To know Don Brown, or to have been in his presence, was to know his warmth; his uncanny ability to

make those around him, feel comfortable.

This warmth, and kind nature, as well as his skill as an educator and marksman, were the root of the
many successes of the St. Croix Sportsman Club, of which he was a founding member in 2008.

In a short time, he helped expand the club from its early beginnings in a garage to a growing
membership, fundraising thousands of dollars for modern equipment (ensuring the club had all the
necessary equipment and coaches to teach both rifle and pistol), as well as for trips to competitions for
the young shooters.

Don helped catapult several youths into multi-award winners at not only a national level, but
internationally. He was adept as a conversationalist; however, never bragged about his coaching abilities
or took credit for the talents of the athletes training under him, instead letting their successes and target
scores speak for themselves. When asked, he would reply they did it all on their own.

Names like Emily Dean, Scott Ring, Delayne Donahue, and Alyssa Gidney, amongst numerous others, all
saw multiple gold wins under Don’s guidance. Mae McCullough was 11 years old when she won first
place in an Augusta, Maine competition the club frequented.

The club offered a unique and new alternative to youth in the area, particularly to the female shooters,
who Don had once said had come to “dominate in the sport” and allowed participating athletes the
opportunity to hone their focus, concentration and self discipline on the road to their success.

More than the stories of the strong scores the targets tell, Don fostered a positive training environment
and had the ability to inspire the club athletes to perform to their best abilities, using words of
encouragement, and determination. There were no mistakes, so to speak; only learning opportunities to
improve.

From the outside looking in, it appeared Don’s wheels were always turning on ways to not only improve
the athletes training with him, but the club as well. He facilitated trips for the young athletes to not just
Maritime shoots, but shoots in the United States, and abroad – to Munich, Germany; Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil; and Sydney, Australia – to name a few.

The club had seen its share of adversity, primarily in space to train. In later years, the club had been
training at the Boys and Girls Club of Charlotte County, which over time, had shrunk the space available
to the sportsman club, forcing the postponement of the opportunity to host a shoot.

But Don pushed through – he was vocal about his ideas to utilize space at the former Border Arena and
had dreams of growing the club in an unprecedented way – a permanent indoor space. When it was
deemed by the Town of St. Stephen renovations would be too costly, Don never gave up hope the club
could one day have a permanent place to call home approaching any avenue he could think of.

Knowing Don, if he were here today, he would be the first to say he couldn’t take credit for the club. He
would likely say his wife, Sandi – who almost always visited training sessions, or would travel with him to
shoots, deserved a great deal of the credit, as did his fellow coaches. But that’s one of the many things
that made Don so special. He understood it indeed took a community to build something great – and
provided the tools to do so.
In a short timeframe, Don created a legacy in the St. Croix Sportsman Club that would take others
decades to build, and as such, would make a perfect candidate in the Builder category for The Greater
St. Stephen Sports Wall of Fame.

Reviewing old articles of athletes training under Don, a simple sentence he once spoke, when asked
about travelling to an international shoot in support of one of his athletes, perfectly encapsulates his
identity as a coach.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

The Greater St. Stephen Sports Wall of Fame, for your consideration,

Kate Scott