Dedication
Former CWS Director John Flood (1975-1984) submitted this reflection on Wilderness School founder, former Connecticut Senator William G. Moore. (January 2026).
As a young man, I was given the gift to know and to be mentored by Bill Moore. Bill and first Director, Joe Beckham launched the School in the summer of 1974. I became the second Director after Joe left in January 1976. Bill was the founder, board chairman, and godfather of the School.
Bill was the force behind the School’s founding. His vision was determined, infectious, and brought the School into being. It was Bill’s deep understanding and belief in the power of experience to transform lives that was the foundation for the School. Outward Bound schools were proliferating in the US at the time, and Bill knew that the Outward Bound methodology was a powerful way to meet the needs of pre-adjudicated youth. He understood how to create an adaptation of the Outward Bound methodology to fit the needs of delinquent youth. He wanted to make an adapted OB experience available to the needs of youth who would never encounter Outward Bound.
Bill was in his mid 60’s in 1974. He had served as a State Senator and understood the levers of state government and the influencers needed to bring an unorthodox and out-of-the-box approach to serving a misunderstood and neglected population of youth in Connecticut. He did the legwork required to get the state government to support and fund the School and give the School leaders independence from state bureaucracy.
Bill was a recovering alcoholic, and having overcome this addiction left him with a deep belief in the individual’s possibility of redemption and renewal from difficult life challenges. He instilled in the School an intense commitment to never ever giving up on a young person. He demanded respect for all Wilderness School students and commitment to the belief in our and their capacity to transform our lives through experience. He believed deeply that we all have all we need to make our lives what we want. The School’s mission was to help young people believe in themselves – to realize their own inherent power.
Bill conceived a challenge-based experience that went far beyond the single wilderness experience which forms the OB approach. He envisioned a powerful wilderness experience bounded by an orientation for students that included community involvement / support through a youth-serving institution, parental involvement, and a contract outlining the student’s commitments and personal goals.
He saw a year of follow-up of short wilderness experiences, counseling, individual support as needed by school staff, and continued support from a community based agency to help students integrate learning into their lives. He felt a follow up to the wilderness experience was essential to supporting integration of the learning from the wilderness experience.
In the first year of the program, Director Joe Beckham worked closely with Bill to implement this vision. Together they began to recruit youth-serving agencies to help select appropriate students, hold orientations statewide for students and parents, require a formal contract for students to sign stating their commitment and goals, and establish a year-long follow-up program.
I never met or encountered anyone like Bill Moore. Living my entire life in the South, I had never encountered anyone who was so direct, non-evasive, blunt, clear, and unyieldingly honest. Bill was not a caretaker of those with whom he spoke. There was no manipulation, no obfuscation, no guessing what he really meant. It was incredibly refreshing to me to be responsible to a man who spoke so openly and honestly.
Bill was not easy to work with. He was irascible, opinionated and had no patience with excuses or lack of follow through. I depended on him to give me his straight feedback and advice. He never let me down.
Bill’s management approach was very “hands off.” He never tried to interfere with my decisions as Director. He made his expectations clear – honoring and respecting every student, never ever giving up on a student, and challenging students to be successful at tasks they did not dream they could accomplish. Bill believed in me at a time I needed the confidence to lead the School. He often told me that I did not need to know the answer―only where to get it.
When Bill saw I had a deficit or shortcoming as Director he, without discussion, would send someone to the School with the expertise needed. They would just show up at the basecamp and mentor me... support me. He visited the School often and was incredibly proud and joyous at what was happening with his creation. It was his great pleasure to meet with staff, or come out in the field for a day, and challenge us to give students our best.
Bill was always ready and willing to intervene in the state bureaucracy when an order for equipment, food, or a vehicle was needed, Bill also kept the School free from demands and rules that were not relevant to an outdoor wilderness program. He went to the mat with any bureaucrat who tried to impose restrictions or authority over the School. I relied on Bill to solve problems with the state and to keep the influential friends of the School updated and committed to the School’s wellbeing.
Bill and I stayed in touch through regular phone calls for many years after I left the School. He always expressed his confidence in my ability to overcome challenges in my life―to believe in myself. I attended Bill’s funeral service. The friend who gave his eulogy said that starting the Wilderness School was Bill’s proudest accomplishment.
Bill’s gift to Connecticut’s young people is going strong after 52 years and thousands of lives - students and staff have been transformed and renewed by his vision, His unflagging commitment to the truth that we are better than we know, that we can overcome whatever challenges life pose, and to believe in ourselves, is the core of that vision. With my deepest respect and gratitude for his monumental achievement, I speak for all lives changed by the Wilderness School to say, “Thank you Bill Moore”.