"A man of high integrity and great compassion, impeccable business credentials, and a sound knowledge of the Twelve Step recovery program."

Conley was describing Dick Kling, his successor as Board chair at Hazelden. And while he was not citing directly from the official job description, his summary of Kling really captures some of the core traits desired in this unpaid, volunteer leadership position.

Kling, who took over as chair on May 25, is a retired executive from Plymouth, Minn., who spent nearly 40 years at American Express Financial Advisors (AEFA) and its predecessor Investors Diversified Services (IDS). He was Senior Vice President-Products at AEFA with responsibility for all major product lines, and he was president and CEO of IDS Life Insurance Company and chairman of IDS Property Casualty Company and American Express Certificate Company.

Kling is the leader of the Board, which is the overall governing body of Hazelden entrusted to set the mission, values and key policies of the organization. The Board provides oversight and advice to Hazelden operations.

Kling is a man in recovery who simply wants to give back. "When I was preparing to retire a couple of years ago, I was looking at how I might become more involved in helping others recover from this disease," said Kling. "Hazelden is the best at helping people recover. It's a mission-driven organization that can have a huge impact, and that's the reason I'm here."

Indeed, the goals of Kling and Hazelden are in sync. Kling joined the Board in 2000 and during the past several years has helped develop a Hazelden strategic plan that focuses on helping more people recover with the best possible outcomes. His agenda is simple: To help Hazelden implement its strategic plan, which includes significant expansion to increase the number of patient beds and a continuing care initiative designed to improve long-term recovery.

"With our expansion in Center City, and possibly New York and Florida, we have opportunities to impact many lives," he said. "These are huge challenges for Hazelden. These are large and expensive projects that will take a lot of hard work and dedication from staff and board members. Clearly, we have a very ambitious strategic plan, and in order to succeed it will require the support of our many constituencies, especially our faithful alumni and donors."

Commitment is something Kling excels at. He celebrates 30 years of sobriety in September. He has been a board member for Help Enable Alcoholics/Addicts Receive Treatment (HEART), a group that helps individuals who lack financial resources receive addiction treatment. He also helped establish an employee assistance effort at IDS that increased awareness about addiction and improved access to recovery services for employees and families.

In addition to Kling's volunteer service to Hazelden, he is a volunteer tax preparer for elderly and low-income people who need help preparing their income tax returns. Kling is a graduate of Cretin High School in St. Paul and achieved his BA from the College of St. Thomas in St. Paul. He is a fellow of the Society of Actuaries, a certified financial planner, and a graduate of the University of Michigan Executive Program.

"Hazelden has been extremely privileged to have had the outstanding Board leadership of Mike Conley and now Dick Kling," said Ellen Breyer, president and CEO of Hazelden. "Mike served as our Board chair from 1999-2001 and stepped in to serve a second term as Board chair two years ago when Larry Osnes was unable to complete his term. Without Mike's leadership, we would not be in the position to grow that we're in now.

"Dick is a man who truly cares and wants to see Hazelden succeed. If Hazelden succeeds, that means we will help more people recover, and that is really what drives Dick. I look forward to working with him, the rest of the Board, and Hazelden staff and friends to help bring the miracle of recovery to more and more people."

--by Marty Duda

Published in The Voice - Summer 2005