Don Korn was born on June 14, 1964, Flag Day, in Warren, Michigan.  Don and his twin brother Dave are sons to Judy and the late Bill Korn.  Wrestling has been a part of Don’s life for 46 years.  He started wrestling his freshman year and was a 3-year letterman in wrestling at Warren Woods High School. Don earned all-conference and all-district honors.  He went on to wrestle two years at Oakland University before injuries ended his career.  During his last couple years of college, Don started coaching at his high school alma mater.  He was an assistant coach for two years.  The teams he helped coach produced 3 state placers during those two years. 

Don graduated from Oakland University with a Bachelors in Management and immediately entered the banking industry where he has made a career for the last 37 years.  He started his career in retail banking and after earning his Masters in Finance from Walsh College in 1996 transferred into the wealth management business.  In 1991, Don married his college sweetheart, Gina, and soon had three children, Andrew, Erin and Taylor.

In 2002, Don moved his family from Michigan to Alabama to take a leadership role in Regions Bank’s Wealth Management Division.  Don became active in youth athletics through his children coaching many sports, including soccer, softball, and baseball. In 2003, he started coaching with Vestavia Wrestling Club (VWC) when his son Andrew started wrestling.  For the next several years, Don helped lead VWC, growing the program to over 100 wrestlers and winning numerous team championships.  Don and the other talented volunteer coaches' goal was to deliver technically sound young wrestlers who loved wrestling to Hall of Fame coaches Steve Gaydosh and Jeff Segars. Many of those young wrestlers would go on to become state placers, state champions and good men, husbands and fathers.  This includes his son Andrew, a two-time state placer.  While his son was at Vestavia MS & HS, Don volunteered as a fundraiser and tournament director, volunteering that continues to this day.

During this time, Don also joined the board of Team Alabama, USA’s National Wrestling’s state affiliate, where he held the position of Treasurer for 8 years.  Don, along with Hall of Fame member Norm Latona and other wrestling families, helped launch the Alabama Youth Wrestling Organization, where he was treasurer for 3 years.  In 2008, a group led by Don introduced Trackwrestling tournament software to Alabama.  For several years, Don ran high school and youth tournaments on the software and provided feedback to the developer on system usage and fan experience.  Don had a vision of using the software to create better experience for the coaches, fans and wrestlers during those long days in the gym.  Since then, the tournament software has been adopted statewide and is the fan experience for the Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) state wrestling championships.  Don has been honored to help run the association's biggest events.  In 2014, Don was recognized by the AHSAA for his contributions to the sport of wrestling.  In 2016, when the Alabama Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame was chartered, Don was asked to be Treasurer, a position he was proud to accept and still holds today.

Don has a great passion for the sport of wrestling and the lessons learned and skills applicable in all phases of professional and personal life. Don is still at Regions bank, now leading the Portfolio Management group.  His three children are grown and all lead successful lives.  In addition to Andrew, Don’s daughter Erin was a competitive Cheerleader at Vestavia HS, helping her team place 2nd in the nation.  Don’s youngest, Taylor, was a talented soccer player, winning 2 state championships with Vestavia’s girls soccer team.  Don and Gina are looking forward to the birth of their first grandchild to their daughter Erin and son-in-law Matt Creighton.  The sport of wrestling has introduced Don to lifelong friends and continues to be a source of enjoyment. Don would like to thank the many friends that have helped and guided him in this journey.