By Kristen Gandy - Director of Advancement
My work at Trident United Way involves a lot of interaction with community leaders and supporters. Even before COVID-19, people’s schedules are tight, and we are thankful for their time. Bill Hall, Sr. always made time for us with a welcoming invite to have a seat at the bar at Hall’s Chophouse before his busy day began. The time and lessons learned with Bill will always be cherished. Here are a few reflections on working with Bill.
GivingTuesday – Dec. 2, 2019 is one of the biggest days of the year for nonprofit organizations. We’d invited our most loyal and generous supporters for an inaugural Breakfast for Impact, and they’d shown up in droves packing Hall’s Event space, anxiously awaiting our host’s arrival. Bill Hall, Sr. was our Tocqueville Society chair who graciously offered his event space for this celebration. The clocked ticked and no sign of Bill, we started to think of contingency plans for our opening speaker.
We knew he’d arrived before we saw him – the laughter rang a little louder, there was a cheer in the room that wasn’t there before.
Bill agreed to speak only if he shared the stage with Mechelle Jackson, who shared her journey to success. He didn’t want the spotlight, for him, it was about celebrating others as he set the tone for one of the most special events Trident United Way had ever presented.
Working closely with Bill over the past year, I knew he’d be there for us. Bill Hall always shows up for the things he cares about. Most people in our area know of Bill’s prolific hospitality career, but you may not know how deeply he was committed to serving our community in other ways.
Bill was working in one of his first hotel jobs when his boss at the Fairmont Hotel in California asked him to raise $5,000 for their local United Way. Bill met with every business leader in town asking for their support, and soon he had raised $10,000 to support the campaign! That was just the beginning of a lifelong partnership, and throughout many moves around the country, he always supported his local community through United Way.
His actions did the talking. He was the first to volunteer to host an event, write a check, or connect Trident United Way to his vast network of friends and business associates. He never sought credit or kudos for all the work he did behind the scenes.
Bill and his wife, Jeanne, share a special passion for literacy – specifically with young children. They took the Tri-County Reading By Third project under their wing and helped Trident United Way raise money and spread the word to help implement the most successful literacy program in our history.
It has been an incredible honor to have a seat in a coveted barstool at Halls Chophouse on a weekday morning – before the restaurant opens, Bill took the time to meet with his vendors, clients, partners – and nonprofit staff like me. I saw his leadership as a business owner, his deep commitment to his family and his employees who became family, and the generosity he showed when tasked with helping our community. And if the problem was something the two of us couldn’t figure out on our own, he would pull out his $19 flip phone and make a call to someone who could.
The difference Bill and Jeanne Hall have made in our community is incomprehensible. Bill has left an indelible mark on the Tri-County. While we will miss him deeply, his legacy will live on in the countless lives he’s made better through his kindness.
Pictured: Bill Hall, Sr. with Mechelle Jackson at the 2019 Breakfast for Imapct