Honoring a Legend, a Leader, and my Brother, Michael Walton.
It is with a heavy heart that I share the unexpected passing of my colleague and dear friend of 14 years,
Michael Walton.
To our industry, he was a rockstar - the face of
RateSpecial Interactive LLC and a leader who gave 100% to everything he put his mind to. To me, he was the brother I joked I must have had in another life. He was my family.
Anyone who met Mike knows how truly special he is. He had a gift for making every single person he interacted feel valued and seen. He was unrelenting in his pursuit of excellence, but in the most genuine and kindest way possible. It's a rare thing in any career to find someone about whom everyone truly has only good things to say, but we can all attest that he was that person.
I may have had a hand in his initial training when he first got started in our industry, but after almost a decade and a half of working side-by-side every single day, it was him that I admired, looked up to and learned so much from. He was resilient, authentic, infectiously positive, and showed me what it truly means to work and lead with heart. We were each other's sounding board, always had each other's back and we sure made one hell of a team together.
Beyond professional life, he was the ultimate family man. His wife was his entire world from day 1 and he was an amazing dad that took so much pride in his children. We were there for each other through life's various milestones - from when we met our significant others, celebrated each other's weddings and grew our families.
Many have asked how they can support his family during this unimaginably difficult time. We have set up a gofundme to support his wife and children as they navigate this loss.
Rest in peace, bro.. Thank you for the memories, the laughs, the milestones and for 14 years of being the best teammate anyone could ask for.
Donate to Honoring Mike’s Legacy — Support for His Family, organized by Joanna Jardeleza
Donate to Honoring Mike’s Legacy — Support for His Family, organized by Joanna Jardeleza