which has been a big part of her life. She began at the Farm Bureau back in 2006, when she began as the Natural Resources Director until being selected to lead the bureau in 2009.
“As excited as I am to go to the county, at the same time I also kind of tear up when I think about leaving Farm Bureau because this has been my family,” Dale said. “The great thing about my position is that it has never been a job for me it has been more of a lifestyle.”
Among the most important accomplishments that have taken place during her tenure at the bureau is an improved relationship with the Imperial Irrigation District and a growing number of members.
Earlier this month the California Farm Bureau Federation recognized ICFB for their excellence in membership during the federation’s annual meeting.
“We have expanded our membership to a level I would never think it was possible but we did and I’m very proud of that,” she said. “I think it is because of our work here, people are joining Farm Bureau because they know we are representing them well.”
Though the responsibilities will be different, Dale already has a working relationship with most department heads of the county and has experience working on issues related to the Salton Sea and air quality, increasingly important issues for the months to come.
In coming weeks, she will provide guidance when required by the ICFB board as they go through the process of filling her position, and as far as the county is concerned she has begun to have some preliminary discussions with some county officials.
In addition to her eagerness for the new job, Dale is also excited to get to work under the new leadership of recently appointed County Executive Officer Tony Rouhotas Jr.
“I think the county has great challenges ahead but to be able to work under the new CEO at a time when things are changing is exciting,” She said. “I think you’re going to see a whole change at the CEO level. It’s going to be exciting to part of that change at the same time.”
Dale said she likes the humble, level-headed leadership that Rouhotas will bring into the position, and expects to similarly surround herself with knowledgeable individuals to aid her in comprehending and disseminating the information adequately.
Her love for the community and desire to be involved is a trait that runs deep in the family as her husband Geoff Dale has been a member of the Imperial City Council for a number of years.
“It’s important for us to give back to the community that raised us, and to help make this area better,” she said. “I think it’s very important for everyone to get involved, and for everyone to recognize that we all have a stake in this county to make it better whether it is our individual cities or the collective county. It just comes naturally to both of us.”