FIVE ELVES OF INTEREST
The TIRELESS HELPER
Named Dale Hoffa’s Control Room, the surveillance center at the Martin County Courthouse is home to video screens for viewing of 84 cameras. As his
day job, Hoffa has spent the last 10 years behind the scenes, monitoring courthouse security and setting schedules for 27 deputies.
STORY AND PHOTOS BY GREG GARDNER
H. Dale Hoffa’s 15-hour days center on his mission
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to send healthy children to Martin County
schools.
As executive director of Children’s Emergency
Resources Inc., Hoffa has single-handedly grown the organization
over the past 30 years from a shoebox to this year’s
budget of $70,000 with $69,000 going directly to children for
everything from eyeglasses to prescription medicines.
In addition to his passion for CER, Hoffa is a 32-degree
Mason in the Scottish Rites, ushers at his church and works
a 40-hour week overseeing security at the Martin County
Courthouse. He will retire at the end of the year after 10 years
on the job as the department’s oldest employee. He will be 84.
“Dale has the energy of someone half his age,” says Martin
County Sheriff Robert L. Crowder. “He has been around.
It’s the wisdom of his years. He has clear insight, and I have
asked for his advice. He’s a thoughtful and caring person. We
are going to miss him.”
During the week, Hoffa is likely to have nightly engagements
such as a church dinner, a meeting at the Acacia
Masons Lodge in Stuart or a CER board meeting. After work,
Hoffa stops at some of the 35 boxes around Stuart as he picks
up spent printer cartridges for recycling. Since the program
began five years ago, it has produced more than $2,500 annually
for CER, and the list of boxes is growing with libraries
and attorneys getting into the act.
“He has a huge amount of contacts and he seems to know
everyone,” says Chris Smith, owner of Photographics in Stuart,
where Hoffa drops off the inkjet cartridges. Every weekday,
Hoffa makes some pickups at lunchtime before heading
to his Palm City home to let out his tiny dog, Mr. Jingles.
A master fundraiser, Hoffa raised $17,000 for CER from its
golf tourney this year. His all-day Music-Thon sponsored by
the Treasure Coast Music Teachers Association raises several
thousand more. His recent golf tournament for Acacia Mason
Lodge raised more than $13,000 for Martin County High
School students.
“I have worked with many non-profit organizations, and I
have never seen anyone like him,” says Linda Grand, a board
member who handles public relations for CER. “He makes a
phone call and people break out their checkbooks. He is the
organization. He’s unbelievable. The stamina and energy that
he brings to the board really motivates them and anyone else
involved. He takes over the room.
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A SEASON OF CELEBRATION