Douglas Wesley Partin, born in Wilkinson County, Mississippi, studied and worked hard as a youth. He served his country, first in the United States Air Force and then in the United States Army Reserve during the Korean Conflict. Early in his professional career, he joined the Teamsters and worked up through the ranks until he became Principal Officer of Teamsters Union Local #5 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He retired from that post in 1994, having brought many needed reforms to the union and put it on a sound financial footing. With his wife Sandy, he splits his time between his camp in Mississippi and his home in Zachary, Louisiana.