Don Warner '76
Personal Philosophy
Regrets? I have none. I have done many things, and made many decisions in my life, that I would do, or make, differently now. But, to have done anything differently in my past would certainly have led me to a different place than I am now. Many of us have experiences in our lives that we believe if we had done things a little differently; it would have changed things for the better. But.., we can't know that for sure. It is just as likely things could have been for the worse.
So, the question of regrets, or not, seems to me to be more a measure of how one feels about where they are now, and the roles that prior decisions have played in getting to this point. I am very happy with where I am. Every decision and choice that I have made, good or bad, has led me here. Thus, I view every good and bad decision I have made as an essential part of who I am today. In my mind, a cause for celebration, not regret.
One of my mother's best remembered sayings is, "...can't never did anything...". It has stayed with me throughout my life. Every time I start thinking that something that I believe should happen can't happen, I remind myself of what she used to say. I believe Henry Ford is credited with the quote "...if you think you can, or if you think you can't do something, in either case you are probably right...", which I must credit UT President Lloyd Jacobs for frequently referring to. I couldn't agree more. To believe that something can't or will never happen only assures that it won't happen for you.
In a word, I believe in the saying that "attitude leads to altitude". Complaining rarely leads to success.
Educational Facts
- 1970 graduate of Clay High School
- 1976 graduate of UT's College of Engineering with a BSEE
- Post-graduate coursework in Power Systems Analysis at UT
Personal Facts
I have been married to Connie for nearly 14 years. She has been my greatest inspiration over that period.
I have also been fortunate to have had the best step-daughter I could imagine. Katie graduated in 2004 from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, and she and her husband Matt (Yarder) are both professionals employed in the Toledo area. My wife and I spend a lot of time with them, and enjoy their company tremendously.
Memorable College Experiences
While I made many lifelong friends in my engineering classes, I also have benefited from the many friends that I made by being involved in extra-curricular activities.
My interest in audio systems led me to get involved with the on-campus student programming organization during my time at UT. I learned a great deal about sound, lighting and staging systems, a fact that led me to my first job upon graduation. The many people I met from all parts of the university and the community has enriched my life to this day.
Basketball has also been a big part of my life since my high school days. I played throughout college, and still play today as my favorite form of exercise. Over the years my involvement in the sport has expanded my sphere of friends and acquaintances significantly.
I also had the best part-time student job on campus during my years of study - night-time building manager at the Student Union.
Professional History
Upon graduation in December, 1976, I started my first job, working for UT as operations manager at the newly opened Centennial (now Savage) Hall. Over a period of 4.5 years, I oversaw maintenance and housekeeping operations at the hall. My prior experience in concert and performing arts productions, particularly with sound and lighting systems, is what got me the job, and I enjoyed working on major concerts by artists such as Elvis, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Kenny Rogers, John Denver, and many more.
After working at UT for 3 years, I went back to school in the UT COE, taking the Power Systems Analysis series of courses at night over the period of a year. During the 3rd term, I met an undergraduate student in the class, who was interning at SSOE at the time. He informed that SSOE was looking for engineers, and shortly thereafter, in August, 1981, I started my 26+ year career with the company.
I got my PE license (Ohio) in July, 1983, and my career was off and running. During the next dozen years or so, I worked on projects for many fortune 500 clients, many in the automotive and glass sectors. Working for clients such as Honda, Toyota, GM, Ford, O-I, W.R. Grace, etc., allowed me to develop my engineering and leadership skills, eventually leading me to a manager's position. In addition to managing an electrical design group, I had the pleasure of serving as a project manager/director on a number of major projects for Honda and Toyota.
In 2001, I became a principal shareholder with SSOE, being promoted to Vice President. The next year I was further promoted to Director of Quality for the company, with Training & Development responsibilities added a year later.
Even though I was involved in many exciting and interesting projects, which afforded me great opportunities to demonstrate my engineering capabilities, my greatest accomplishment has been in being able to help younger people develop and advance their careers. This might sound easy and simple, but the people skills required are not taught in engineering schools, so I had to do some learning and developing myself to get to a point where I was capable of helping others.
At SSOE, we have moved way beyond the traditional hiring of students as "gophers", to strategically integrating a significant number of them into our design and engineering workforce. We have successfully implemented a performance based student scholarship program that rewards high-performing students with additional financial support for their education. The results have been win x5-SSOE, the students, UT, the region, and our clients are all winners.
Career Influences
- Al Samborn - SSOE's founder, and a retired UT professor.
- Roger Rodgers - a past SSOE Electrical Division Manager.
- Tony Damon - SSOE's current CEO and longstanding colleague of mine.
Community Involvement
- UT Alumni Association - board member
- UT College of Engineering Alumni Affiliate - board member
- UT Science & Technology Corridor - board member
- UT College of Business Executive Center for Global Competitiveness - advisory board member
- Junior Achievement - board member
- Toledo EPIC Young Professional Organization - steering committee member
- UT College of Engineering 75 Year Anniversary - steering committee member
Awards
- UT College of Engineering - 2007 Distinguished Alumnus
- IEEE Toledo Section - 2007 Engineer of the Year Award
- TST/TSPE - 2008 Toledo Engineer of the Year Award
