More memories of a difference maker
In May, we lost our boss and friend, Walt Gdowski. Since then, we’ve received condolence notes and calls from so many of you. We’ve exchanged great stories among our internal team and others with whom we’ve engaged as we work through our loss. And we’ve been able to share memories of Walt from co-workers, partners, and others in the industry.
The first collection of memories was released online last month—in honor of what would have been Walt’s 79th birthday, on August 3. If you didn’t see it, you can find it on the web at roughnotes.com/remembering-walt. This second installment captures more memories, including those from editorial team members who worked with Walt the longest—including Tom McCoy, editor-in-chief of the magazine for more than 40 years.
Tom writes, “In 1988, Walt Gdowski became president of The Rough Notes Company, an industry icon that was already more than 100 years old. Both for Walt and for the rest of us whose livelihoods depended on the company, Walt’s taking the helm was the start of a wild ride that took us through scary times, fun times, and ultimately a successful remake of the 100-plus year-old firm.
“When Walt stepped in, the icon had become tarnished. For decades, Rough Notes thrived by selling billing forms and other paper-based products—including 75,000 proof-of-loss forms following the San Francisco earthquake of 1908. By the 1980s, technology was eroding the sales of paper-based products.
“Closer to home,” Tom continues, “the company’s monthly magazines, including its flagship Rough Notes, were losing advertising revenue. Insurance company mergers had reduced the number of potential ad buyers, and competition among insurance trade publishers was fierce.
“Early on Walt contracted a New York-based firm to help radically reshape Rough Notes magazine. It meant paying for articles from professional insurance writers and a complete redesign of the magazine, including, for the first time, the use of four-color photos and new layouts.”
Tom recalls, “Walt dramatically increased the number of pages in the magazine, brought in a new advertising sales staff, and ran aggressive promotions.
“Expensive, for sure. And scary, because if it didn’t work, we knew we would go down with the ship. The financial return was not immediate. Yet, for me, the opportunity to be part of the process of remaking the magazine was the most exciting time of my 44 years at the company.
“Through it all, no matter how hard you worked,” Tom notes, “Walt always worked 10 times harder. Whenever Walt made an important decision, he would explain it and then conclude by saying, ‘We’re off and running.’
“Walt was always running at top speed. He would call you into his office by asking, ‘Got a minute?’ As if there was a choice. It reminds me of how one Green Bay Packers football player described meetings with Vince Lombardi: ‘When the coach said to sit down, you didn’t even look for a chair.’
Walt and his Stearman biplane. The Stearman has a steel tube fuselage and fabric-covered wooden wings, as well as tandem open cockpits, allowing for both a student and instructor.
“Another of Walt’s investments in Rough Notes magazine, and perhaps his personal favorite, was hosting an annual meeting of the magazine’s editorial board and presenting the Agency of the Year award,” Tom explains. “This tradition, started in 1990, put Walt and the editorial staff face-to-face with leading insurance agency owners.
“For Walt, these editorial board members and those who won the Agency of the Year Award were kindred entrepreneurial spirits.
“One year, Chris McVicker, owner of The Flanders Group in Rochester, New York, won the award and brought his entire agency to the award ceremony—20 people, on a chartered plane. Walt was delighted. They arrived at the ceremony in matching black tuxedos with red cummerbunds and white tennis shoes with the agency logo emblazoned on the side.
“Another year, the winner was Tommy Huval of The Huval Agency in Lafayette, Louisiana. He appreciated Walt’s hospitality so much that he invited Walt and me to Louisiana for a follow-up celebration his agency hosted a few months later. That event featured a ‘crawfish boil’ held in a small town in the heart of Cajun country. Walt’s favorite part of that was watching another guest—agency consultant Roger Sitkins—figure out whether or how to eat the crayfish.
“When the changes Walt made at Rough Notes paid off, I’m sure it was immensely satisfying to him. He was generous in crediting employees for successes the company enjoyed. Along the way, when you were fortunate enough to be drawn into Walt’s sense of humor, the day was always brighter.”
