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William Lee was picked up by Barron Hilton’s private helicopter at the Nugget Casino in Reno on Friday, June 26th and was taken to Mr. Hilton's opulent 11,000 acre ranch for a private lunch. He was honored to have set with Mr. Hilton, Neil Armstrong and his long time friend, General Chuck Yeager.

William and Mr. Hilton talked during lunch about his home state of Alabama and business in general. Mr. Hilton was a very warm and friendly host. Before he left, William shook his hand and thanked him for the invitation and expressed his honor at meeting him. The head of the Hilton empire said "William Lee, it is my pleasure to meet you. I have certainly heard a lot about you and I am happy you came." William was so humbled by his graciousness.

After lunch, Chuck flew William around the ranch in his personal small plane. Chuck wanted to show William a fresh water spring that he had discovered from the air. Mr. Hilton named it “Yeager Spring” after it’s discoverer. The 86 year old pilot and American hero said about the flight with Golden; "When we got up in the air, his hair and beard started flying around in the cockpit. When it flew over the back of my head it made me look like I had more hair than I have ever had."

Afterwards, Mr. Hilton had his helicopter take William back to the casino to prepare for the Oaks’ evening concert. Victoria Yeager, Chuck’s wife, showed Neil Armstrong and Barron Hilton a brochure she had on William’s art. They both were complimentary of the beauty of his landscapes. Mr. Hilton liked them so well that Victoria said that Barron asked to keep the brochure. Here are some photos from this exceptional day.

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