Donald “Don” Gordon McInnes ’59 has long been devoted to the service of others and ensuring the smooth running of rail transportation in the United States. After graduating from Vermont Academy, he received his BA in economics from Denison University, his MS in transportation at Northwestern University, as well as a certificate in transportation from Yale University. After completing his formal education, Don then joined the military and served in the United States Air Force as a Second Lieutenant from 1965 to 1967, when he became a Captain in the United States Army. Also in 1967, Don married Betsy Campbell, and the couple had two children, Campbell and Cody. They would remain happily married until Betsy’s death in 1995. 

When he left military service in 1969 after serving in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968, Don joined what was then known as the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company as a budget manager for operations. The position combined his passion for transportation with his economics background, and his career launched from there. By 1979, Don was superintendent of the Los Angeles division of the company, and throughout the 1980s, he moved up from assistant to the executive vice president to becoming vice president intermodal himself in 1989. That same year, Don was instrumental in the founding of the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) and was elected their first chairman of the board, serving two terms.

From 1993 to 1995, Don was senior vice president and chief operations officer, and helped the company navigate a merger with the Burlington Northern Railroad to create the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF Railway). In 1996, Don married Carol Haverty and welcomed two stepchildren, Molly and Jay, into the family. 

Don was chief operations officer of BSNF Railway for three years and retired in 2000 after a long and illustrious career in transportation. Since retiring, he has devoted his time to serving others, acting as chair of the board of the Heritage Museums and Gardens in Cape Cod, MA and joining Vermont Academy’s Board of Trustees. Acting as trustee gave him the opportunity to return to campus and reflect on his time at Vermont Academy, where he had been a member of the dramatics club, glee club, VA Voice, and the outing club, and where he played football and ran track & field.

As a long-serving member of the Board of Trustees from 1998 to 2017, Don served as vice chair for a of number years and was involved in many projects that helped ensure the vitality of the school. Importantly, during Headmaster Jim Mooney’s tenure, Don chaired the highly successful Fulfilling Our Promise: The Campaign for Vermont Academy initiative.

We are proud to recognize his outstanding career and honor his devoted service to the school and the community with the presentation of The Florence R. Sabin Class of 1889 Distinguished Alumni Award.  

– Awarded in 2023