Dale was born in Monrovia, Alabama and has family roots stretching back several generations.  A graduate of Sparkman High School, Dale holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Athens State University and received his EMT license from the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

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Dale grew up working in his father’s country store. Serving the local farmers meant waking up before dawn to work in the store before heading to school. Horace Strong, Dale’s father, also drove the school bus and later bought a bus to take school and church groups on charter trips. Dale and his Dad grew that tour bus business to 8 busses taking groups from north Alabama all across our country. Driving those busses put Dale, his brother, and his sister through college.

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After graduating from Athens State Dale worked for First Alabama Bank and then as a Pharmaceutical Sales Representative. A lifelong volunteer fireman Dale continued to work as a first responder and as a 911 Dispatcher as well as with Huntsville Emergency Medical Services (HEMSI) and Huntsville Med-Flight.  Dale continues to serve as an active member of the Monrovia Volunteer Fire Department as a firefighter and EMT answering hundreds of emergency calls a year.

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Dale’s commitment to saving lives was recognized when he was awarded the Medal of Valor for his service during the devastating tornado on Airport Road in Huntsville in November of 1989.

When the time came, Dale stepped up to the plate to serve his community during a time of tragedy.

In 1999 Dale married Laura Toney and they have been married for 21 years.  Laura is a nurse and began dating Dale when she worked in the Huntsville Hospital Emergency Room. Dale and Laura have two children, Whitney who attends Auburn University, and Harrison who is a student at Westminister Christian Academy.  Dale’s children are being raised in the Mt. Zion Baptist Church – the same church family he shared growing up.

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In 1996 Dale was the youngest Republican elected official in the State of Alabama serving as a Commissioner for District 4 on the Madison County Commission. Running on a pledge to fix deadly intersections Dale did that and much more. He installed new tornado sirens across his community as well as new community centers, ball fields, and those wider and safer intersections. Dale’s leadership was tested and shone through during the massive April 27, 2011, Super Tornado Outbreak that struck all across Alabama including Harvest, Alabama, and across western Madison County.  It is now known as the worst natural disaster in our state’s history.  More than 350 homes were destroyed throughout his community and nine people lost their lives.

Dale who is not shy to walk into a fire nor storm led the remarkable clean-up and rebuilding efforts where more than 500,000 cubic yards of debris was removed in record time. While other politicians held press conferences, Dale led a volunteer effort at the Monrovia Community Center that fed thousands who lost all power for a week. Dale didn’t wait for the government to act. He organized church groups to help clear debris, cook meals, and provide generators to seniors that needed them to keep medical devices working until power could be restored.  

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In 2012 Dale was the first Republican elected as Chairman of the Madison County Commission. Pledging to “Do more with Less” Dale put those words into action reducing the county workforce by making departments more efficient and bringing sound financial management. He reinvested those funds to build new roads and schools across Madison County without raising taxes. Dale also brought his Christian values to the Commission and began featuring a prayer before each meeting. And working with Governor Ivey, Dale brought leaders together from across North Alabama to help recruit projects like Toyota Mazda, Polaris, Facebook, Blue Origin, and GE Aviation. He has worked alongside Senator Richard Shelby and Congressman Mo Brooks to support Redstone Arsenal and Research Park which helped bring the FBI and Space Command to Alabama.