Don Domina, KCØDE, Administration Section Chief
Don was born in Washington, DC son of a career Army Officer. His parents were rural MA. natives. Don has lived in Texas, Germany, Massachusetts, New York City, Hawaii, and New Jersey as a military dependent. He was first licensed as a ham (Novice) in Hawaii. Don has three younger brothers who all live in WI, where his dad, a hospital administrator, retired after his Army career.
Following an unsuccessful college attempt, Don did factory work for two years. He always wanted to get into broadcasting and landed his first job in commercial radio as News Director of 1KW AM in Orange, MA. After about 18 months, Don and his wife moved to Vermont for a similar position. She was an elementary school teacher. Don also worked part-time for the Associated Press and Boston Globe, providing stories and copy from northern New England.
In 1981 Don decided to change careers in order to boost his income. He took a position as a marketing copywriter and photographer for a local welding equipment manufacturer. He produced literature, ads, and tradeshows.
Don went back to college and received a BA in Journalism from Johnson State College in VT. He then continued on and received an MBA in Marketing from the University of New Hampshire in 1988.
Don’s career continued with the manufacturer, and he was promoted to Marketing Manager in the mid-’80s. The company was sold to a venture capital group, and all sales and marketing was centralized in St. Louis, MO. Don relocated there with his family in 1988. The company went through 7 “public/private” transitions with several owners over the years. In 1995, Don was named V.P. of Sales and Marketing for one of the divisions with responsibility for $75M in sales and about 60 reports. Don became V.P. of International Sales in 1999 and traveled the world. Sales responsibility was about $100M. He became EVP of Sales for the Americas in 2003 and was responsible for all sales, customer service, and technical support for North, Central, and South America, along with the Caribbean. Total sales were more than $500M. Don had a reporting structure of about 300 people. Seeking to slow down a bit, Don took a role as V.P. of Sales/Operations for Central/South America. He lead the closure of a manufacturing facility in Brazil, the start of a new venture in Mexico, and the consolidation and acquisition of companies in Italy, South Africa, India, and Dubai.
Don’s wife of 25 years, passed away in 1999 at the age of 48 from brain cancer, and he was tasked with raising two teenagers. It had its rough spots, but they are great people and doing very well today.
Don took early retirement at 62 as the company was about to be sold again. He had 32 years with the same company, albeit through many different iterations.
Don was re-licensed in 2013 and got his Extra ticket the next year. Don remains a member of his original club in MO and regularly talks with his Elmer. Rose (Don’s partner) and Don had been vacationing in FL and decided to look for a second home. They landed in Cape Coral and joined FMARC in 2014. In 2015 it became Don’s only home as he sold his house in MO.