For Dan and Linda Dipert, Arlington truly represents a place where the couple has been able to live their American Dream.

The Dipert family formed the Dan Dipert Family Fund to benefit causes throughout The American Dream City. The fund currently supports the AISD Education Foundation, where Dan helped establish an endowment to help students and educators with classroom grants. Dan also served two terms as a trustee on the AISD Board of Trustees.

"The name, The American Dream City, was invented for stories like myself, and there are hundreds of them in this city," Dan Dipert said. "I can't imagine having the opportunity any place else."

"Arlington has been The American Dream City for me since I came in 1979," Linda Dipert said. "What I think is special about Arlington is the diversity. Arlington is the second most diverse city in the state, the fifth most diverse school district in the state and the fifth most diverse university in the country."

In 1972, Dan Dipert purchased a small travel agency and built it into a multi-million-dollar travel and tour business that is among the safest and most respected motor coach charter operators in the country. Through the years, Dipert has received the Mid-Cities Entrepreneurial Achievement Award by The University of Texas at Arlington and the Star Award by the Arlington Chamber of Commerce in 2015.

Linda Dipert is the Founding Member of Women Inspiring Philanthropy, a non-profit group of women seeking to transform lives in the Arlington area through philanthropy. The non-profit group has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars throughout the Arlington community, focusing on culture, education, environment, family and health and wellness. This includes a $50,000 donation to the Star of Texas Art Project, a popular public art campaign unveiled by the City and the Arlington Museum of Art in 2015.

Linda is also the founder and board member of the International Folk Art Market at Arlington. She loved her experience at the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market so much that she decided to bring the event home with her to UT Arlington in 2017. The International Folk Art Market will return to Arlington for its second year, where more than 40 master folk artists from 30 different countries will exhibit and sell their handmade artworks. The three-day market, set for June 14-16, 2018, will be held at The Green at College Park on UT Arlington campus.

In 2017, the Arlington ISD Board of Trustees officially named the Arlington ISD Career and Technical Center the Arlington ISD Dan Dipert Career and Technical Center. The state-of-the-art facility offers students programs in animation, architecture, automotive, biomedical science, broadcasting, cosmetology, construction, culinary/hospitality, engineering, entrepreneurship, Fire Academy, graphic design, health sciences, horticulture, information technology, law enforcement, photography, precision manufacturing and welding.

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