Born & raised in the northern suburbs of Chicago, Highlands County Commissioner Don Elwell was raised by his mother and grandparents. An only child, Don spent a great deal of his childhood with his many cousins and school friends. His mom worked as an officer at the local bank in his hometown of Lake Forest. Don’s first job was at that same bank, working diligently as the underage parking lot maintenance boy.

Don attended Catholic grade school and high school in the north Chicago suburbs, participating in baseball, football and basketball. After high school, his mother desired to relocate to West Palm Beach, FL to work in a credit union with her sister. Don moved with his mom, and began to plan for college. Unfortunately, Don’s mom became ill and passed away within a year of relocating. Don found himself on his own at age 19, though he became close to his aunt in West Palm Beach.

After working in security and retail for a few years, Don finally got that long-delayed start in college. Don made the most of the opportunity, graduating with honors from Florida Atlantic University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and minors in both Management and Finance.

After graduation, Don began his 30-year career in management in the hospitality and retail industries, serving as executive management for hotels in the Palm Beaches, Las Vegas and the Atlanta area before offered the opportunity to return to Florida and relocate to Highlands County in late 2002. He has served as the Director of Marketing & Communications for the Alan Jay Automotive Network since 2008.

During his nearly 20 years in Highlands County, Don has worked hard to immerse himself in the community he has fallen in love with, serving on over two dozen different boards & committees while volunteering for dozens more events and organizations each year. In 2010, Don decided to take a leap of faith and run for Highlands County Commissioner. Don proudly served Highlands County as Commissioner for District #2 from 2010 to 2020, resigning to try and serve the county residents even better as Clerk of Courts. Unfortunately, Don finish4d 2nd in that three-person race, losing to the Deputy Clerk with over 35 years in the office. .

As Commissioner, Don consistently reached out and communicated with his constituents through his community involvement, social media and by hosting a minimum of two town ­hall-style meetings per year since being elected to public office. In total, Don hosted over twenty such meetings, and truly loved interacting with those he was fortunate enough to be elected to represent. Largely due to his tireless commitment to his community, his ability to find compromise while fighting to keep taxes low and his willingness to be both transparent and receptive with his constituents, he was able to win re-election in both 2014 and 2018 without opposition.

As commissioner, Don was honored to receive many awards and recognitions, including Citizen of the Year twice in addition to a statewide award as "Best Local Elected Official" in Florida in recognition of his efforts for the people in Highlands County after Hurricane Irma in 2017. Since then, Don has continued to help residents even when not in office by providing regular updates throughout the Coronavirus pandemic. Most recently, Don was appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis in March of 2022 to serve as Commissioner for Florida's Commission for the Transportation Disadvantaged. 

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Personally, Don is married to his wonderful wife, Sheri, and they have a total of seven terrific children and fourteen grandchildren between them. When not trying to keep tabs on his ever-­growing family, Don is a die­hard sports fan. He is an avid supporter of the Chicago Blackhawks, Cubs and Bears, while also cheering on many different Florida college & pro teams as well. In his rare spare time, you’ll find him enjoying a community event, or busy perfecting one of his Chicago pizza recipes. Don Elwell and his family are proud to reside in the Spring Lake area of Sebring.