dancing for The Carr Center
Donald Mason with dance partner Debi Grubb
Photo credit: Erin Wilson Beane
Mason was an athlete and Class Officer at Zanesville High School and Class Officer and an All American wrestler at Muskingum College. When he was 22 years old he was elected to the Zanesville City Council and President of Council when he was 24. At the age of 26, Mason was elected and subsequently re-elected as Mayor of Zanesville. His administration created Zane’s Landing Park and Bike Trail and the industrial park of over 600 acres which became the ‘flagship’ for business and economic growth in Eastern Ohio. In the initial development major businesses such as Kellogg’s and Anchor Glass Container along with many small businesses were the first to locate. His administration also created the Zanesville-Muskingum County Port Authority and the Zanesville-Muskingum County Convention and Visitors Bureau which have had many positive impacts on the economy of our community.
Leaving local government in 1991, Mason then became Deputy Director of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) where he supervised the Division of Oil and Gas and subsequently took over responsibilities for the Divisions of Parks, Forestry, Watercraft, Natural Area Preserves, and Wildlife. He served under three Governors as Commissioner of Public Utilities ( PUCO) and testified before Congress on numerous occasions.
Mason earned his law degree from Capital University, graduating cum laud and is a Rotarian over 35 years of perfect attendance and is a multiple Paul Harris Fellow. He is also a 32nd degree Mason, Shriner, and a member of the several other Masonic organizations and the Knights of Columbus. In 2010, he received an award for Outstanding Community Service by the Grandmaster of all Ohio Masons. Mason continues to serve Muskingum County as trustee and past president of the Muskingum County Library System and has served on the Board of Zoning Appeals, Downtown Design Review Board, Design Review Board and was Chairman of the Planning Commission. He is in his 38rd year as an Ohio wrestling official and officiates the Ohio High School State Championships.
He is a member of the Zanesville High School Hall of Fame and Muskingum University Athletic Hall of Fame
Presently, Don is an energy law attorney at Roetzel and Andress, LPA in Columbus, Ohio. He, his wife, Danielle, and their three children, Christian, Madeline and Zachary live in Zanesville, Ohio.
The Carr Center
The mission of the Carr Center is to assist youth and adults to reach their fullest potential through educational programs and functional support. They have been assisting individuals to reach their fullest educational and functional potential for 60 years. The Center depends upon the support of our community to provide programs that are relevant to the needs of children with speech and language delays, seniors and their community caregivers, the disabled or disadvantaged, and our community as a whole. www.carrcenter.org
