By Kevin Greer
Lakeside Communications Manager
Dennis Doolittle had originally planned to move to Ohio’s North Coast after retirement, but with a few years still left in his career, the move is happening sooner than expected.
He officially joined Lakeside Chautauqua as the new Vice President of Municipal Services on July 1, bringing with him several years of experience working at nonprofit organizations that are more than 150 years old.
“To be able to work at another facility that’s been around that long is rather amazing,” Doolittle said. “I’m very lucky because longevity is important to me. I like to have the ability to work on facilities and older structures that are historic. You need to have special knowledge and care to maintain those buildings.”
Before coming to Lakeside, Doolittle served as Supervisor for Maintenance at Blanchard Valley Hospital in his hometown of Findlay, Ohio. After 22 years there, he became Director of Operations at Findlay City Schools, where he played a major role in several projects, including the construction of three new schools.
In his position at Lakeside, Doolittle is responsible for overseeing maintenance and custodial operations, working on capital improvement projects, helping preserve the historical integrity of the buildings and serving on advisory boards to make sure funds are used properly. He’s also charged with maintaining and preserving Lakeside’s infrastructure, including utilities, roads and the lakeshore. After just four weeks on the job, he already has a list of priorities.
“I think we need to get a process for improvement inked on paper and identify the highest and the most drastic needs,” Doolittle said. “There are projects that are currently underway, so those will continue to progress. The goal was to evaluate all our properties and facilities and get them on a schedule for repair and continue that improvement process. Maintaining what we have is a critical part of the plan.”
Doolittle remembers coming to Lakeside at a young age. His uncle, Rev. Bill Patterson, was in the West Ohio Conference for The United Methodist Church.
Doolittle and his wife, Shauna, and daughter, Katie, have been visiting the area for several years. They camped in Berlin Heights and different sites on the Marblehead Peninsula before buying a mobile home on Catawba Island for weekend getaways.
While they’ll still enjoy boating on Lake Erie, Doolittle is excited to spend more time in Lakeside as a full-time Marblehead resident and engage in all four pillars of the Chautauqua experience.
“I think that during the process of deciding to come here was understanding the life enrichment that I would be able to get out of being an employee and enjoying the things that are here,” Doolittle said. “I look at this not just as a job or a career. This as an opportunity to give back to a community that helps us and gives the best environment and opportunities.”
