Walter Cronkite - Journalist, Sailor, Philanthropist

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

My nightly news hero, Walter Cronkite, died yesterday. We all watched as "Uncle Walter" guided us through many events of the Twentieth Century--murder of John F. Kennedy and the Apollo landing on the moon as two outstanding examples. Fewer people knew him as a consummate sailor on his yacht Wyntje.

In 2006, Cronkite gave Wyntje to the Norfolk Associated Marine Institutes, an organization that uses the sea to positively impact the lives of troubled youth. This organization, in recognizing the gift, acknowledged the following individuals for making it happen:

Walter and Betsy Cronkite, obviously the donors;
Buddy Payne, AMI Marine Specialist, for building the relationship of trust that opened the door to the donation;
Chris Burns, for making the donation effortless, high impact. and flawless;
Al Gundry, InterYacht, Annapolis, MD, for making the initial introduction to Cronkite; and
Mike Ashford, owner of McGarvey's Saloon in Annapolis, for being a mentor to the cadets and supporting the credibility of AMI and its staff.

No gift of this importance happens simply. People do give to people through people. This beautiful yacht will continue to do good work well beyond the life of Walter Cronkite because of a number of caring individuals who made it happen.

How can you make a special gift happen for a wonderful organization near and dear to you?