Dennis Pillsbury took over magazine editorial leadership when Tom retired. But memories he shared came from before he joined the Rough Notes team. “I first met Walt in the late 1980s,” he recalls, “soon after he became president of Rough Notes. I was working as vice president of RLDA Communications in New York City. Since we specialized in the insurance industry, he came to us to discuss his goal of making Rough Notes magazine the leading publication in the industry.
“I’ll admit to some skepticism on our part; we often saw prospects with grand ideas quickly balk once they learned the cost. But Walt proved to be unique. Not only would he put his money where his mouth was, but he also championed ideas and made them his own, even amid opposition from others in the industry. As we all know, opposition quickly faded once Walt set his mind on something.
“We had regular meetings in New York and Indianapolis to look critically at the magazine, both good and bad. We opted to focus on the magazine’s strong presence in the marketing side of the agency business and to highlight agencies on the cover. The goal: to build a following that would result in other agents competing to appear in that coveted position.
“We also insisted that the feature articles include four-color photography, so potential advertisers would see that this was a magazine where their ads would look great. And when I say ‘we,’ I want it to be clear that Walt was the leading force of the group.
“Every one of the suggestions cost money,” Dennis notes. “As you can imagine, the first year was especially troubling. Walt stayed with it, even though we had to scramble to get new advertisers into the book, as carrier advertising budgets were set before the year began.
“So, a lot of money was going out the door and not a lot of new money was coming in. Fortunately, that changed. Walt never flinched. He believed in the idea and even started spending more money, establishing an editorial board and bringing in agents from around the country to help determine what to cover.
“I’ll never forget those early years,” Dennis says. “Walt was like a whirling dervish, fighting for changes while continuing to suggest more. Fortunately, it worked. I don’t think Walt was surprised by the success. He had a nearly unbounded optimism that inspired others around him to put in their best efforts. And he always remembered those people.”
One of those people—Nancy Doucette—shares memories of “Walt, the Jokester,” as she calls him. “By the time I retired in 2016 as managing editor,” Nancy writes, “I had worked for Rough Notes magazine for almost half my life. I saw the publication transformed from a ‘how to’ journal containing articles written by agents into a four-color, glossy publication featuring articles written by professional journalists.
“It reshaped industry periodicals. The man who drove that transformation was Walter J. Gdowski.
“Walt was tireless in establishing the ‘new’ Rough Notes as the premier publication in the property/casualty space. If it were a bicycle race, Walt was way out front. The rest of us were ‘drafting,’ doing our best to match his pace.
“Despite his relentless pursuit of perfection, Walt’s sense of humor was his hallmark. Perhaps his most elaborate joke was when he invited Thaddeus Podgorniak, Poland’s Commissar of Insurance, to be the keynote speaker at the annual Rough Notes magazine editorial board meeting.
“When the Commissar was introduced and approached the podium, one couldn’t help but smile at the man in a Cossack fur hat and military-style jacket heavy with medals. During his remarks in his thick Polish accent, he frequently sipped from his tumbler of clear liquid—vodka, the Commissar told his audience. The longer he spoke, the more he drank, and the more he drank, the more he slurred his words.
“Before the presentation completely devolved, Walt joined the Commissar at the podium. Turns out, as Walt explained, Podgorniak wasn’t who he said he was. He was another guy who loved a good joke—industry icon Don Malecki, a long-time columnist for Rough Notes and fellow ‘Polack.’ (Walt regularly referred to his Polish heritage using that term … no insult intended.) The room erupted in laughter and applause for a joke well executed.
“Walt was generally the first one in the office each day but in later years, he gave himself permission to enjoy his hobby—early morning flights in one of his vintage military planes known as warbirds. He invited me to join him on one of those flights in his bright yellow, two-seater, open cockpit Stearman biplane.
