Community Spotlight: Unsung hero Don Lockhart leads by example

“God and my family are the most important things in my life,” Don Lockhart said. Pictured above: Michelle and Don Lockhart. User provided photo.

by Jo Mayer and Patrice Johnson

DJ Phatboy, aka Don Lockhart, is well known for bringing music and fun to weddings, high school dances, daddy-daughter dances and kids-night-out events. But not so well known are this 6-foot-1-inch father’s behind-the-scenes good works as coach, umpire, groundskeeper, field marker and gofer for Stockbridge Community Education.

According to Village President Molly Howlett, “Don Lockhart is an unsung hero in our community. He has done so much for the kids from being a great DJ to a coach. He’s wonderful.”

Retired SCE Director Jo Mayer said she had worked with Lockhart for more than ten years, and “Don stepped up to help whenever and wherever he was needed, marking and repairing fields, umpiring, assisting, and coaching teams—even when he didn’t have a daughter on the team.”

She recalled an incident when a field marker had called in sick at the last minute. “Don was asked to drop everything and come mark a field with 15 minutes before the start of the game,” she said. “He agreed without hesitation and simply asked, ‘Could you give me a little more notice next time?’”

The 2011 “Orange Crushers” u10 team. Photo credit: Amy Carpenter. User provided photo.

Brown-haired, blue-eyed Lockhart, who claims to weigh in “at a featherweight” of just under 300 pounds, shrugged off praise for his volunteer efforts. “I have a very good U14 softball team this year,” he said. “They are 9-0-1 going into the mid-season break.”

Local resident Robin Munsell first recommended Lockhart for SCN’s “Community Spotlight,” saying, “Don Lockhart deserves a real shout out” for the time and labor he put into renovating the two-year dormant Gregory ball field into “like new” condition. “It’s really nice to see kids out on the ball diamond, participating in sports,” Munsell noted.

Current SCE Director Janice Armstrong added, “Having him organize the umpires is absolutely a huge relief.”

Mayer stressed that Lockhart welcomes new players—even at the U14 level. “He teaches them how to play, and love, the game.” She said his coaching style draws some of the biggest softball teams in the league. Still, Lockhart manages to play everyone and have a good time. “His love of the game is apparent and contagious,” she said.

“The Traffic cones.” The 2017 u14 team in their bright neon orange shirts in the shade behind the dugout. User provided photo.

Despite Lockhart’s high expectations of his players, “he recognizes that the girls’ social, mental, emotional, and scholastic needs are his primary concerns,” Mayer continued. “He stresses to his players the importance of being good students and role models. As a coach, he embodies the values of sportsmanship and respectful competition.” She had observed that Lockhart “will not tolerate disrespectful behavior from players, coaches or parents.”

Born in Dearborn, Michigan, Lockhart attended elementary school in Lincoln Park. A house fire of the family home prompted his parents, Arthur Glenn and Deborah Lee Lockhart, to move their three children to Stockbridge. Lockhart enrolled in 7^thgrade and graduated SHS in 1989.

Priorities? “God and my family are the most important things in my life,” Lockhart said, and he named wife Michelle and daughters Emma, 18, and Hannah, 14.

Don Lockhart pictured with daughters Emma (L) and Hannah (R). User provided photo.

Lockhart worked for Ford Motor Company from 1989 to 2003. A back injury forced him to early retirement, so he enrolled in Washtenaw Community College to study videography and editing. D & M (short for Don and Michelle) Productions was born, specializing in wedding videography.

Then the economy took a hard fall, and the couple considered closing up shop. In one last try, they rolled Don out as a wedding disc jockey. Now, DJ Phatboy entertains 40 to 50 weddings a year.

“I will not take all the credit for my business being so successful,” Lockhart said, “The people of Stockbridge and my customers have supported me tremendously, and their word of mouth is what built my business.”

Lockhart recalls the death of his father in 1999 as “the hardest time in my life.” At 28, he said he had given little thought to the prospect of losing his father.

“But that is what is so special about our little town of Stockbridge,” Lockhart said. “There is always someone there to pick you up.”

In one last try, they rolled Don out as a wedding disc jockey. Now, DJ Phatboy entertains 40 to 50 weddings a year. User provided photo.

Everyone needs a father figure, he said, and that was what Jim Carpenter of JC Archery was to him. “There were times in my life when I needed a man’s opinion about family and raising kids or just life in general, and Jim put himself in that roll for me. I appreciate it more than he could ever imagine.”

In turn, Mayer conferred a similar mantle of appreciation on Lockhart, writing, “Without supporters like Don, Community Education would not be able to offer the programs it does. He is community-minded, trustworthy, dependable, knowledgeable, self-motivated, friendly, and tenacious—plus, he knows how to keep the fun in playingsoftball.”

2012 u12 team. Lockhart far left. He “knows how to keep the fun in playing softball,” said former SCE Director Jo Mayer. Photo credit: Brian Frazzini photography.