Don Brickel, 59, owns Veteran’s Alarm in Midland on Bay City Road, next to Ghengis Khan Mongolian BBQ. They install, service and maintain alarm systems for commercial and residential clients covering the state. He has 20 employees.
Brickel and his wife Michele have been married for 30 years. They have four sons. She is the office manager at the youth care center. She also handles accounting and payroll for veterans. He is a graduate of Saginaw Buena Vista High School. He then served four years in the Air Force in communications, ending as Senior Airman E-4. At one point, Brickel was stationed in Wiesbaden, Germany and served in 11 countries and stations through that post. He ended up at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio.
How long have you owned your business? 18 years.
What inspired you to own the company?? I was working at Midwest Detection when they sold to a company and they sold everything. Transitioned from a local company to one where monitoring was outsourced to a Minnesota company. I wanted it to be local. Most employees agreed with me. We had a meeting at the VFW AMVets post here in Midland where I decided to start the company and they said they were willing to work for me. We’re all veterans of the military and business, so we called it Veteran’s Alarm.
Which makes Midland a great place to own a business? Midland has been a great community for me. They’re loyal to the Midland business. You appreciate a local company. Because we are located just off the highway, Freeland, Saginaw and Bay City are all close by as we serve the state.
How are you active in the local community?? I support my kids’ local high school sports teams and bands. We have been in contact with the Associated Builders and Contractors regarding COVID until recently.
What are some of your interests and hobbies? Every year when we vacation, we go to a football game in a different state.
Which local companies you work with do you contribute to the success of your company? We often use Smith’s Flowers. Work with almost every electrician in the area. Midland is very blessed with electricians. We call it “Parts and Smarts”. So we impart the knowledge about the alarm systems and they carry out the installations. We work with many companies in Midland.
Final thoughts you’d like to share with the community? I want to give credit to our employees and our customers. I wouldn’t be here without her. As long as you take care of your customers, everything else will take care of itself.
