Dale Jones — a revered name from Culver City’s past that was invoked twice at last night’s City Council meeting — offered a soothing coda this afternoon to the rumble over the Sister Cities Committee’s revised relationship with City Hall.
After digesting the Council’s plan to make the Committee pay for its own liability insurance while continuing the yearly funding at the same rate of $14,000, Mr. Jones said:
“I think Sister Cities will be fine, as long as the insurance does not cost an arm and a leg. I can’t imagine the insurance being more than $3,000. But we will have to wait. They may have to hold a fundraiser or two, which they haven’t done since I was there.”
Now living in retirement in Arizona, 17 years after leaving Culver City, Mr. Jones remains active with the exchange program here.
For the last 25 years, Mr. Jones has been heavily involved in Japanese portions of Sister Cities, arranging dinners and funding that aids two orphanages in Mexico.
‘The True Meaning’
Steve Rose, the strongest force on the City Council for uprooting and changing the historic relationship, called Mr. Jones “the heart and soul of Sister Cities. His involvement is about the true meaning of Sister Cities, human being to human being.”
Mr. Jones said he does not know how much of its $14,000 allocation the Committee uses for programming and what the balance would be, if any, to pay for the new insurance expense.
Members of Sister Cities, he said, “are of an age where it is difficult for them to raise funds.”
From 1967 to 1991, Mr. Jones was the longest serving Chief Administrative Officer in Culver City history.
“I was very active in the Sister Cities in Culver City,” he said, “but since my retirement, I only bring friends of friends from Japan who will donate to the orphanage funds.
“They spend about $20.000 in Culver City when they come and give money to the orphan funds .
Their Itinerary
“They stay in Culver hotels, eat in Culver and host a dinner for 100 people at the Radisson Hotel in Culver City.
“It does not cost the Sister City one nickel. The only expense to the city is that someone must type a proclamation naming them an honorary citizen.
“And the city gives them a police escort from their hotel in Culver City to the Radisson. Three blocks. We give them a plaque from the city, as does the Sister City. All paid for by the Japanese guest.
Willing Contributors
“If the city had asked for reimbursement for the police escort, they would pay for that as well.
“I have put the entire event together since 1983. Basically, I need help at the dinner to give out name tags, tell the guests what table they are sitting at, and I bring a musical tape with the National Anthems of both countries.
“Sister Cities charges each guest $15, as the Japanese have paid for the dinner. They can put this money in their operating fund.
Chasing Increased Funding
“Also, four or five years ago, the Sister Cities wanted more money. They adopted a resolution that gives them half of the first $1,000 given for the orphans, up to a $1,000 maximum for any one event.
“I didn’t like that. But I had no choice if I wanted to build the funds for the orphans. So with the dinner and this money they almost always make $2,000 when I have put on this event.
“Only once over the years,” said Mr. Jones, “can I remember where less than $1,000 was given.
“The most given was $10,000. This pretty much tells you my story about the orphans. We have saved the lives of hundreds of children. We have made a difference in their outlook.”
Orphan Connection
Orphans and their manner of upbringing have occupied a central role in Mr. Jones’s 76-year-old life. His father died before he was born, his mother when he was two years old. He grew up in an orphanage, under the aegis of the Masonic Lodge in Covina.