| Bill Hitchens is no stranger to government service. Prior to his election to the Georgia
House of Representatives, he served 47 years in the military and state law enforcement. He
is a Marine Corps Vietnam veteran, and he served 28 years on the Georgia State Patrol
(GSP) prior to retiring in 1997. At the time of his retirement from the GSP, he
held the rank of major and was the South Division adjutant. During
the 1996 Olympic Games, he was a law enforcement shift commander and was responsible
for all state law enforcement personnel at the many venues in Atlanta and across the state.
On one memorable night, he was called to the scene of a "suspicious package" in Centennial
Park, which culminated with him being about thirty-five to forty feet from "the bomb"
when it detonated.
After retiring from the GSP, Bill worked three years with the Governor's Criminal Justice
Coordinating Council as a law enforcement consultant, where his primary responsibility
was working with the 30 federally funded multi-jurisdictional drug task forces in Georgia.
Throughout most of his career with the GSP, Bill maintained a parallel career in the Coast
Guard Reserve. Although primarily involved with Readiness and Port Contingency
Planning, he also served two tours as the executive officer of Coast Guard Reserve Unit Air
Station Savannah. He was called to active duty for the Muriel Boatlift in 1980 and was later
activated twice for Operation Desert Storm. His last assignment was as the senior planner
for the Coast Guard's Olympic Task Force in preparation for the yachting venue in
Savannah. Bill retired from the Coast Guard Reserve with the rank of commander (0-5).
In January of 2003, former Governor Sonny Perdue selected Bill to be the first director of
the Georgia Office of Homeland Security. In May
2004, via an Executive Order by Governor Perdue, Bill was named executive commander of
the G-8 Public Safety Command. An unprecedented success, the G-8 event produced
no fatalities, no injuries and only 18 arrests of protestors.
In December 2004, Governor Perdue nominated Bill Hitchens to be the commissioner of
the Georgia Department of Public Safety and the colonel of the Georgia State Patrol. The
Georgia Board of Public Safety unanimously approved his appointment with an effective
date of December 16, 2004. After his election, former Governor Nathan Deal reappointed
Bill and swore him in on January 18, 2011.
Bill is a graduate of Georgia Southern College and the 130th Session of the FBI National
Academy in Quantico, Virginia. He has also completed the Georgia Executive Leadership
Program and the Legislative Leadership Institute, courses administered by the University
of Georgia's Carl Vinson Institute of Government.
An active member of his community, Bill has coached numerous little league baseball,
softball and basketball teams, served as the president of his hometown Jaycee organization
and three terms as president of the Effingham County High School Booster Club. He also
served as the state president of the Georgia Chapter of the FBI National Academy
Associates and as the state president of the Peace Officers' Association of Georgia. He has
served on several state boards, commissions and authorities, including the Georgia Peace
Officers Standards and Training Council (POST), the State Indemnification Commission, the
Georgia Aviation Authority and the Brain and Spinal Injury Trust Fund Commission. Bill
has been a member of the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange (GILEE)
Executive Board since 2003 and was selected as a member of the 16th GILEE delegation.
In 2009, Bill was named as the
chairman of the National Law Enforcement Explorers Conference, which was held in July
2010 at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
For his civic, military and law enforcement efforts through the years, Bill has received
several awards, including Savannah Metropolitan Police Officer of the Year in 1978,
Effingham County Police Officer of the Year in 1978, The T. Malone Sharpe Memorial Award
as the Outstanding Local Chapter President in the Georgia Jaycees in 1979, Outstanding
Military Citizen of Georgia Award in 1988, the Georgia State Patrol's Meritorious Service
Award for his actions in Centennial Park immediately after the bombing in 1996, the
Arthur Hutchins Memorial Award as the Georgia Peace Officer of the Year for Meritorious
Service in 2004, Outstanding Leader of the Year Award for Georgia State Government and
the University System in 2009, a Governor's Public Safety Award for career contributions to
the law enforcement profession in 2010 and the Georgia Chapter of the FBI National
Academy Associates Member of the Year Award in 2011.
Bill has been married to his wife, Norma, a Georgia Department of Industry, Trade and
Tourism retiree, since August 31, 1968. They have four children and ten grandchildren.
Norma and Bill reside in Rincon and are members of the Baptist Church at Ebenezer. |