Written by Greg Vineyard – One-on-one inspiration can last a lifetime. Fellow artists and creative professionals we encounter along the path give us so much. My own habitat is filled with arts and crafts that inspire me, and we as a species are immersed in a plethora of useful and attractive industrial and consumer product designs. All of these tangible, visual, sensory things are touchstones, and they ultimately connect to people.

In addition to input from family and friends, I’ve also been lucky to have many influential coaches on my path, from my wonderful high school art teacher, to college professors across a wide variety of liberal arts areas. I also had an awesome downloading of skills by a community of caring professionals in the form of an internship. Additionally, each company I have worked for since has revealed unique connections, many still in my Rolodex. A few are now social media friends, too.

However, when I specifically think about the word “mentor”, my friend Dale Riley is at the top. The first time I encountered Dale at Mattel Toys in 1994 (in a meeting that was WAY above my pay-grade), I had no idea who he was. Somewhere around, oh, eleven feet tall, this elegant one-man tour-de-force in a shocking green sport coat was describing a process the company was considering. I later learned he was a direct report to the CEO, ran our massive Package Design Group and that if he was presenting an idea, Mattel was most likely going to go with it.

Two years later, I had the good fortune to transfer to his department as part of a new venture. My once-a-week update meetings were fifteen minutes long. Sitting down with my stack of projects and issues, we’d go through them rapid-fire. We would get more resolved in one-quarter hour than I’d seen some people in my previous department take care of the entire time I’d known them. The man was brilliant.

Some major lessons from him:

1) Solution-Oriented Suggestion. Have some ideas on how to solve the problem.

2) Manage Projects, and Develop People, not the other way around.

3) Always aim for On-Strategy, On-Budget and On-Time.

These are just three of many lessons learned. Over the years, Dale and I stayed in contact, and he even advised me on some of my creative decisions here. There was nothing he couldn’t do, and I’m glad I got to know him a little bit better. He was always there for me, right up until our last communications before he died.

He disliked his birthday, so my annual note every January always read: “Happy You-Know-What”. He knew that I considered him to be the ultimate creative mentor, and how grateful I was to also call him “friend”. Keeping in mind what he taught me has been a comfort, along with other little observances, like frequently encountering his favorite number. He had a thing for numbers. And for design. And, despite being quite private, for people.

Who have been your mentors along the way, in whatever field you find yourself in today? Do they know how much their involvement in your life has meant to you? There’s never a bad time to let someone know. And what can you do to pass the nurturing onward?

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Greg Vineyard is a monthly contributing columnist for Rapid River, and this column first appeared in the January 2013 issue. He is an artist, writer and creative consultant based in Asheville, NC. www.gregvineyardillustration.com