“He asked during the flight if I’d be okay with him putting the plane into an inversion. I love roller coasters, so why not? Let’s just say I’m glad I hadn’t had breakfast beforehand. We did return safely to the hangar and, as a memento, Walt gave me—as he did for all who flew with him—an embroidered T-shirt with an image of the plane and the words: ‘I flew with the Polack.’
“Each time I hear a propeller plane, I scan the sky to see it, imagining the Stearman and its pilot, the Polack who literally changed the face of insurance publications.”
Memories from industry partners echo themes identified by others. Beyond Insurance Chief Training Officer Carolyn Smith writes, “At Beyond Insurance, we were fortunate to know and work with Walt Gdowski.
“Each time Scott Addis (Beyond Insurance founder and cover agency principal) would return from a Rough Notes Agents Editorial Advisory Board meeting, he talked about Walt’s fierce dedication to the independent agency system and his heartfelt belief in the agency Community Service Award. For Walt, it wasn’t just recognition—it was a mission to shine a light on the meaningful, often unsung work agents do in their communities.
“Walt was a bigger-than-life character,” she adds. “Often gruff, always direct—but with a heart that beat for the independent agent. Every member of the Beyond Insurance Global Network felt his presence. Whether they were named a cover agency or simply engaged in the movement, they knew Walt was in their corner.”
One of Carolyn’s favorite memories of Walt is the year she was tasked with choosing a holiday gift for him on behalf of their team. “He’d recently shared how proud he was of his Polish heritage, and I mentioned a trip I’d taken to Warsaw. So, I sent him a Polish glass decanter and a bottle of Starka—what I cheerfully called ‘Polish whiskey.’
“Walt called me right away to enlighten me with a more accurate rundown: ‘It’s not really whiskey,’ he said, ‘but a rye spirit, usually infused with apple or pear leaves, aged with care since the 15th century.’ Leave it to Walt to turn the call into a masterclass in Eastern European spirits!
“That was Walt. He lived life full throttle—championing the independent agent, preserving our industry’s legacy, sharing his Polish heritage, and flying World War II trainer planes with the same bold spirit he brought to everything he did.
“He will be missed—but his impact, his voice, and his passion will never be forgotten.”
Walt’s impact was similarly remembered by IIABA Company Relations Vice President Beth Montgomery: “Walt Gdowski was bigger than life to me personally. What an amazing leader, businessman and kind friend!”
Beth first met Walt during a meeting of the IMCA—the Insurance Marketing & Communications Association—in the early ’90s. “He was kind, and at the time I worked for a magazine at PIA National, selling advertising space, in direct competition with Rough Notes What I learned from Walt is to always be kind, even to your competitors.
“Walt was so gracious to me, and we were fighting for the same ad sales,” she adds. “He invited me to join his/Rough Notes dinner during the IMCA meeting where we met, and that solidified that we’d be friends for life! He taught me to be caring to all in our industry and to always be inclusive. From that day on, I too have always invited anyone I meet to have a seat at any table that I’m seated at!
“Walt and I were both on the IMCA board during the early 1990s, and I will always be grateful to him for his reach out and thoughtfulness. His enthusiasm for our industry was endless, and he always wanted to learn more about the people in it!
“Almost every time I saw Walt, he would ask ‘Do you want to come work for Rough Notes?’ He was so kind, and I will be grateful for his friendship always.
“I’d be remiss if I didn’t share how much Walt talked about his beautiful family and how he adored his (wife) Sharon. He would always be so excited at meetings to run home from the event to see his wife and family.
“His love for flying was always a wonderful topic of conversation. Oh, how Walt made a difference for not only me, but for the entire insurance industry. He will be missed!”
If you or your associates have memories you’d like to share, please email them to RememberingWalt@roughnotes.com. Also, be sure to check out the first installment of “Remembering Walt,” at roughnotes.com/remembering-walt. Finally, if you’re inclined, feel free to make a contribution in Walt’s honor to a cause that was dear to him: Tunnel to Towers Foundation (t2t.org).
