Life Member 1992, SEAW President 1974, SEAW Seattle President 1972
Early in his career Donald G. Rubatino worked with the City of Seattle, Graystone, and with Worthington, Skilling, Helle & Jackson pre-1960. He spent 15 years with Northwest Lift Slab, where his notable projects included Group Health Hospital. Later re worked with ABKJ on the West Seattle Bridge.
At the time Don became a Life Member, his colleague Bill Ward recalled that Don "was a good, innovative structural engineer, and was always selling things on the side -- circular slide rules, shirts, jackets, etc. This ability to make deals ... led to one of Don's more notable accomplishments: the SEAW Christmas Party. In the '65 to '70 period, SEAW continually lost money on our Christmas Party because of low attendance. Don, a take-charge type, decided to do something about it and inaugurated the famous auction at the Christmas Party. He solicited construction suppliers and contractors to donate all kinds of material to be auctioned off at the party -- such things as precast prestressed concrete beams, concrete planters, rebar tie wire, booze, and a CY of pea gravel. This took up much of his time preparing for the auction.
"The auction became so popular, attendance at the SEAW Christmas Party boomed -- and so did the profit to SEAW. ... SEAW's Christmas Parties have never had such high attendance since. We all owe Don many thanks for our memories of those auctions. Some lasted two hours -- and people had to rent trucks to pick up their booty!"
Posted April 2012, source Equilibrium April 1993