When Don finally agreed to join Kingsburg in May 1984, he became Kingsburg's furnace manager. " A lot of people would have had a 'head' problem having come from jobs of greater title," added Croskey. "Don, however, was quick to understand that responsibility and accountability were the key issues and not the titles. When I brought him to Guardian, my objective was to make Don a businessman rather than a factory operator."

Over the course of the next several years, Don graduated to line manager, production manager, manufacturing manager, and ultimately plant manager at Kingsburg. "My 13 years at Kingsburg were extremely rewarding for me, " said Tullman. "While I was there, I had the privilege to work with four individuals in particular who made such a tremendous impact on my life, both personally and professionally - Chuck Croskey, Russ Ebeid, Ron Nadolski and Bill Valk. Nobody understands this business or this industry better than these four guys."

Then Came Carleton

Taking responsibility for Carleton was Don's biggest challenge. At the time he was named plant manager, production employees and management were on opposite sides of issues with little mutual trust or respect. What Carleton needed was a leader to bridge the gap, to bring trust and respect back to the plant's 500 employees. The plant needed a people-person; the plant needed Don Tullman.

"Sure, Don hesitated," recalled Croskey. "But he knew he had to take on the challenge to earn his own stripes. He took the risk and made the personal sacrifice. "When I first got to Carleton, I went out on the floor to meet everyone in the plant," said Tullman. "When I came up to one woman in particular, she didn't even say hello to me. When asked why, she said that if I were still here in a year, then maybe she'd talk to me. I told her that I would earn her trust and respect and looked forward to talking with her in a year. We still joke about that first meeting today."

From his very first day at Carleton, Don has always put his people first. He stays connected with his employees by holding quarterly meetings with all shifts. He's also tackled problems with safety, turnover and training head-on. From a safety perspective, his programs have helped change Carleton from a place where employees were unsure of safety priorities to a safe work environment. In fact, Carleton was presented with the Loss Control Gold Award for 2000 and recently achieved a million hours without a lost time accident. Both of these are first time honors for the plant, which many will credit to Don. Don takes little credit for these honors and instead says the people of Carleton own them.

"Everyone at Carleton has gone the extra mile to help return this plant to its preferred 'flagship' status," added Tullman. "We've worked together as a team to turn this plant around and the kudos belong to us all."

Don's Children

Of all that he's accomplished at Guardian, Don is most proud of what Russ Ebeid calls “Don's children.” Mark Mette was my first hire at Guardian," said Tullman. "Since then, he's gone on to management positions around the world. Most recently, he became plant manager of Guardian's float glass plant in Geneva, New York. Some of my other 'children' include DeWitt Plant Manager Pat Tuttle, Kingsburg Plant Manager Jeff Booey, and Gulfguard Plant Manager Jim Pettis, as well as Greg Poulson, Alan Grater, Gerry Hool, Blake Buttars, Dana Partridge, and Firas Sakkija who are in key management roles with the company. Russ says it's time for my 'children' to start having 'children' of their own."

Don is married to Debra, whom he describes as "the most wonderful woman in this world." Don has four children -Becca, Adam, Bethy, and Johnny - who continuously bring joy into his life.