Dan joined the TSCL Board of Trustees in 2005, and served as Treasurer for the Political Action Committee (PAC). He was elected as Chair in 2007 in Charlotte, NC.

Dan enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in December 1950 and retired in June 1980. His service stations included Hawaii, Germany, Taiwan and Queens College, where he served as the training NCO for the school's ROTC program. He retired in as a Chief Master Sergeant. After his military service, Mr. O'Connell began a career in civil service. For nearly two decades, he worked in protocol at the Air Force Space Command Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado and eventually retired as the Director of Protocol.

He currently resides in Colorado Springs with his wife, Jolene. They have 11 children and 17 grandchildren.