Don Miskill has held onto a simple lesson his father imparted when he was young.
“He just looked at me and said, ‘People deserve your best effort every day,'” Miskill said in an interview.
Miskill, of Orr’s Island, has been living by those words ever since. Following a distinguished naval career that took him around the world, he has become a devoted local volunteer and community leader.
Since the mid-1990s, Miskill has volunteered across Harpswell and beyond, leading swim and recreation programs, serving on multiple town committees, stewarding George J. Mitchell Field, teaching map and compass skills, and helping maintain an 18-mile section of the Appalachian Trail.
To honor his decades of service, the Maine Recreation and Park Association gave Miskill its 2026 Citizen Volunteer of the Year Award during its annual conference in Rockport on March 16.
The annual award recognizes a community volunteer whose service has advanced recreation in Maine through programs, facilities or services, with weight given to the breadth, longevity and civic impact of their contributions.
“Volunteers are the backbone to any parks and recreation department. They step in to help programs and projects for the pure love of their community, and Don has done that for the last 20-plus years,” the association’s Awards Committee said in a statement. “The town of Harpswell is a better place because of the energy he has dedicated to his community, which makes him very deserving of the (award).”
Katie Neal, Harpswell’s recreation director and community services coordinator, presented the award to Miskill at the conference. She noted that he was the town’s first recreation director, making him “an architect of our community life.”
“He didn’t just hold a position — he built a foundation,” Neal said. “He launched our baseball fields, expanded the Community Swim Program, and mentored every director who has followed in his footsteps, myself included.”
Miskill has made an even greater impact on the town since leaving that role, she said. Among other commitments, he has served as Mitchell Field steward for the past 26 years, recently deciding that this year will be his last.
“If you’ve enjoyed a sunset at Mitchell Field, you’ve experienced Don’s work,” Neal said. “He is there nearly 365 days a year. He hand-built every picnic table you sit on. He clears invasive brush, manages the trash, oversees improvements like the new boat launch, and greets every neighbor with a smile.”
She added: “Whether he’s caring for our local fields or spending a week on the Appalachian Trail maintaining wilderness for others, Don’s energy is, quite simply, unmatched.”
A life of service
The son of a U.S. Navy pilot, Miskill got used to relocating and changing schools every two years as a child. He lived in nine different places before graduating high school in 1966, including Bermuda and the Philippines.
“I didn’t have any long-term friends, but I learned how to integrate quickly into a new place,” Miskill said.
After high school, he attended King’s College in Pennsylvania. During his junior year, the military instituted a lottery system to determine the order in which young men would be drafted during the Vietnam War. Miskill drew a low number, making it likely he would be among the earlier draftees the following year.
He decided to enlist in the Navy in 1970 after graduating college. Miskill passed the aviation exam and became a pilot, joining a squadron of P-3 Orion antisubmarine aircraft in the western Pacific, among other early tours.
He later worked on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier, which he described as even more exciting than flying. “It’s a very demanding environment,” he said.
Miskill rose through the Navy’s ranks, eventually becoming a captain, the equivalent of a colonel in the Army. He also met his wife, Dee, who was a fellow naval officer.
They ended up moving to Harpswell in 1982, after Miskill was assigned to a leadership role at Brunswick Naval Air Station. Aside from a 2.5-year tour in Sicily in the early 1990s, Miskill has stayed put ever since. He retired from the Navy in 1995.
Miskill went on to work in shipping and logistics for Freeport-based retailer L.L. Bean, which he retired from in 2012. Meanwhile, he served as Harpswell’s first recreation director from 1995 to 2002 as a volunteer.
Miskill began volunteering on various town committees, including the Mitchell Field Committee, of which he is currently both secretary and chair. He became Mitchell Field steward in 2000, overseeing the day-to-day management of the town-owned park that had been a Navy fuel depot.
Miskill also began directing local school and recreational swim programs, work he has continued up to the present. He is the lead sawyer of L.L. Bean’s Appalachian Trail Maintenance Work Crew, of which he has been a member for 24 years.
Miskill said he decided to relinquish the Mitchell Field steward role at the end of this year to spend more time with his family.
“I’m not going anywhere — I’m still on the committee,” he said.
Hands-on leadership
Friends and colleagues say Miskill is the rare type of leader who feels most comfortable working in the trenches alongside those he leads. They described him as a driven, dependable person who always shows up on time and follows through on his commitments.
“Harpswell has been truly fortunate that Don and his family chose to retire here, and that he made giving back to Harpswell a priority,” Town Administrator Kristi Eiane said in an email. “If Don was in charge of a project, you knew it would be handled with precision and professionalism, and completed on time.”
At Harpswell’s annual Town Meeting on March 14, Moderator John Loyd recognized Miskill for his years of service to the town, prompting a round of applause.
Linda Blanton worked with Miskill for many years as co-director of the summer Harpswell Water Safety Instruction Program, which ended because of the COVID-19 pandemic. They hope to bring it back this summer.
She praised his “computer precision,” dedication to helping others, warm personality and sense of humor. But more than anything, Blanton said, Miskill will always be associated with Mitchell Field in her mind.
“I can’t even think about it without hearing him say, ‘Don’t park on the grass.'”
Spike Haible, former Mitchell Field Committee chair, has worked closely with Miskill on matters related to the 120-acre park, which Harpswell acquired from the Navy in 2001.
He called Miskill “an important figure in this town” who is not above collecting trash, picking up dog poop or performing other dirty work. “He’s just really kind of selfless in many ways,” Haible said.
Former Harpswell Recreation Director Gina Caldwell, who now works for the city of Bath, described Miskill as a dedicated, community-minded person who is genuine and easy to get along with. “He’s just such a great, valuable volunteer,” she said.
David Johnson, a longtime public official in Harpswell, said he recruited Miskill to serve on the town’s Recreation Committee, on which Miskill continues to serve. Johnson said he feels “blessed” to be friends with Miskill and his family.
“Everything he does, he just gives it his all,” Johnson said. “He has done so much. Any program he has been involved with has only gotten better and grown.”
