NEWS

Bill Giduz in front of the town plaque honoring Burney Award winners

On Saturday, May 18, many gathered at Davidson United Methodist Church, from far and wide, to remember and celebrate the life of Bill Giduz. We laughed, cried, and applauded this wonderful man.

We heard stories from friends and family about Bill’s amazing world travels, his love of family, his embrace of community, and his service to those in need. Bill was honored by the college he loved with the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award for community service and by the town he loved with the G. Jackson Burney Community Service Award. To say that these institutions and places appreciated him is an understatement. He appreciated them right back by telling their stories through words and pictures in beautiful detail, with an unparalleled eye for what was worthy and interesting.

This bicycle and helmet were in front of Davidson United Methodist Church during Bill Giduz’s memorial service (Meg Kimmel photo)

At the end of the service, his good friend, Meg Kimmel, saw this bicycle and helmet in front of the church and she was overcome with the sense of his presence. We thank whoever rode this bicycle for bringing with you thoughts of Bill, our photographer and man about town on his bike, with his ever-present camera at the ready to capture the essence of Davidson.

I was given the honor and challenge to interview Bill and then write the citation for the Burney Award. I faced this with the knowledge that Bill did not like to talk about himself, but he accommodated me when I told him that he needed to help me get it right. And the only way I could do that was with his cooperation!

Here is the citation, a meager representation of Bill Giduz. He was a man of words, but no words could fully capture him, with his spirit of giving and caring and love and determination to do good in the world. Rest in peace Bill, a good and faithful servant, a devoted friend, family man, and colleague, a helper, a life well-lived. We shall miss you.

The G. Jackson Burney Award Citation for Bill Giduz
November 22, 2017

Today’s honoree, William Roland Giduz, was born on April 12, 1952. Twelve has always been his lucky number. Interestingly, there are, at least, twelve reasons why he should be the recipient of this year’s G. Jackson Burney Community Service Award:

Number 12. Learning Early the Importance of Community: His parents, nicknamed Thumb and Big Ron (even though his father’s name was Roland), reared their three sons in Chapel Hill, imbuing them with the spirit of community and a focus on the needs of others. Bill’s parents met in New York City where both were studying at Columbia University. After a stint in Boston, the couple decided to settle in Roland’s hometown of Chapel Hill. Armed with his master’s degree in journalism, Roland began his career as a stringer, covering hard news for the daily papers in Durham and Raleigh. It will come as no surprise that Bill’s dad rode around town on his bicycle, tracking down stories of civic and local interest. Bill’s mother was the town manager of Chapel Hill for a time, giving Bill another perspective on the importance of community. She passed along her love of nature – especially birds – to Bill and his two brothers, Bob and Thomas, and helped the boys become ecologically minded.

Number 11. Accepting Challenges: Bill attended Durham Academy for his elementary school years, where a shop teacher encouraged him and allowed him to use power tools. When Bill’s father received a Neiman Fellowship at Harvard in Cambridge, Bill learned to accept the challenge of a new school and to trust his instincts. Consequently, he has not shied away from challenges in our community.

Number 10. Cultivating a Natural Talent: Bill’s dad set up a darkroom in the basement of their home on Roosevelt Drive in Chapel Hill. A patient learner, Bill sat at his father’s elbow, fascinated with the images and shapes that emerged on paper, despite not much liking the smell of the darkroom chemicals. There blossomed his love of photography, a talent he has generously offered to our community in his almost four decades of living here.

Number 9. Having a Foundation of Family: Upon the family’s return to Chapel Hill, they moved in with grandfather Hugo to the house on Tenney Circle. Grandmother Edith had recently died, and Hugo was alone. Bill’s mother lived in that very house until her death this year. Throughout his childhood and adolescence, Bill learned the importance of family and neighbors, qualities that he exhibits in his life every day, through his service to our town.

Number 8. Sharing his Gifts of Writing and Photography: As early as 1963, when he was only 11 years old, Bill became a journalist in his own right. He and a neighborhood friend, Jim Lasley, published the “News of Tenney Circle,” which they sold door-to-door. The paper included jokes, the neighborhood news, and a celebrity of the week. Bill was already learning how to conduct an interview that would illuminate a personality with precision and insight. This talent, in his DNA and nurtured by his father and teachers, served him well in his career at Davidson College and in the gifts of stories and articles that he freely shares with us today in the online community site, News of Davidson.

