2003-04 District 5490 Governor Don Schiller. Don is a member of the Prescott Sunup Rotary Club. with 50 years of Rotary service. His activities include many facets of Rotary with an emphasis on youth, training, membership, and Rotary Foundation programs. Don graduated from The University of Southern California in Telecommunications. His professional experience has been in Cable Television and Broadcasting.
A graduate of “The Rotary College of Knowledge”, he has also served as a facilitator and administrator for Arizona PETS. Don has been a Youth Exchange host and advisor, served as Assistant Governor and has chaired several District committees. As District Governor for 2003-04 his year was successful for the district in local, national and international projects, Matching Grants and Rotary Foundation support as well as ending the year in a strong financial position.
Don led a Group Study Exchange Team to the Philippines in March 2000. He served as the GSE Chair for many years and coordinated both the outbound and inbound teams. For 2008-9 he put together a very unique and special first ever all wheelchair GSE to Australia.Team leader and all team members both inbound and outbound were in wheelchairs! Don trained the outbound team for GSE and was the Team Liaison/Driver for the inbound team’s full 30 days visit.
He served as Vice Chairman of the 2004-05 Rotary International RYLA Committee with major responsibilities for the planning and producing of the Centennial International RYLA event and exhibition booth at the 2005 Rotary International Convention. He and Annette ran the first RYLA booth at a RI Convention.For 2007-10 he served Rotary International as Zone Coordinator for the Youth Services Resource Group.
Don served Rotary District 5490 and Rotary International as representative to the RI Council on Legislation in 2010 and is now the D-5495 representative to the 2019 RI Council on Legislation.
Don is married to Annette, a retired schoolteacher who now enjoys volunteering her teaching skills. Their son Brad is a lighting programmer, developer and designer and living in Austin, TX with his wife Robin. Grandson Matthew is also in the lighting industry.
Don enjoys traveling, hiking, snorkeling, railroading, photography, reading and playing the Native American flute. Annette also enjoys traveling and spends time gardening plus reading. Don & Annette are members of the Rotary International Travel and Hosting Fellowship since 1998. Don is Vice President of the Southwest & Regional Vice President of the America’s for ITHF. He is also immediate past President of the International Fellowship of Railroading Rotarians.
Both Don and Annette are very active in community affairs including: Chamber of Commerce, Boy Scouts, Ambassadors, Sister City and Big Brothers & Big Sisters. Recently, Annette was President of the local branch of American Association of University Women. She volunteers her teaching skills at the Highlands Center for Natural History.
In 2006, Don founded the Rotary Club of Chino Valley.. The club has successfully done several fund raisers, participates in local parades, executed a matching grant in Mexico, became a sister club to Puebla, A.C. Mexico and received a Public Relations grant from Rotary International.
As Chair of the Acting Host Committee for the Rotary International 2015 Convention, Don with his committee put together a proposal to hold the 2015 RI Convention in Phoenix, AZ. Phoenix was one of the three finalists.
Don & Annette are Rotary Foundation Major Donors and are members of the Paul Harris Society. Don is also a Benefactor to the Permanent Fund of The Rotary Foundation and a Paul Harris Fellow. Annette, Brad, Robin and Matthew are Paul Harris Fellows.
Don was awarded the “ROTARY FOUNDATION CITATION FOR MERITORIOUS SERVICE” award on May 15, 2010. RI Past President Frank Devlyn made the presentation at the District 5490 District Conference.
Additional awards received by Don include: “ROTARY SERVICE ABOVE SELF” award presented on May 31, 2008. “The Rotary Foundation District Service Award”, the “Tribute to Rotarians” Award, “Governors Award for Meritorious Service” and “Four Avenues of Service Citation for Individual Rotarians.” He has also received many other club and district awards.
Don is currently Co-chair of the District 5495 Rotary Friendship Exchange and active in many other Rotary Projects.
