The Villager Newspaper Online Your Community News – Cleveland's Westshore
Dale H. and Betsy Smith have been named Mr. and Mrs. Westlake, 2026.
The announcement came at the city tree lighting event at Westlake City Hall Sunday evening.
Chris White, President of the Westlake Town Criers made the announcement as Mayor Dennis Clough commended the Smiths on their lifetime of service to the community.
“The City of Westlake is blessed to be an outstanding community and the credit goes to people like the Smiths who have always given back,” said the mayor.
Dale Smith is a lifelong resident of Westlake and a 1968 graduate of Westlake High. He reported to the full house in the city hall rotunda that his family settled in Westlake in 1936.
The Smiths have a long resume of service to the community. In the 70s and 80s, Dale served as an auxiliary officer for Westlake Police before continuing that lifelong passion to serve with the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office, Cleveland Clinic Protective Services and the Westshore Enforcement Bureau.
While raising his two sons, Dale spent much of the 90s volunteering with the Westlake Baseball League Board, including time as President.
Dale has also been a member of the Westlake Recreation Commission for almost 20 years. His vision of community service included finding a way for disabled children to enjoy baseball. He truly enjoyed watching those kids play a sport that they previously only could watch.
Dale has also been a part of the Recreation Center upgrade project, fitness room addition, Peterson Pool transformation, the upgraded Clague Park baseball fields, enhancement to Clague Park and the current work being done with the Meadowood Golf Course project.
Smith also had devoted much time as a sports official licensed for football, volleyball, track & field, and formerly basketball, baseball and softball.
“He does all these things not for the recognition, but to make his community a better place for everyone,” says the Town Crier nomination. “Through all this, Betsy has stood by his side and supported him for all these years and made sure that he truly felt it was worth it for the children and families of Westlake.
Click here for more photos.
