Bill Shepherd '93

They say that if you love what you do, the rest will follow. That certainly has been the case for Bill Shepherd ’93 who works at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla. He received the organization’s “Partner in Excellence” award this past year.

“Only about 500 people win the award each year, which may sound like a ton of folks, but I do work for a company that has 55,000 employees,” Shepherd said.

Shepherd has been inspiring his staff as an entertainment manager at the theme park’s Pleasure Island for six years, with his main focus during the last four years on the Comedy Warehouse.  The show there is similar to the Drew Carey-hosted TV show “Whose Line is it Anyway?” with a cast taking suggestions from the audience and turning them into scenes and songs using improvisation.

Off hours, Shepherd is on the advisory board for the Orlando Theater Project (OTP), a small, well-respected professional company in town.

“Orlando is not known for the arts, but more for theme parks and hotels. OTP is fighting to try to bring some additional culture to the area…it’s a great way for those who work at the theme parks to have a bit more artistic freedom and to be involved in other types of performances,” Shepherd said.