Don's definition of grandparenting is "supporting the dreams of your grandchild." Don's mother-in-law shared these gifts of grandparenting to his own three sons. Mary was a mentor to his children and provided him with an excellent model for his life. 

Don shares this about his late mother-in-law, "She not only shared her gifts with family and friends, but helped others believe that they could do anything or be anything they wanted to be".

Don understands what it means to be a father, grandfather, step-grandparent and husband. His three adult son's live all over the world; Stockholm, London and St. Paul. Mary's vision for supporting their dreams lives with his ten grandchildren. 

Background
 
Don was the third of seven children and raised on a farm in Southern Minnesota.  Don's expertise with families is in the area of parent grandparent relations.

As a teacher for twenty years, he quickly learned, "It's not what you do, it's who you work with that often makes the job enjoyable or not".

For ten years, he was the President and owner of Jeane Thorne Staffing and personally experienced how difficult it is to manage a large staff of employees.

In 1998, while working on a his Masters at St. Mary's University, Don realized his vision of the importance of building strong relationships between adult parents and their parents. Don has dedicated his life to the pursuit of fostering improved relationships and "Bringing Generations Together". 

Grandkidsandme provided their first Grandparent Camps in 2000. His work hasn't gone unnoticed having gained the attention of many large  newspapers and magazines including; Time Magazine, The St. Paul Pioneer Press, The Minneapolis Star & Tribune, The Wall Street Journal and The Readers Digest. 

In 2005, Don purchased Human Resource Staffing and now splits his time as Director of The Grandkidsandme Foundation and President of Human Resource Staffing. www.humanresourcestaffinginc.com

Speaker
 
Don is a leading spokesperson on the role and importance of strong family relationships. He has created presentations and conducted more than 60 keynotes and workshops and is a frequent local and national guest of Television and Radio. 

Writer

Don is the author and publisher of The New Face of Grandparenting…Why Parents Need Their Own Parents. You can purchase your own copy here.

Each month he publishes a monthly newsletter called, "The Gathering" that is distributed to over 1500 families. Don has also written for magazine's including The Grandparent Times and GRAND Magazine.

Education

Don holds three advanced Degrees in Human Development, Education and Educational Administration. He has received awards for excellence in education and community service including Teacher of the year, Service to Youth Award and Citizen of the Year.

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