Don Sullivan's story is one of celebration and recovery.

Born in Washington, Don has spent most of his life in Greenville. After graduating from J.H. Rose, he attended UNC Chapel Hill where he majored in Business Administration.

He says that like many of his classmates, he began a career in sales after graduating from college. "I went into sales and didn't like it," Don said. "But I found something here at GUC that I liked, so I stayed with it."

Don recently celebrated 25 years of service with Greenville Utilities and works as a Maintenance Mechanic III at the Water Treatment Plant (WTP), but started off working as an Operator. Early on, his supervisors encouraged him and his coworkers to pursue educational opportunities through the American Waterworks Association, which Don has actively done over the years.  He's learned about more than just water treatment though. 

"The people here make the difference," he said. "You hear that over and over again. It is true, though. I've never met a better group. You're not going to get along with everybody like they're your best buddy, but

when crunch time comes, everybody pulls together."

Don and his co-workers do just about everything too. From changing light fixtures to working on pumps and motors, they are jacks of all trades and keep the plant's equipment and instrumentation in top working order.

Don also enjoys the flexible schedule that allows him to pursue meaningful activities away from work. Not only does he serve as the Assimilation Coach with the Celebrate Recovery program at Covenant United Methodist Church, he also serves as the Ministry Leader of the start-up Celebrate Recovery program being implemented at Oakmont Baptist Church. 

And Don wants people to know that Celebrate Recovery is not just for people dealing with alcohol and drug addictions. "The program deals with all kinds of hurts, habits, and hang ups," he said. "When people hear the term recovery, they go, 'You're one of those people.' Basically, it is for anything like grief, overeating, over spending, etc. We use the same 12 steps that Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous use along with a biblical approach."

When not celebrating the recovery and success stories of members in his community, Don enjoys the great outdoors and spending time with his wife, grandkids, and two spoiled beagles.

Don and his wife, LuAnn, have been married for over 18 years. Don's step-daughter, Ashley, and her husband, Derek, have one 5-year-old daughter and another baby due in September.

Being the family man that he is, Don really enjoys going to reunions every summer. When he's not doing that, you'll find him enjoying the great outdoors. "I love to hunt and I have thoroughly enjoyed hunting and target shooting as well." He also has served on the board of the Pitt County Wildlife Club.

But most of all, Don loves changing lives. "I've got to go where God is," he said. "I've seen the lights come on for a lot of people. My goal is to help one person. If I help one person, I'm happy. If I help more than one person, that's gravy."