Meeting Speaker for Monday, November 4, 2013

Dale Carlsen, this week’s speaker, is a true Sacramento native and graduate of Sacramento State.  In 1985 he founded a new business, Sleep Train, just one year after graduation. Now he is a Sacramento success story, having grown the employee-owned mattress retailer from that first store and a few employees to a multi-branded company with more than 280 stores and nearly 1,500 employees. Today, Sleep Train is the West Coast’s number one mattress retailer and number four nationwide. Sleep Train is also the only employee-owned mattress retailer in the country; #1 overall in the west and fourth largest in the nation.

When the community needed help Dale and the company was there to help.  See a nationally televised King’s Game, and you will see the name Sleep Train Arena prominently displayed.  

He has been honored by our own CSU Sacramento who conferred an honorary Doctorate in Humanities this past May.  This followed Ernst & Young last year choosing Dale Carlsen as the 2012 Northern California Entrepreneur of the Year.  The award recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment to their businesses and communities.  In between the Sacramento Chamber of Commerce chose Dale as the 2012 Sacramentan of the Year.

For over 25 years, Sleep Train’s company philosophy has been committed to giving back to the community. By action they have backed up their belief that their success is not measured by the bottom line alone.  Sleep Train strives to make a difference in the lives of foster children thru there constant renewal of their support and making their stores an outstanding receptacle for donations.  Over 60,000 California children find themselves living in foster care at any given time, many of which have entered with little to no possessions. While foster parents are paid a monthly stipend to help support the costs of raising a child, that stipend would need to increase by an average of 46% to meet all of the needs of a growing child.

Sleep Train’s collection drives help foster organizations and parents immediately provide essential items that all children need. When foster children receive these new clothes, shoes, pajamas and school supplies, it creates a positive experience in what can be a challenging or frightening time. To date, Sleep Train has donated hundreds of thousands of important material items and raised over $2.6 million through the Sleep Train Charity Golf Classic for foster children and at-risk youth.

Dale and his wife, Dr. Katy Carlsen, a pediatrician, have two children and together enjoy numerous snow activities, traveling, boating and flying.