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  5. Caswell, Donald

Caswell, Donald

Dir of Education and Publications, Asst to International Pres.
Boilermakers
2007

I retired ten years ago and began visiting some of the many places I’d dreamed about seeing while I was working. COVID put an end to that. Now I’m volunteering my time to Mary Washington Elder Study, a nonprofit organization in Fredericksburg VA that provides educational programs for people of retirement age.

What impact has the HTUP had on your life/career?    Enormous. I had a two purposes for attending HTUP only four years before retiring. I’d recently been named director of education and hoped to broaden my understanding of what I could accomplish in that position in such a short time. I also hoped HTUP would help me learn how to identify a good replacement for me when I went. My time at HTUP accomplished both. I not only learned a great deal form the classes, but interacting with labor leaders from all around the world and from many different types of unions and industries helped me see my position through many other pairs of eyes. After returning to work, I was able to convince the Executive Council to authorize two new training programs, one for newly elected local lodge officers and the other an annual conference to educate representatives of locals that had been somewhat neglected. And I found a great replacement for myself. He’s already accomplished a great deal more than I’d ever hoped to.

Do you have an interesting/funny story of when you attended the program?    Boilermaker the Drink is not just whisky with a beer chaser. To drink a real Boilermaker you must drop a shot glass full of whiskey into a full mug of beer and take it all down in one draw. To introduce the class to the Boilermakers Union, I invited them to join me for a real Boilermaker — on me. Nearly everyone accepted the invitation. It’s not funny on paper, but it was a fun afternoon. Try it sometime. You’ll need to designate drivers ahead of time.


CONTACT INFORMATION

308 Altoona Drive, Fredericksburg, VA, United States, 22401
caper96@gmail.com