Don Dolan had been comfortably retired for almost three years after a long storied career as a railroad worker and union member when he had exhausted his “honey-do list.”

“I just wanted to be productive,” he said.

Sherwood Chapter 103 member Don Dolan helps operate a model train set at this year’s train-themed carnival for special-needs kids.

Upon the suggestion of Les Schuller — a bus driver for the Sherwood School District and a fellow Elks Club member — Dolan decided to apply to be a bus driver for the district. Dolan was assigned the special-needs route and soon found he loved working with the kids.

“They’re just like my own grandchildren,” he said. “I don’t want any other route.”

Dolan has demonstrated his love for the students by taking a leading role in organizing the Sherwood bus drivers’ annual special-needs carnival for the past four years. His efforts have earned the admiration of friends and colleagues. Schuller was impressed enough to nominate Dolan for the AFT Everyday Heroes award.

As a result, Dolan is a finalist for this national honor. WESD Employees Association (WESDEA) Chapter 95 courier Luigi Quintos is also an Everyday Heroes finalist. You can vote for them by clicking here.

“Don’s a dynamo,” Schuller said. “He works hard in his spare time to organize raffles and solicit cash, food and prizes from the community to put on the carnival. He’s just a great guy.”

The carnival has been a tradition for the past 12 years, but in 2012 the drivers were struggling for funds. That’s when Dolan stepped in to help out.

As chairman of the Portland chapter of the Union Pacific Employee Clubs (UPEC), Dolan saw an opportunity for his organization to help by donating $500 for food. Each year, he’s also been able to drum up about seven to eight UPEC members to help serve the food. Dolan even helps fellow bus driver Sue Caldwell with purchasing the food.

Dolan downplays his role in organizing the carnival, insisting that Caldwell does much more than him to put it together.

“I’m just another spoke in the wheel that helps make this event happen,” he said.

In many ways, Dolan is a typical OSEA member: hardworking and modest with a good sense of humor. But his path to OSEA has been longer than most.

Dolan was born into a railroad family. His paternal grandfather was an engineer for the Spokane-Portland and Seattle Railway, and his maternal grandfather was a coppersmith working on steam engines. His father worked for Union Pacific out of Portland, so it was only natural that Dolan would follow in the family business. He joined Union Pacific in 1965, although he followed what might be an unexpected career path — he worked his way through the clerical ranks.

Early in his career, Dolan flirted with the idea of taking a job on the rails.

“I had considered it maybe about a dozen times, but when I got married and was expecting our first daughter, I didn’t like the idea of a job that took me away from the family,” Dolan said.

He came to like being a clerk because the role covered such a wide variety of work. He worked in accounting, crew dispatching, yard operations and crew transportation over the years.

His years working for Union Pacific taught Dolan the value of union membership. He got involved in the clerical union and eventually held a variety of leadership roles between 1986 and 2002. When he was hired by the Sherwood School District, he didn’t hesitate to also join OSEA.

“Unions do so much to help improve conditions for all workers,” Dolan said.

Although Dolan has a wealth of union experience, he has been hesitant to play a major role in the Sherwood chapter. He figures it’s time for a younger generation to take the reins. As his 70^th birthday approaches next year, Dolan is contemplating taking a second retirement in order to spend more time with his seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren; however, his wife is a bit skeptical that he’d actually do it.

“She keeps saying, ‘We’ll see …’”