Eric Dokurno was at Kuhlman Corporation’s Yard 4 several years ago when he heard a mother duck screeching in distress. The mother’s ducklings had wandered into a catch basin near the road and became trapped beneath the grating. While another Kuhlman employee blocked the nearby traffic lane, Eric climbed into the catch basin, removed the grate, and fished out the baby ducks. He safely relocated the reunited family to a grassy area across the road.

Two years later, an injured hummingbird entered Kuhlman’s Maumee office when someone propped open the back emergency door. Eric discovered the suffering bird on the hallway floor. He took the bird outside and nursed it back to health.

When he is not serving as the Birdman of Kuhlman Corporation, Eric Dokurno is Vice President of Building Materials.

The Early Years

Born and raised in Oregon, Ohio, Eric grew up in the restaurant industry. His family owned and operated the Northwood Inn and Northwood Villa restaurants back then, and his father was a culinary institution-trained chef. Eric worked in the restaurants until he turned 18.

“I enjoyed the business, but I didn’t like working the hours when everyone else was out having fun,” recalls Eric.

After graduating from Clay High School, Eric worked in construction, installing windows, siding, and doors. He attended Owens Community College part-time, where he studied accounting. After Owens, he transferred to the University of Toledo, switching his major to operations management.

Still trying to decide what career to pursue, Eric went to work at Kuhlman Corporation, where his uncle Ray Myers and buddy Steve Grau worked. He handled the counter at Yard 4 for about a year before moving to sewer material sales in 2000. He has been in sales and management for more than twenty-five years.

Family Life

Eric married his high school sweetheart in 1996, and the couple has a daughter and two sons. He still loves to cook and does 95 percent of the cooking at home. He also enjoys hunting and fishing, playing tennis and pickleball, and frustratingly trying his hand at golf.

The Dokurno family loves vacationing in Seagrove Beach along the Florida panhandle’s 30A corridor and Murfreesboro, Tennessee. They attend half a dozen concerts yearly, with Eric’s musical tastes spanning everything from Justin Timberlake and Jane’s Addiction to Foreigner and Styx. When looking for pure downtime, “the Birdman” relishes sitting in his backyard, watching and feeding his feathered friends.

Eric says his grandmother has had a significant influence on his life, especially after his mom’s passing when he was just ten years old. He is also grateful for his Uncle Ed, to whom he often goes for advice.

“They taught me to never take anything for granted—that what you get out of life matches the effort you apply,” says Eric.

With that in mind, Eric tries to give everything he has to every endeavor. For example, he set out to get in shape and lost forty pounds in the past year.

“I want to make a difference,” he says. “So whatever I’m doing, I try to do more.”