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Throughout the years, Don Poskin has worn many hats.
Some people have known him as an investigator in the U.S. Marine Corps, some know him as a former administrator of the Missouri Veterans Home in St. James and some even know him as a hobbyist pilot.
Many St. James residents, though, have known him as a dedicated, longtime member of the St. James City Council.
As of the upcoming April election, though, that will change.
Poskin, who first started serving on the Council in the late 70s, and has served off-and-on for a total of two decades, said he is officially calling it quits.
“I’m really going to miss the people,” Poskin said. “But I will continue to serve on whatever boards the mayor thinks I would be a good fit for.”
Throughout Poskin’s tenure in St. James, he has served as administrator of the Missouri Veterans Home—St. James, overseen the building of several other Missouri Veterans Homes across the state, served a president of the St. James Chamber of Commerce and was on the Council when the St. James Tourist Information Center and Nelson Hart Park were constructed.
He even ran for mayor at one point, but was not elected.
“(Former mayor) Nelson Hart talked me into running,” he said. “After that, I took a break from the council for close to 10 years.
“Then, I decided to run again two years ago. I still enjoyed serving on the council this time around, but it wasn’t quite the same as in the past.”
As if Poskin’s stint serving STJ and the US wasn’t impressive enough, he also served in the US Marine Corps, enlisting during his third year of high school.
He served in the Korean war, and has the wounds to prove it.
“I was hit with 3-4 rounds from a machine gun,” he said. “It was so cold that my blood froze. I woke up in a hospital in Japan.”
Poskin said he could have taken a Purple Heart for his injury, but the Marines had other plans for him.
“They wouldn’t give me any details,” he said. “But they said they would pay for my schooling, and if I made the grades, they would have something for me.”
That something ended up being Poskin having the opportunity to serve as an undercover investigator in the military.
“The highest rank I ever got to impersonate was a light colonel,” he said. “I rarely had to carry a weapon.”
After his military career, Poskin served his country in a number of other ways, before eventually moving to STJ.
In 1973, he and his family settled in St. James in a house that sits in Ward 4.
“And we haven’t left that house since,” he said. “We love St. James”
Throughout the years, Don Poskin has worn many hats.
Some people have known him as an investigator in the U.S. Marine Corps, some know him as a former administrator of the Missouri Veterans Home in St. James and some even know him as a hobbyist pilot.
Many St. James residents, though, have known him as a dedicated, longtime member of the St. James City Council.
As of the upcoming April election, though, that will change.
Poskin, who first started serving on the Council in the late 70s, and has served off-and-on for a total of two decades, said he is officially calling it quits.
“I’m really going to miss the people,” Poskin said. “But I will continue to serve on whatever boards the mayor thinks I would be a good fit for.”
Throughout Poskin’s tenure in St. James, he has served as administrator of the Missouri Veterans Home—St. James, overseen the building of several other Missouri Veterans Homes across the state, served a president of the St. James Chamber of Commerce and was on the Council when the St. James Tourist Information Center and Nelson Hart Park were constructed.
He even ran for mayor at one point, but was not elected.
“(Former mayor) Nelson Hart talked me into running,” he said. “After that, I took a break from the council for close to 10 years.
“Then, I decided to run again two years ago. I still enjoyed serving on the council this time around, but it wasn’t quite the same as in the past.”
As if Poskin’s stint serving STJ and the US wasn’t impressive enough, he also served in the US Marine Corps, enlisting during his third year of high school.
He served in the Korean war, and has the wounds to prove it.
“I was hit with 3-4 rounds from a machine gun,” he said. “It was so cold that my blood froze. I woke up in a hospital in Japan.”
Poskin said he could have taken a Purple Heart for his injury, but the Marines had other plans for him.
“They wouldn’t give me any details,” he said. “But they said they would pay for my schooling, and if I made the grades, they would have something for me.”
That something ended up being Poskin having the opportunity to serve as an undercover investigator in the military.
“The highest rank I ever got to impersonate was a light colonel,” he said. “I rarely had to carry a weapon.”
After his military career, Poskin served his country in a number of other ways, before eventually moving to STJ.
In 1973, he and his family settled in St. James in a house that sits in Ward 4.
“And we haven’t left that house since,” he said. “We love St. James”
