Hall of Fame
Don, 54, had been a part of the George Fox women's basketball program since the 1999-2000 season. For the past 18 years, Don was the voice of the Bruins as his calm, but energetic voice filled Miller Gymnasium every game day. In 2012, Don was named George Fox University's Volunteer of the Year, and he logged more than 350 games for the Bruins.
His voice is the one heard regularly in the Wheeler Sports Center, calling games for one of the best Division III basketball teams in the nation. In 18 full seasons, with an average workload of 12 to 16 games a season, he has called more than 350 games for the Bruins, ranging from alumni contests to NCAA postseason tournaments. That amounts to more than 700 unpaid hours. Staples' help with the Bruins actually began earlier, in 1996, when he began filling in as a backup PA announcer for four years. And prior to that, he dabbled in sports broadcasting, purchasing radio time from McMinnville station KLYC and lining up sponsors for one year to put 10 George Fox men's games on the air as he called the play-by-play. A 1986 George Fox graduate, Staples also has helped his alma mater with leadership. In 1992 he began a three-year term on the Alumni Association Board, including one year as president.
He joined the Newberg School District as an assistant principal and academic intervention teacher at Mabel Rush Elementary in 1999 after a 12-year career in the Yamhill-Carlton School District.
Â
