This is the first of three special issues of Cognitive Therapy Today devoted to recapping the Festschrift held on November 15, 2001 at the annual meeting of the American Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy to honor the life and work of Aaron T. Beck, M.D.

Dr. Christine Padesky set the tone for the day with a tribute that was heart-warming and aptly captured the very essence of Aaron T. Beck's life work. We are therefore reprinting it here in full, to be followed in our next two issues by summaries of all presenters' contributions.