Truly Nolen Honors Late Employee on New Wall of Fame

TUCSON, Ariz. — On Nov. 11, in front of family, longtime co-workers, friends, and guests, the late Bill Spalding was honored by the Nolen family at Truly Nolen’s Leadership and Training Center as the first inductee for the company’s new Wall of Fame.

The Wall of Fame provides the Nolen family the ability to recognize significant and lasting contributions to the company that employees have made over the years.

As the inaugural honoree, Spalding, who passed away in November 2021, is a textbook example of career pathing, said the company.

According to Judy Shoob, who first met Spalding in 1967 when she began working for the company, Spalding once told her he had a degree in philosophy but wanted to do something physical in terms of a job. “As luck would have it, Bill’s parents lived a block away from the late Mr. Nolen’s office in Tucson, and they encouraged him to apply there,” said Shoob, now retired, who served as the company's vice president of human resources. “In 1957, two years after Truly Nolen had opened, Bill applied and began doing termite work.”

By the time Shoob met him 10 years later, he had worked his way up to the position of executive vice president, and she said he was “Truly’s right hand man.”

One of the ways Spalding kept demonstrating his worth, according to Shoob, was by going into the office after doing his work, seeing things that needed to be done and simply doing them. “As he continued doing this, Truly himself trusted Bill to handle things while he was traveling between branches, and as a result, his hard work led to his eventually becoming executive vice president,” said Shoob.

As several people mentioned, including Chief Financial Officer Matt Wild and Director of Operational Administrative Support Michelle Nolen, Spalding was a mentor. Shoob said that if you went to him with a problem, he did not tell you what to do. “Instead, he would instead ask that person questions to consider in solving the problem,” said Shoob. “When that person began answering those questions, it would almost always become apparent with the answering of those questions what you should do, which was definitely a unique way to mentor people.”

Chris Maher, who worked with Spalding for nearly 30 years, said, “The biggest impact Bill had on me was understanding self and others. In other words, understanding how people are different and seeing things from their perspective, and that you cannot motivate a person — you need to create an environment in which they can be motivated.”

Also known for his compassion and his sense of humor, Spalding’s plaque reads, “In recognition of William F. Spalding, we honor and acknowledge with gratitude 47 years of distinguished service, passion and expertise for mentoring others, championing the development of partners and efforts contributing to the long-term growth and profitability of Truly Nolen of America. Serving from 1957-2004."