DAHLEN HELPS ADDICTS RECOVER

Kermit Dahlen's senior profile from Lake Mills High School said something
like, "hopes to be a counselor and work with kids."

"Who knew?" laughed the president and chief executive officer of Jackson
Recovery Centers, who is celebrating 25 years with the leading provider of
addiction services in Siouxland.

Dahlen came to Sioux City from Des Moines where he was employed with the
state's Department of Substance Abuse.

"When the state began its licensing program, I did the first licensure
visit for Gordon Recovery, so I knew Bill and Marienne Jackson from that,"
he said referring to the founders of the treatment center.

"It really was my lifetime professional goal to work with kids in that kind
of atmosphere," he added. "When I heard they were looking for an executive
director, I applied."

Dahlen took the job in 1980, not knowing that the early '80s would be the
start of cutbacks for treatment programs. He did dispel the urban legend
that he and Bill Jackson did not take a salary so expenses could be met.

"Money was tough back then," he admitted. "There were many weeks when
myself and the bookkeeper would write one payroll check at a time while we
waited for the money to come in. It would be more accurate to say I would
delay my paycheck to make sure a staff member was paid.

"The legend about not getting paid -- Dr. Jackson did not get paid," Dahlen
noted. "He volunteered his time until the later years when we finally put
him on the payroll."

But Dahlen put an interesting spin on that, saying that he has been "paid"
in a lot of different ways through his association with Jackson Recovery
Centers.

"That's the other side of this business," he stressed, "the private support
from the community has been outstanding."

Dahlen also gave credit to Dr. William "Bill" Jackson and his late wife
Marienne, who founded Jackson Recovery Centers, Inc. in 1976. At that time
Siouxland had many adult addiction treatment options but lacked adolescent
services. The Jacksons decided the best way to meet those needs was to
create a new not-for-profit company.

"I just think they wouldn't accept failure as an option," Dahlen mused.

The Jacksons located their enterprise at the former Gordon Memorial
Hospital on West 19th Street. They used the name "Gordon" in honor of the
osteopathic hospital that closed in 1975 when the two major hospitals
accepted doctors of osteopathic medicine to their medical staffs.

Gordon Chemical Dependency Centers affiliated with St. Luke's Regional
Medical Center in 1989 and expanded to include the services of the
Siouxland Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. St. Luke's Gordon Recovery
Centers grew in its service area via a merger with MIADAC (Mid Iowa Alcohol
and Drug Abuse Council) to include Ida, Monona, Crawford, and Shelby counties.

In 1995, Dahlen became the driving force in the creation of the Women and
Children's Center in Sioux City. His unique approach was to allow the
children of the women who are in need of treatment to stay with their
mothers in a residential setting.

"Most people thought we were crazy, but we all knew it was the right thing
to do." Dahlen said of the agency's aggressive approach to addressing the
problem of addiction. "I knew if we could help one mom stay sober and
on-track, the impact on her children and the community would be incredible."

In 1998, it was determined that the best way to meet the addiction
challenges in Siouxland was to again have Gordon Recovery become an
independent, community-based not-for-profit, located at 800 Fifth Street.
In April of 2002 Bill Jackson retired as medical director. Marienne Jackson
had died in 1995. In recognition of their commitment to those who suffer
from addiction, the Gordon Recovery Centers was renamed Jackson Recovery
Centers, Inc. in 2002.

"Recovery" is actually a way of life for Dahlen, who called himself a
"functional alcoholic" just one year before coming to Sioux City.

"It was ironic I was training abuse counselors and going home at night and
drinking and hiding it, because I knew I couldn't be found out," he said.
"I often told Bill and Marienne how grateful I was they took a chance on a
person who had only been sober for one year."

In those 25 years with the same agency, Dahlen's duties have moved away
from therapy to more administrative, but he continues to interact with both
staff and clients.

"I want to make sure it's all about the people -- the staff, the clients,
our board. When I first came here, I did facilitate some group therapy," he
explained. "Now, I still make time to spend time with the patients and
watch them get better."

One success story Dahlen shared concerned a woman who used the recovery
center in 1980.

"I received a Christmas letter from a woman patient who used our services
on West 19th Street," he said. "She said she had been sober ever since, was
now married with children and just wanted to share her gratitude for what
we did for her."

He said with a nod, "That is the best reward you could ever have from this
job."