To Edna and the rest of the Hay family:

I had the honor to work for and be supervised by Don as my very first full-time job at the YMCA of the Rockies. I had just graduated from High School in upstate NY in 1978 at the age of 18 and wanted to travel and see the country.

My best friend (Tim Heath) in high school (one year a head of me) had already moved to Estes Park and invited me to move in. I took Tim up on his offer and jumped on the next Gray Hound! Within a few weeks Tim and myself were hired by Don and started building (Ski) homes.

One memory stands out that I will never forget. As we arrived at the shop for work one morning it had snowed a good 3 feet. The snow was powder but deep. Dan said to the crew "I need a good driver to take me to the job site and not get stuck!" I quickly offered as I was from upstate NY and was used to driving in deep snow. Don and I got into the old dark green Dodge pick-up truck (which I Loved as it had a 318 engine!) and headed for the job site. I really had to get my speed up as the truck was two wheel drive and the snow was so deep I did not want to get stuck as my Boss was setting right next to me! Needless to say the ride was a little rough as I'll never forget Don's hardhat was hitting the roof inside of the old dodge truck from bouncing around. We made it to the job site and Don was very happy that we did not have any issues other than the rough, bouncy ride in the snow!

Don taught me a lot and I will never forget him!

God Bless the Hay Family

Mike