The Dash Board
In the midst of his battle with
cancer, Don decided to launch a
political career and entered the race
for the Weatherford College Board of
Trustees last year, and he won.
It was truly the first time Don
Allen ever ran for anything. Why
now?
“Well, I have time now,” Don
said. “And, I love the college; it’s
just one day a month at lunch.
There’s not any controversy going
on right now. I felt that it is time
that I give back; I have time to give
back to them. My motto is, ‘Never
do anything that you have to get
voted on to do,’ because there may
be enough people show up. I was
very impressed that I received almost
3,000 votes.”
I couldn’t resist asking, “Are
politics something that you have
always secretly longed to do?”
Don’s eyebrows lifted and he
replied, “Oh hell no. I’m not good at
politics.”
Don’s decision to run for his
seat on the board began when Mac
started talking about it and eventually
they both decided to run.
“[I] just thought that I wanted to
do it,” Don said. “I like it. It’s very
interesting; I have been on several
boards before, but I just love the
college.”
Don insists he didn’t have any
particular mission, agenda or specific
cause when he decided to run for a
position on the board.
“None … beyond just to be fair
and whatever I do, do it in the best
interest of the college,” Don said.
“That wouldn’t be hard. There are
great people on the board, and we
have a great president.”
Of Don, Mac said, “We live in a
world where there are a lot of smoke
and bells and whistles. Don is a
throwback to an earlier time when a
handshake meant something. He’s a
good example.”
In a sense, after working for so
long in management at Jerry’s, Don
has already been in the field of
higher education for decades.
“I’m proud that I can watch
people start their careers with us and
grow in this business,” Don said.
“Being able to watch what these kids
can do is something I love. When
they get really good at what they do,
and I know that I was a part of it in
some way, that’s good. I’m down to
being the grandpa of giving advice.
It is kind of like being a coach, it
really is rewarding because we have
had a lot of good people go through
here, and we have a lot of good
people here now that I am just really
proud of and Jerry is too. We have
been so fortunate to have worked
with so many good people.”
Although Don is obviously an
introvert, he is definitely a people
person.
“I like the people. There is always
some kind of challenge,” Don said.
“It is always about doing whatever
you have to do to make the customer
happy. We have four service
departments that see over 100 people
Continued on page 81
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