After he graduated in 1932, he worked as a crane operator until a job as a cadet engineer opened up at Washington Gas Light. By 1958, at age 49, Don Bittinger was the youngest president in the company's 110 year history.

During his more than 30 years with Washington Gas Light, Bittinger expanded its service from the District to Montgomery, Prince George's, Arlington, and Loudoun counties. Today the company serves about 650,000 customers, from Prince William County, Virginia, to Charles County, Maryland. Bittinger also managed its massive conversion from coal- or oil-derived gas to natural gas - a process that required changing every foot of pipe and all the equipment the company used.

Don Bittinger was a leader in the energy industry, serving as a director of the American Gas Association, but he expended much personal energy on his community. He grew up in Washington and lived in the same house in Cleveland Park from about age 6 until the day he died in 1987. He was president of Davis Memorial Goodwill Industries and a trustee of Children's Hospital and the Boys Club of Greater Washington. He also headed the United Giver's Campaign and was on the boards of the American Red Cross, the Board of Trade, American University, and Johns Hopkins.

"For a pure businessman, he probably spent more time and effort in the community than anybody else I know," says Donald Heim, once Bittinger's assistant and now CEO of Washington Gas Light.

Community service was a commitment that Bittinger communicated to his family and to his company, Heim says. A whole generation of employees "grew up under it and carried it on," bringing light to Washington in more ways than one.