Donald Gorsage (Power Plant Operator
| Donald Gorsage (Power Plant Operator | |
|---|---|
 Don Key west.jpg | |
| Born | Donald I Gorsage 1959/04/02 Peoria, IL |
| 🏡 Residence | Canton, IL |
| 🏳️ Citizenship | USA |
| 🏫 Education | High School |
| 🎓 Alma mater | Lewistown High School |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| donald.gorsage | |
Early Life[edit]
Donald Gorsage was born in Peoria, IL to Donald I Gorsage, Sr (1930-2000) and Juanita (nee: Hanks) Gorsage (1928-1965). He attended Tyng and Trewyn Schools. He lived in Peoria until his father remarried to Lois (nee: Burgard) Coleman Gorsage) at which time the family relocated to Lewistown, IL. He attended Central Grade School and Lewistown High School graduating in 1977. A month after graduating high school he moved to Canton, IL where he attended Spoon River College for a year.
Career[edit]
Donald worked at various jobs throughout his high school years, including Pratt Furniture and Blackwell Lumber Yard. He also picked apples, baled hay and detasseled corn. After moving to Canton he was the Assistant Manager of the Zephyr Gas Station at the corner of 5th and Linn.
In 1979 he started working for the Freeman United Coal Mining Company as a traveling Prospect Driller, a position he held until 1981. The primary function of that job was to locate and sample coal deposits underground, sometimes drilling as deep as 600’. He was laid off in January of 1981.
In May of 1981 he went to work at the Commonwealth Edison Powerton Station coal fired power plant in Pekin, IL. He spent the next 33 years employed there as an Equipment Operator. During that time, the station was sold twice. Once in 2000 to Southern California Edison (which was MidWest Generation MWG)) and again in 2014 to NRG. While working at Powerton he served as a Union Steward for 10 years. He joined the Safety Committee in 2001 and was elected as the Chairman in 2004. One of his accomplishments as Safety Committee Chair was the development of a joint committee of all the Illinois MWG Safety Committee Chairs. Don was elected to serve as the Chairman of that group. He also served in a dual role as an Operator and Plant Safety Advisor until his retirement in June of 2014.
After retiring Don was contacted by the owner of Construction Safety Services, Inc (CSSI) located in Wilmington, IL and offered a position as a Construction Safety Specialist. Throughout the different projects he worked on he spent time working at the NRG plant in Waukegan, back to Pekin at Powerton, a construction site in North Carolina and the Great Lakes Naval Base in Waukegan, IL. For the latter job Don was required to become proficient with the EM-385 regulations which are the equivalent of OSHA regulations for military personnel. He retired from that job in 2020.
Don was also active in his community. During the 90’s he joined the Copperas Creek Fire Department and became the Hazardous Materials Officer and served as the chairman of the Fulton County Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC). He left those positions in 1994 after being appointed to the Fulton County Board to replace a retiring member. He was elected and reelected to several terms and was elected by his fellow board members to serve as the Board Vice-Chairman. He left in 2004 due to the increased demands on his time at work.
Personal Life[edit]
Don married Michelle Jane (nee: Conrad) on November 17th, 1979. They purchased a house at 625 S Main and had one daughter, Melissa Francis (Williams). In 1985 they bought a larger house outside of Canton at 25795 N Venovich Rd when they learned Michelle was pregnant with their second child, Sarah Lynn (Clark). They later became the grandparents of 7 children, though one, Jude, was stillborn. In retirement he and his wife travel extensively throughout the world. He also learned how to fly, receiving a solo pilot's license.
