Daily Archives: January 11, 2016

 

 

 

The last time I was with Wilson we were beginning  the celebration of the  Christmas season.  His team had beautifully  decorated the main Lodge of the Tremont Lodge for Christmas, a roaring fire was going in the big stone fire place and I sat across the leather couch from him.  He looked at me, and a little smile crept over his face.  He looked at me for moment and said with child like excitement,  “Joe McNally and Anne Cahill are at my lodge!”  and then he said,   “Bill, the Summit, it really worked, it was great!”  and then he said, with the most sincere expression I’d ever seen him have, “Thank you.”   No Wilson, thank you!

 

 

 

Wilson Reynold exhibited one of the greatest traits I could ever hope to have, his childlike enthusiasm and love for others. When we talked about the various issue of putting on the Summit he always said, “We will do what ever we have to do, to make it great for them!”  Them, to him, was the people that honored him by coming to the Sumit and giving him a chance to provide them with a great experience. Wilson truly loved those people, every one of them,  and he loved our team, he was so appreciative for their efforts, and their efforts were legion!

 

 

Portrait by Joe McNally

 

Wilson was a man of incredible personal accomplishments, but he would never tell you about them, you had to hear them from someone else and ask him if it were true, he would always fend it off as no big deal.  His friends were often very well known people, but he rarely mentioned it, and when he did it was as off handed as if he were talking about just anybody.  During that last workshop we were sitting eating and he said I was just with a friend and I told him I wanted him to  meet you, he said Dick Cheney is really nice guy, matter of faclty.  The former Vice President of the United States!  and  he’s “a really nice guy”,   that was Wilson.

 

 

 

Wilson’s dream was about helping people enjoy the Smokies, have fun photographing them, and teaching them all he could about how to do it better.  It wasn’t about making money, not in Townsend, he knew how to make money, apparently he made a lot, but when I was with him it was always about, “how do you think it’s going, are they having a good time??!!”  I can imagine if he was reading this he would say, “Enough already, get to work, you have a Summit to put on young man, and take care of my people!”  “Yes Sir, consider it done my friend!  but, just let me thank you for letting me be part of your life and your dream!”

 

Now I’ll get to work.

 

Blessings,

 

the pilgrim