Our Friend Bill
I’ve been staring at this blank computer screen for a while now since I got the call. A friend in the industry let me know that we lost a superstar this week - Bill Snyder of William Glen in Sacramento, Calif. passed away on Tuesday.
For those of us who were blessed to know Bill, well, it was like getting to know joy. Bill embodied joy. When he walked into a room, happiness and laughter were his companions.
I’ve been speaking with lots of people today about Bill, reminiscing, sharing our gratitude that we were able to spend time with him in San Francisco this past August.
And no matter who I spoke with – above the sadness – the joy of knowing Bill is what resounds. He was a gentlemen’s gentleman, a businessman ahead of his time, a father, a husband, a grandfather, and a friend.
Someone said to me that to see him in his natural habitat – on the sales floor- was something to witness. He had an instant rapport with customers, with anyone.
Bill’s passion for retail is evident in his store. William Glen has been at the cutting edge of retail for decades. The store was founded in 1963 by William Snyder and Glen Forbes as a decorating studio and candle shop. William Glen was one of the first cooperative independent retailer catalog services. Beginning in 1976, the company offered services to independents across the country, printing catalogs as a collaborative effort.
Although the catalog service stopped in 1999, it's just one example of Bill’s innovation and forward-thinking business sense.
Bill embraced technology. At William Glen, gift registries have been in use since the 1970s. In 2003, William Glen launched a proprietary registry link that serves as a bridge between the point-of-sale system and the web-based gift registry itself.
When Bill began venturing into cyberspace, he again relied on his own inventiveness to create a site deserving of his customers. He launched “Bill’s World” blog – [http://www.williamglen.com/billsworld/default.asp] a place, he told me this summer, he created to live on long after he was gone. I recall responding to him that nothing could ever go on without him.
He said only, “Ah but it will.” And he smiled that great grin that always made whoever was so lucky to be there to see it smile right back.
And he gave me a squeeze that let me know all was right with the world.
Bill will be missed by us all, by grateful individuals and a grateful industry. And most of all by his family, who we send our most heartfelt condolences and thanks for letting us all share in his life.
[William Glen was selected as the Global Innovator Awards with the International Home + Housewares Association. You can read about this fantastic store and retailer here.
http://www.gourmetretailer.com/gourmetretailer/esearch/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002276460]
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