Drawing energy from his fellow YPOers.

• Author: McEnaney, Maura
• Position: Willard Garvey: An Epic Life - Book review

From Willard Garvey: An Epic Life by Maura McEnaney. Copyright [c] 2013 by LibertyTree Press. Published by LibertyTree Press (www.libertytree.com).

ALTHOUGH HE LOVED THE BOHEMIAN CLUB and other fraternal organizations, Willard Garvey admitted that some of his and [his wife] Jean's happiest memories involved their participation in the Young Presidents Organization (YPO).

Today an international organization of 16,000 members in more than a hundred countries around the world, YPO got its start in 1950 when Rochester, N.Y., belt maker Ray Hickock invited 50 executives for lunch at New York City's Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Hickock, a free enterprise advocate who took over the reins of his father's belt-making business at age 27, admitted he was often too embarrassed to ask basic questions of his senior executives and sought guidance from others in the same predicament.

The YPOers, Willard said, were men and women "of principle and in intellect, moral fiber and performance far superior to the presidents I have known." Willard drew energy from the success of his fellow YPO members. Friends from the group included investment financier and philanthropist John Templeton, textile heir and former Secretary of Defense Bo Callaway, Motorola...