Number 7. Displaying a Can-do Spirit: Bill wrote for the Chapel Hill High School newspaper, the Proconian, where he cultivated his story-telling talent and had fun in the process. That spirit of fun and practical optimism is a characteristic that he brings to all of his endeavors. If a friend or a colleague or a nonprofit asks Bill for help, he answers the call with a can-do spirit. The word ‘no’ is not in Bill’s vocabulary.

Number 6. Valuing Education and Honing his Craft: Bill majored in history at Davidson College. He wrote articles for the Davidsonian and worked at the Greensboro newspaper for two summers as an intern. After his junior year, he worked at the Raleigh Times. Upon graduation, he made his way to Atlanta, where he worked with neighborhood newspapers, laying out pages for a number of mastheads. And where he met a sharp young woman, by the name of Ellen.

Number 5. Devoting Himself to Our Community: Bill came to his fifth college reunion in 1980, and to our town’s great good fortune, discovered that his alma mater was hiring in College Communications. The timing was perfect for Bill because he had realized by then that he was not a corporate kind of newsman. Thus, began his years of devotion to his alma mater and his community.

Number 4. Offering Good Acts Underpinned by the Strength of Family: Upon first moving to Davidson, Bill lived at Oak Hill Apartments, before moving to D.G. Martin’s little cement house, on what was once Sam Whitley’s farm. A wood burning stove warded off the winter chill, but in only one small bedroom. Until Ellen married Bill and joined him in town, the only creatures that shared the farmland with him were the squirrels, rabbits, and foxes. Ellen was such a good sport that she shared the little cement house for several years with Bill before they bought their first place on Concord Road. They started their family when Jenny was born in 1990, followed by Luke in 1994. There can be no doubt that Bill’s family gives him the foundation and strength upon which his good acts have been built. Thank you to Ellen, Jenny, and Luke.

Number 3. Finding the Fun in Learning and Giving: The college grew, technology changed, colleagues and bosses and presidents came and went. Throughout, Bill wrote stories about alumni, students, faculty, and staff. He captured college news, wrote features for multiple college publications, and conveyed the beauty and mission of the college through thousands of photographs. He taught and nurtured scores of work-study students, providing a model of standards and professionalism. Meanwhile, he contributed to community life. He became an expert juggler and took up “Joggling” – running while juggling. It was a common sight to see Bill teaching juggling to all comers every Sunday afternoon on the Village Green. No charge. Still today, he teaches freely, sharing juggling, a smile, and some fun in the Ada Jenkins gym on Sunday afternoons. After Hurricane Hugo tore through Davidson, Bill created and produced the Hurricane Hugo Flying Objects Festival, a weekend of juggling workshops and activities, capped off by a Vaudeville Show. The famous Fettucini Brothers often headlined the event. Did he charge for this? Of course not.

Number 2. Being Dependable and Steady: A college co-worker said, “Bill was one of the most dependable people who worked in our department. Even on days when I arrived extra early, Bill was already there. After going home for dinner with the family, he came back to the college most evenings to cover and photograph plays, speakers, meetings, and sports. He would arrive on his bicycle – camera, pencil, and notepad at the ready. Collegial, steady, and quick, he would pitch great stories with enthusiasm and bring them to life on the page.”

And Number 1. Giving Generously of his Time, Talents, and Treasure Over Many Years: Local nonprofits, from Habitat to Rotary and the Davidson Housing Coalition, owe a huge debt of gratitude to Bill. He has served on their boards, written their stories, set up their newsletters, and given them generously of his time and talent and treasure. These days, he is giving his time to another nonprofit, the News of Davidson. There you can find his beautifully composed photographs and his well-written articles, all given to inform and strengthen his community.

So, William Roland Giduz, given these twelve reasons, and so many more, the Town of Davidson is proud to accord you the 2017 G. Jackson Burney Community Service Award. You embody the values we saw and loved in Jack. You carry on his work to create the kind of community where family and friendship and good works are a given and daily part of our lives.

Thank you for sharing your light and love with us.