From Andy Spiegel

For 10 years, I have known Willie Baronet. Not one Willie, but three.

First, there was Willie the colleague and collaborator. From 1999 to 2002, while I was at Motorola and his agency, GroupBaronet, he was my main creative resource, we did many projects together – easy ones, tough ones, successful ones, and a few duds. But whatever the project, working with Willie and his creative team made it fun. In fact, in my then-35 years working with creative folks, I had never worked with anyone harder working, more inventive, more dedicated. When the business relationship ended (along with my paycheck at Motorola), I lost one of the best creative partners I’d ever had – or have had since.

But by then, fortunately, I had gained Willie the close friend. Actually, we had started becoming friends almost immediately; it’s what made the work relationship so happy and productive (despite the inevitable corporate stresses). Though separated in years by more than 15, we found much in common – likes and dislikes, hopes and fears, questions about life, what it means to be a caring man, and best of all, a wry sense of humor and fun. We also enjoyed the same kind of offbeat movies.

And then there was Willie the Warrior. I was initiated into the Austin Mankind Project in August 2000. Knowing even that early in our friendship that Willie as an avid seeker of truth, wisdom and of his own deepest self, I invited him to “go through” an initiation weekend. Without reluctance or reservation, he did so, a display of friendship and trust that thrills me to this moment. I had the honor to be on the staff that weekend and to watch Willie experience everything I had experienced – the fears, the joys, the comradeship, and the self-learning. That weekend is one of the great joys of my adult life, but an even greater thrill and source of pride has been watching Willie ascend into a major leadership role in the Mankind Project (just read the comments of other Warriors on this page) and to incorporate the lessons and values of the organization into his life.

So, Willie, my vendor, my friend, and my Brother – I take this occasion of your 50th birthday to tell you that I love you, and that I count myself blessed and honored to have crossed paths with all of you, and that I look forward to many years of discovering new Willies as you, yourself, discover them.