With May officially recognized as Military Appreciation Month, the TECO Veterans Alliance (TVA) is highlighting employees who support and honor those who have served. Meet Don Wolford, Sr. Systems Analyst. Though not a veteran himself, Don comes from a proud military family — his father and several relatives served in the armed forces. He shares how their service has inspired his deep respect for veterans and shaped his commitment to supporting the military community at TECO.
Don Wolford (far left) and TECO Veterans Alliance members volunteered to help breathe new life into a local veteran's home in 2022, as a part of Lifetime's Military Makeover show.
What branch did your father serve in, and how did that experience shape your family growing up?
My father was a proud Marine. He served before his children were born, so the family impact was indirect – it shaped who he was, which shaped who we were. I didn’t appreciate how much until I finally obtained his service records last year after nearly a decade of trying.
Don Wolford was named after his father, who enlisted in the Marines In 1929.
What are some lessons or values your father passed down from his time in the military?
More than anything else, integrity. Your word meant something, even when you were six years old. Know what you are promising before you promise. Once promised, keep it. Ask for help before admitting defeat. If defeated, admit it rather than cover it up. And if you screw up, accept the consequences with honor. Other people are counting on you. Come through for them.
TECO’s Don Wolford as a child facing the camera as his mother, Dorothy, and brother, Chuck chat.
What’s one story or memory about your father’s service that really stuck with you?
It’s not directly about his service (he rarely discussed it) but it speaks of the integrity he learned there. Dad lived during the era of the “company man” and had a thriving career with Westinghouse. But his boss did something dishonest, and Dad confronted him about it. When his boss wouldn’t back down, Dad left Westinghouse rather than be associated with the dishonesty. That happened more than once – he refused to be around anyone lacking integrity, personally or professionally. He radiated it. My brother and I rarely endured explicit punishment from him. He didn’t have to; the worst thing in the world for both of us was to disappoint him, so we toed the line, not out of fear but out of respect and love.
What does Military Appreciation Month mean to you personally?
A twelfth of what it should be. These folks wrote the blank check that can be cashed any day of the year, and to honor that for just one month of the year is insufficient in my eyes.
What’s one thing you think civilians often overlook or don’t realize about military families?
That the families serve too, and they have the overlooked challenge of a family structure that changes at the beginning and end of each deployment. Semper gumbi is something they know that the rest of us can learn.
How do you try to honor or support service members and veterans in your everyday life or work?
Most service people I’ve met need or want nothing more than acknowledgement, so I give them that. For those who need more, I give where I can, whether it’s a listening ear, to help with a service project, or to support their organizations (including the TECO Veterans Alliance (TVA)). And, where I can, I try to live and pass on the values of duty, service and honor, as I understand them. They made the choice to defend something, so I try to keep it and make it something worth defending.
Painting is one of the volunteer activities Don Wolford and his TVA colleagues performed during the Military Makeover project in 2022
If you could say one thing to all veterans and active-duty service members, what would it be?
Tell us about it. You might feel that we’ll never understand, and you’re partially right, but it’s not good for the service, the members or the civilian public for there to be this gap of understanding. We want to know your stories, and we want to help where help is welcomed and possible.
Is there anything else you’d like to share about what this month means to you?
Like most other commemorative occasions, it’s a reminder of something easily forgotten that is part of the basic structure of our lives. Maybe being easily forgotten is what happens when you do something so well others don’t have to think about it. So, we’ll take the reminder. And again: tell us about it.
