A job for his wife brought Dale Slusser to Lawrence.

But it was his love of history and architecture that drew him to Old West Lawrence.

“The neighborhood is important to me, and, from my history of working in historic preservation, I really feel committed to doing what I can to make the best of our neighborhood,” Slusser said.

“So when I came here, I right away started going to (neighborhood) meetings and being involved. They needed a new president, and they cornered me into doing it,” he said, laughing.

You can read more about Slusser, the president of Old West Lawrence Neighborhood Assn., as World Online’s series on neighborhood leaders continues, at neighborhoods.lawrence.com.