An Ode to My Favourite Mentor: The Late Bill Slapin
It was 2019 as a new industry was ramping up after the passing of the Farm Bill in 2018 that legalized CBD in the USA when I received a call from Bill Slapin.
"I've seen your writing, and I want to offer you an opportunity to become Editor-in-Chief for a new CBD-related magazine I'm creating," Bill said to me. "Oh wow!" I said, both surprised, a bit skeptical, but most definitely intrigued.
What that phone call led to was one of the most impactful experiences of my professional and personal life. Together, along with the help of some highly talented folks (Josh, I see you!), we worked to build CBD Business Media, but that's not all that happened - we also worked to build an amazing relationship that had a profound impact on us both.
Every day he'd call me from California, and we'd talk "biz", but moreso, we talked about life. Being a very long-time and very experienced media veteran and professor, Bill always had a gem of wisdom to share about careers, family, work-life balance, and the importance of good relationships. He also taught me what it means to have gumption, and how to be spirited, bold, and have the courage and initiative to tackle challenges or take decisive action.
As we built CBD Business Media, Bill provided me with a monthly salary that I never thought I'd see in my career, but that's because he believed in me and wanted to show me he understood my value as a writer and professional.
We spent two weekends together in Los Angeles attending various conferences, and another weekend in Las Vegas promoting CBD Business Media. At one of the conferences, he had broken his leg and was so determined not to let that stop him, that he got himself a wheely cart and rolled around the conference floor using just one of his legs making connections with the energy of a 20 year old. I'll never get that image of him that weekend out of my head.
CBD Business Media never really took off due to the high saturation of CBD related content at the time, but that didn't really matter to me. What mattered is that I had met this tremendous man who always stood behind me, never ceased to let me forget my value, and provided me with life lessons that will stick with me forever.
At one time I wrote him a letter telling him how much he meant to me, telling him that I considered him like a father having lost my own, and highlighting how he'd impacted me. He wrote back and told me he put my letter in the same folder where he keeps his keepsakes from his own children. I was so touched and honoured.
Bill died in 2021. I was crushed. But even though so much time has passed, I still think of Bill regularly and reflect on what he taught me about life and work.
I hope everyone has a "Bill" in their lives to help guide them. I miss him a lot, but through his impact, he still feels like a big part of my life. What a man.
Anne-Marie E. Fischer, BA (Hons), M.Ed., blends her passion for the written word with her vocation to create a better world through effective communications, education, and Community Based Research (CBR).
Words for Impact is the culmination of Anne-Marie’s passions, talents, training, experience, and education. This unique company offers grant and proposal writing, research studies, research reports, impact reports, content development, brand development, communications consulting, biography/autobiography (ghost)writing, education and training materials, curriculum development, podcast script writing, journalistic articles, press releases, developmental editing, in-line editing, and fact-checking.
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