Abilities Awareness

Our journey of learning in classroom and community

Sunday, March 12, 2006

An invitation to 'Dinner with Bill'

Bill Sackter's life and legacy have been celebrated in two movies, a book and
dozens of articles in magazines and newspapers. His spirit is also celebrated
in the many Bill Sackter awards given each year by ARC chapters around the US.

But there are a host of other ways in which Bill is remembered and his spirit extended. We recently heard about a very creative celebration of Bill which takes place annually in Jacksonville, Florida. In that city, members of the
community are invited each year to a "Dinner with Bill."

That's the name the ARC chapter in Jacksnoville has given to its annual event honoring employers for their support of individuals with disabilities. Two small companies and two large ones are honored each year at this dinner. The dinner is also a major fundraiser for the Jacksonville ARC.

CHECK OUT THESE RESOURCES TO LEARN MORE ABOUT BILL

Like to learn more about Bill Sackter? Like to have recommendations to give to friends and family on where to learn about his life and legacy? Here are several suggestions:

Uptown Bill's Small Mall. www.uptownbills.org. Crosstown cousin to the original Wild Bill's Coffeeshop. Located at the corner of Gilbert and Court on the south edge of downtown Iowa City. Includes not only a coffeeshop, but also a bookstore and other businesses.

Bill Sackter: A Special Spirit. www.xapinteractive.org. A new film about the life and legacy of Bill Sackter. Iowa City filmmaker Lane Wyrick is nearly finished with the film which includes interviews with Tom Walz and Barry Morrow. You can see a five minute preview of the film at this website.

ARC of the United States. www.thearc.org. A leading voice in the field of abilities awareness. National umbrella organization for state ARC groups. Presents an award each year in memory of Bill Sackter.

Archive of Famous Iowans. www.desmoinesregister.com/extras. The Des Moines Register has created an electronic archive of famous Iowans which includes Bill Sackter. You can find Bill be using the alphabetical index or by searching the "Activist" category.

Wild Bill's Coffeeshop. www.uiowa.edu/~socialwk/bills. This is the actual place where Bill Sackter worked until his death in 1983. The website includes pictures of the coffeeshop, a menu and an archive of the Bill's Coffeeshop Newsletter.

posted by Tom Gilsenan @ 4:49 PM  

10 Comments:

  • At 11:26 PM, March 29, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I find amazing that one person can have such a profound affect on some many people. I also think that it is a statement to how many people Bill touched throughout his life that almost 25 years after his death people in Florida are having a dinner with Bill, I can not think of a better tribute to Bill. I glad that his spritit is still inspiring people.

     

  • At 1:14 PM, March 31, 2006, Blogger Tom Gilsenan said…

    Pam: I was the manager of Bill's Coffeeshop for about five years. I learned a lot -- I will probably tell a few stories from the coffeeshop in class this Saturday. I left the coffeeshop (and other work) to come to Presentation College. (I still write a weekly newsletter abiout the coffeeshop and related social work topics.)

     

  • At 3:01 PM, April 03, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    That is neat that you are still involved with the news letter for Wild Bills. Its nice to hear that people do not forget about their pasts!

     

  • At 9:37 AM, April 15, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I think it's amazing that Bill was able to leave a legacy behind in not only the two states in which he had recided, but also in Florida and Arizona. It speaks volumes of the impact that he had on people that those in opposite corners of the U.S. would also look up to him as an inspiration.

     

  • At 5:58 PM, April 24, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    Dawn, you are right that his spirit is still alive in the coffeeshop. Jamie said also that the legacy is still living in other states. I am amazed that Bill is still living in are spirits also because of the books and the movies that we enjoyed watching.

     

  • At 9:29 AM, April 26, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I have looked up this website www.uptownbills.org. This website was neat. First this website explains a small mall which is a collection of small shops owned and operated by people with disabilities. These business include Mr. Ed's SuperGraphics, Leslie's Luxuries, Bill's Bookmart, Uptown Bill's Coffee Shop, and The Mad Hatter's Room. There also events in the Mad Hatter Room. Every Friday there is a mic night. Saturdays there are usually bands the cover charge is $3.00. Sunday is movie night. This was a very cool website. I thought that performers for students who could share their talents was a exciting event. There are so many young and old people with so much talent.

     

  • At 9:44 AM, April 26, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I looked up the website www.thearc.org. The Arc is the national organization of and people with mental retardation and related developmental disabilities and their families. It is devoted to promoting and improving supports and services for people with mental retardation and their families. The association also fosters research and education regarding the prevention of mental retardation in infants and young children. The Arc is non-profit, tax-exempt corporation. This website is a great learning tool for people to explore.

     

  • At 9:52 AM, April 26, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I looked up the last website and could not get anything. www.uiowa.edu/~socialwk/bills. This website was under construction also.

     

  • At 7:04 PM, April 29, 2006, Blogger Tom Gilsenan said…

    The Bill's Coffeeshop website has been getting a facelift. It's now back online. Check it out.

     

  • At 1:23 PM, December 11, 2009, Blogger Lane Wyrick said…

    The feature length documentary I created about Bill Sackter is now called "A Friend Indeed - The Bill Sackter Story", and it is the authentic story of the real Bill Sackter using actual footage and photos of Bill along with interviews with those closest to him.

    You can find it at http://www.BillSackter.com - It is highly inspirational, and funny, but you should also have a box of Kleenex handy. The DVD is available now which features the full documentary along with over two hours of extras.

    You can also join the growing Facebook fan base at http://www.facebook.com/BillSackter

    Thanks,

    Lane Wyrick, director/editor
    "A Friend Indeed - The Bill Sackter Story"
    www.BillSackter.com


    P.S. The documentary's working title was "Bill Sackter: A Special Spirit" until about 2006. If you see the documentary in its entirety you'll see how the new name came about. My company is at XapInteractive.com (not org).

     

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