Don’s
life in Greensboro and North Carolina
Lindley Junior High - 1963 |
Don
was born in 1952 at St. Leo’s Hospital in Greensboro to Ray and Kitty Vaughan.
His dad worked for Western Electric Corporation and Kitty worked for Prago-Guyes,
a downtown Greensboro department store, and later was credit manager for the
Greensboro News and Record.
Don presents his Eagle Scout pin to his mother - 1967 |
Don
attended Lindley Elementary and Lindley Jr. High. At the age of 9, Don’s father passed away leaving his mother to raise him
as her only child in their home on Mayflower Drive near UNC-G. He became an Eagle
Scout and captained his high school tennis team. He worked his way through high
school for the City of Greensboro as a summer playground director and at Belk
Department store “on the square” and at Friendly Shopping Center.
He graduated from Grimsley High School in 1970.
UNC Cheerleader - 1971
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Don entered the University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill and was the first person to be awarded highest honors in speech in 1974.
Following graduation, he received a Lectureship to the School of Government and
Public Administration at American University in Washington to teach undergraduate
political science and attend graduate school. Looking for a job to help pay his
way through graduate school, he sat on the doorstep of then - United States Senator
Sam Ervin, hoping to be the first person to get a job when the new United States
Senator from North Carolina arrived in 1975. Senator Robert Morgan hired Don
as his legislative clerk, where he served two years before returning to law school
at Wake Forest University School of Law. He made the Wake Forest Law Review and
received a North Carolina scholarship. Following graduation he was hired by Governor James
B. Hunt’s economic advisor to work as an attorney to the Governor’s
small and large business councils.
In 1982, he returned home to Greensboro to become Vice President of Stedman Corporation, a North Carolina based textile
and apparel manufacturer. A strong advocate of our free enterprise system, he
helped enact laws in 10 states to require teaching of the constitution and founding
documents in the public schools. He was awarded at the North Carolina Court of
Appeals the George Washington Freedom Medal for his legislative efforts.
Greensboro City Council - 1997 |
Don has since practiced law in Greensboro from his downtown
law office. He was first elected in 1991 to the Greensboro City Council, serving
two terms as Mayor Pro Tem. He married the love of his life Nancy Mincello in
1999, also a member of the City Council. Their daughter Catherine was born in
2000 and she is entering the second grade this year.
Don, Nancy, and Catherine at the ball game |
They have two dogs, Lola and Remington, who Don trained
as a champion hunting retriever, winning Eastern North Carolina and Old South
field trials last year.
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