Spirit In Action

Tom Walz may be the tireless force behind Iowa City's alternative cultural experience, Uptown Bill's Small Mall, but the work of the mall is the legacy of an amazing mentally retarded man, Bill Sachter. Because of his experience with Bill, Tom found his life's work, helping people with disabilities own and run their own businesses. Tom's life has been fruitful and full of service, inspired by the Catholic teachings of his childhood. He was a Peace Corps director in Central America, taught social work at the university, and is a Gandhi scholar. But it is no exaggeration to say that his friendship with Bill Sachter changed the lives of Tom and many others. Bill entered the "Faribault Institution for Epileptics and Idiots" at the age of seven and spent 45 years there, being released in the mid-1960's. He so inspired the admiration of those around him that his life became the subject of two award winning movies - both Golden Globe and Emmy's - as well as a book by Tom, "The Unlikely Celebrity". Tom's "retirement"