Don Worden was a master at guiding standards development in the IEEE SPD.  His leadership is matched by very few.  When he retired from standards leadership 5 years ago, he left a legacy of published standards that may never be matched.  Besides Dons tireless leadership to publish useful standards, there are very few people that can use humor as well as he.  To this day, he can start and end each public speaking event with a line that will put you in the right mental state to listen and remember what he has said.  A very useful tool in communications.   
 

Don's career includes design and installation of industrial facility and broadcast station low voltage power distribution systems; aircraft ground power units; development of electromechanical devices and instrumentation for aircraft, missile, and industrial systems. In 1970 he discovered surge protection and along with that, a lifelong passion . The following 30 years focused on development, application and marketing of surge protection to resolve a wide spectrum of reliability needs and operational problems in low voltage power, communications, data, signaling and control circuits. Don says  "All of it was interesting; most of it was fun."
 
Words of Wisdom for future surge protection engineers
Find work that you enjoy and give it your full attention. Choose projects for which you have passion, even in difficult periods. Set realistic and measurable goals; evaluate your performance. Do not be afraid to innovate; progress frequently entails some risk. Learn from your accomplishments and your mistakes; never stop learning. Honesty, humor and hard work will contribute significantly to your success.
Work for the benefit of all parties - in the long run, you will gain more than you give in knowledge, personal satisfaction and friendships.
Note: Standards development and company projects have no room for those who participate solely to gain an advantage over their competition.


Complete Hall of Fame Citation