Bill Gillespie of Chatham County served 23 years in the U.S. Army, retiring last year as a Lt. Colonel. In 2003, he served in Iraq as Senior Logistician for the Third Infantry Division, earning a Bronze Star.

Other positions held in the military include Inspector General, West Point professor, Chief of Staff for the Third Infantry Division Rear Command Post, Operations Director of the Army Ordinance Center and Chief of Leadership and Tactics of the Army Ordinance Center. Gillespie has traveled to six continents and been stationed overseas in Kuwait , Korea and Germany . His military awards include the Legion of Merit, Combat Action Badge, Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award, Master Instructor Award, and three NCAA Championships as coach of the West Point Orienteering Team.

Most recently, Gillespie worked as southeast Georgia 's Army ROTC Program Director, charged with supervising ROTC programs at Georgia Southern University, Savannah State University , Armstrong Atlantic State University , Savannah College of Art & Design and St. Leo University . He also ran all of southeast Georgia 's Army Junior ROTC Programs.

Gillespie earned B.S. and M.A. degrees in Environmental Science from Towson University , and is working toward a Ph.D. in Immigration Studies and Cultural Geography at the University of Maryland . Gillespie has taught classes on Geography, Military History and Leadership at West Point , Georgia Southern, Armstrong Atlantic State and Maryland . He is also a published author on subjects such as Education, Geography and History.

He currently teaches a course to veterans at Fort Stewart in Hinesville designed to help them learn the skills necessary to transition into civilian life and gain employment.

Gillespie has been active in community organizations such as the American Red Cross, Farm Bureau, Kiwanis, Rotary, Ancient Order of the Hibernians, American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Historic Savannah Foundation, Savannah Downtown Community Association, Georgia Southern Science & Technology Board, and the Georgia Southern Irish Studies Board.