“The forbearing use of power does not only form a touchstone, but the manner in which an individual enjoys certain advantages over others is a test of a true gentleman.” - Robert E. Lee
Those “certain advantages” that Bill Skipper, (Delta Tau - Francis Marion ‘80) enjoys as one of Washington’s leading defense lobbyists, have been earned over the course of a lifetime and are maintained through a very constant balance of civic, business, and family responsibilities.
Skipper got “bit” by the Washington bug when he and another KA brother, Dusty Grainger, were nominated by the late Dr. E. Fleming Mason to serve as a Congressional Interns for the late Senator Strom Thurmond of South Carolina. Several years later Skipper returned to Washington politics as an Army officer lobbying Congress on behalf of the National Guard. Since then, he has retired from the military and has built a business that is one of the largest business development/lobbying firms of its kind in the country.
There’s not a day that goes by that Skipper doesn’t think of those long walks down dusty roads growing up in rural South Carolina. “My Dad owned a Cash and Carry store in downtown Timmonsville so the Army was for me, like it is for so many, a way to get out of the country and see the world.” Skipper enlisted in the Army in 1975 where he learned that seeing the world, in the short term, meant serving as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. After a four year enlistment, Skipper decided to attend Francis Marion College, where he became a member of Kappa Alpha Order. “The leadership skills and friendships with good people that I made during my KA days had a profound impact on my decision to seek a commission as an Army National Guard officer,” says Skipper. “The Guard was my way to put those skills and values to work and to continue to serve while pursuing outside interests.” Later, when called to active duty in support of Operation Desert Storm, seeing the world meant more dusty roadsÐthis time in the Middle East. Skipper quickly found himself installing the communications infrastructure that allied forces needed in Kuwait to enforce the “No-Fly Zone” over Iraq.
After serving in the desert, the Army sent Skipper to Washington where he began life as a staff officer. Accompanying him were his wife and young daughter; it was time to build a family. Skipper reflects fondly on those days, “Most soldiers don’t look forward to “desk jobs” but my years in uniform in D.C. allowed me to learn the ins-and-outs of politics. They enabled me to marry the business skills I learned from exerience gained from working in his family business along with those learned while negotiating with Saudis and Kuwaitis, with the political dimensions of funding and coalition building.” Most importantly, they enabled him to spend the kind of time he wanted to spend with his family. Bill and his wife Elena have three kids now, two girls and a boy; 12, 10, and 9, respectively. They live on a small estate outside of Washington where the kids can enjoy some of the things that Bill didn’t get to enjoy as a child. “When it comes down to it, I do the things I do, for them. This isn’t for me or about me, I grew up on rural roads and kind of like them. But I’ve always wanted my kids to have more options.”
That same sense of family is what moved Skipper to retire early from the Army only to go to work for the National Guard Association (NGAUS). Skipper’s last assignment in the Army had been representing the interests of the National Guard before Congress. While in this position Skipper published numerous articles of defense and congressional issues and also testified several times before Congress on veterans and national defense issues. When he chose the early retirement option, “the Generals had other plans” for him. Skipper had hoped to retire and go into the consulting business immediately; he already had the skills he needed. But, “some of my Army ÔGodfathers,’” the Generals he worked for in uniform, “approached me and asked me to serve at the Association.” So for two years, Skipper labored on as a soldier, albeit out of uniform and as a retired soldier. “NGAUS represents over a half million Americans in uniform, so there were certainly things I learned during my tenure there as the Legislative Director that I would have missed out on otherwise. And that’s helped me to build American Business Development Group into the firm it is today.”
Other opportunities have also helped Skipper build American BDG into the firm it is today. Skipper was selected in 2001 by the Chairman of the National Intrafraternity Council, Rear Admiral (Retired) James J. Carey, to serve on the NIFC’s Legislative Committee. He was recently appointed by the Knight Commander, Ben Satcher, to serve as Chairman of KA’s Government Relations Committee. “I cherish the friendships I’ve made with my brothers and appreciate all these additional opportunities to serve the Order and to expand my own personal horizons and friendships,” Skipper says of these new challenges.
Skipper considers American BDG to be an extension of his service to groups he’s been long associated with, like the miltary and KA, and to the country. “Is it a different type of service? Sure. Does it have other rewards in addition to knowing you’re serving soldiers as I did for a career. Sure. But at the same time, we know that the service we provide to our friends, industry, and government alike, as a filter of good systems versus mediocre systems, good policy versus bad policy, has profound, direct, and lasting effects on our Nation.” In addition to representing some thirty-eight businesses before the Department of Defense, military services, and Congress; Skipper recently returned from Iraq where American BDG opened an office to assist the Kurdish Regional Government with it’s business development.
As it turns out, dusty roads come full circle.
