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Bill Hempel moved to Punta Gorda in 1996
after four years of retirement on Venice
beach. Bill holds an Engineering Degree from
Kettering University and a Business degree
from Harvard University. He also has
attended Advanced Classes at Northwestern,
Evanston Campus, University of Michigan, and
University of Tennessee.
Bill retired in 1992 from a Senior
Management position within General Motors
Corporation. While with G.M. he held
numerous positions including Manufacturing
Manager for the Cadillac Division, Manager
of Car Assembly for G.M. De Mexico,
Manufacturing Manager for the Rochester New
York Division, Manufacturing Manager for the
A.C. Spark Plug Division, and Business
Director for the A. C. Rochester Division.
In these posts he was responsible for global
business and has lived and traveled
extensively in Europe, Asia, South Africa,
Mexico, and South America.
During the early part of his career Bill
lived in Riverview, Michigan. In Riverview
he served as Chairman of the Citizens
Advisory Committee and the City Building
Authority. He also served on the Wayne
County Community College Study Team. He
served two terms as City Councilman and was
elected Mayor pro-tem. During his tenure
Riverview built a Library, Fire Station,
Golf Course, Ski Hill and entered into the
Land Fill Business. Subsequently Riverview
won National recognition for outstanding
planning and was featured on 60 minutes. He
later moved to Grosse Isle and was an active
sail and power boater on the inland waters
and Great Lakes until being sent to the
dessert plateaus of Mexico.
In 1972 Bill was awarded a gold medal for
outstanding community service in the Detroit
area. He was also named outstanding young
man of the year by the Jaycees. He has been
repeatedly solicited for Who’s Who in
Business, but has declined to be listed.
Since moving to Punta Gorda he has been
active in the Boating Community, serving on
the Board of Directors of the Charlotte
Harbor Yacht Club. He also holds positions
as Chairman of the Auditing Committee and as
Assistant Safety Officer for the
Peace River
Power Squadron. Currently he is teaching
boating safety classes for the Power
Squadron, in Punta Gorda and Port
Charlotte. He belongs to the Punta Gorda
Boat Club and is in his second term on the
board of Directors. During his time in Punta
Gorda he has boated extensively in Florida
and developed a familiarization and love for
the surrounding waters. When not boating, he
enjoys golf and is an avid tennis player,
playing for the Burnt Store Country Club.
For the past five years Bill has written on
Boating Safety for the Charlotte Sun Herald
and currently has a weekly column in the
Waterline. His articles on Boating have been
re-published by many Southwest Florida
Boating Publications
Bill is has been married to Marlene for 47
years and has four children. They share a
“group” of grand and great grand children
and take pride in supporting one grandson
that currently serves with the US Army in
Iraq.
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