In December of last year, Dave Sletten accepted the position of Douglas County Administrator. It’s a new role that he’s taking on, but the work he’s doing is quite familiar to him. In fact, he’s technically been in the job longer than just a few months, and he’s been in training for it for much longer, in a sense.
“I began as interim administrator in February of last year,” Sletten said, “and I’ve been an employee with Douglas County since 2010. I began as an emergency planner and risk manager and eventually became in charge of 911 and buildings and grounds. I became well-versed in working with all departments on various events. I’ve basically been to all the different county properties, from our county highway shops to our forestry to parks and rec. I’ve worked hard in my time here within Douglas County.”
Sletten, who is a 2009 graduate of the University of Minnesota Duluth and holds a degree in Environmental Health and Safety, admitted perhaps somewhat self-deprecatingly that he only knew how to do about 20% of his job when he first came on, but he learned on the fly.
“We have one of the best departments within the state, as far as emergency management goes,” he said, “through my tenure, I gained [knowledge] through some of our flooding events and natural disasters. That put me in a great leadership role, and I learned a lot from that.”
The Fergus Falls-raised Sletten thought he was going to go into physical therapy in his younger days, but he found himself more intrigued by preventing injury than treating it. “We had these same contractors and individuals that kept getting hurt on the job,” he recalled. “That’s when I saw the job posting for the emergency planner and risk manager.”
“I like to be involved with things within the community,” Sletten said of his motivations. “I’m reminded of Denny Anderson, the WDIO news anchor – he always had the tagline of ‘Be kind,’ and my goal was always to have something like that. When I ended up taking the interim administrator role, I created my own: ‘Be good, do good.’ I’ve really lived by that. I try to do what I can to help others, whether that’s being involved with Rotary Clubs, community groups, coaching baseball – I seek to be a good role model.”
As far back as 2010, Sletten had thought that maybe one day he could hold the job he now holds. As he starts to settle in, he’s still learning more about the various departments and has created an initiative called “Douglas County Drive,” where he and other staffers take drives together and make videos that are meant to help teach viewers about what goes on in the county and why.
“I can connect with them, learn with them and then share with the community about the services they offer,” he said.
“I try to think differently,” Sletten said of his philosophy going forward. “Just because we’ve done something the way it’s been done for the past 20 years doesn’t mean we can’t change things.”
Whatever the future holds, Douglas County residents can be sure that Dave Sletten is out there, being kind and creative.
