“Stay Relevant” Album by Dan Doyle "A blessed piece of work – brilliant." -- Acclaimed musician, platinum engineer and producer, Gordon Bahary. The Stay Relevant CD features 11 original songs written, composed and recorded by Dan, as well as three songs featured in the Shoeless Joe play, and an eight minute stage reading of the play. Dedication Dan Doyle will, over a period of time, dedicate each of the eleven original songs to an individual, group or organization. Dan has chosen to start the process by dedicating The Gran' Ole Jury to Bill Gaertner and his admirable program Gatekeepers. The Back Story In 1972, when Dan was a senior basketball co-captain at Bates College, Dee Rowe, his cherished coach at Worcester Academy who had moved on to UCONN, wrote to Dan, offering him the opportunity to attend graduate school at UCONN and serve as a scout for the men's basketball team. In the letter, Coach Rowe invited Dan to spend an April day at the UCONN basketball office and assigned his two assistants, Jim Valvano and Bill Gaertner, to serve as Dan's co-hosts. Jim, of course, would go on to basketball fame, leading North Carolina State to a national championship. Bill also carved out a splendid coaching career, including a stint as head men's coach at Norwich University. In a cruel twist of fate, a combination of depression and alcohol dependence resulted in Bill committing a violent act which landed him in prison. In 2008, when Dan published The Encyclopedia of Sports Parenting, Dee Rowe wrote to Bill, then serving the third year of an eight year prison term, encouraging Bill to write to Dan. Coach Rowe knew of Bill's noble work as a mentor to fellow inmates and of his particular focus on working with young men of color, many of whom shared Bill's love of sports. These disenfranchised young men never had a Bill Gaertner in their lives. He became known as "Coach" to the entire prison population, a beloved fellow inmate who fought off depression and helped these subjugated prisoners see light; acquire purpose in their lives. When Bill contacted Dan, the exchange of letters resulted in Dan sending copies of The Encyclopedia of Sports Parenting to Bill for use in his preparation of daily messages to his mentees. At Bill's request, Dan sent the book to a number of other prison libraries. The seed for a transformational program was planted. Founding Gatekeepers Released from prison in 2013, and using his monthly social security check, Bill founded Gatekeepers. The mission of Gatekeepers is direct and profound: help released prisoners with their re-entry into society. Bill Gaertner had come out of the mist. Coaches for Compassion Bill has added "Coaches for Compassion" to the mission of Gatekeepers. Coaches for Compassion involves college basketball coaches accompanying Bill to prisons to encourage and inspire inmates. The Pilot Program: A Success In launching Coaches for Compassion, Bill invited Billy Hahn, highly respected assistant men's coach at West Virginia, to accompany him to three federal prisons in West Virginia. At each visit, the two men ran two hour symposiums for the inmates. The feedback from prison officials was extremely positive. Coaches for Compassion will now expand to other prison visitations. Along with Coach Hahn, Bill is being assisted by Dr. Rick Petriccione, former Athletic Director at Iona College. Books for Inmates Based on the success of the prison book project that Bill inspired, Dan will coordinate a Coaches for Compassion "Books for Inmates" program. Each prison visit will involve coaches bringing copies of The Encyclopedia of Sports Parenting and An African Rebound for inmates and the prison library. Dan will also contact fellow authors to donate books. An Assist from The New England Basketball Hall of Fame On August 8th, 2015, Bill Gaertner was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Worcester, MA. Bill was honored in the Pathfinders Category, which recognizes outstanding players and coaches with New England roots who have moved to other parts of the country and who have made a significant contribution to society. The New England Basketball Hall of Fame will assist Bill in organizing prison visitations in New England. At these visitations, Bill will be accompanied by New England Basketball Hall of Fame inductees in the Coach Category.