Rotary International
President William E. Skelton
1983-1984

William Skelton (Bill) was born on a tobacco farm in Dinwiddie County, Virginia in 1919. He entered Virginia Tech in 1936 and received a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Engineering in 1940. In 1941, he began serving in the US Army where during World War II, he was deployed to the Caribbean, Africa, and Italy. After being discharged in 1945, he continued to serve in the Army Reserves, retiring after 25 years as a Lieutenant Colonel. Bill continued his education by earning both a master’s degree and
a PHD in Educational Administration from Cornell University.

Bill Skelton’s career began shortly after his 1940 graduation from Virginia Tech. His first job was with the Cooperative Extension Division in Appomattox, Virginia. When Virginia Tech incorporated the Cooperative Extension Division into the University, Dr. Skelton became its first Dean, a position he held for 14 years.

He was first introduced to the Christiansburg-Blacksburg Rotary Club in 1955 by Dr. Lloyd Hobbs, a local dentist. He served as club President in 1965-1966, and as District Governor in 1969-1970. For the next ten years, he worked in several district and international positions including chairing the 75th Anniversary of Rotary International Committee in 1979. He was a First Vice-President in Rotary International, Chair of the Executive Committee of the International Board of Directors and held other offices prior to being elected as the President of Rotary International for the Rotary year 1983-1984.
He chose as his theme “Share Rotary—Serve People.”

There were over 20,000 clubs with membership listed as 925,571 in 157 countries in 1983. Highlights of his year include chartering 714 new clubs and recognizing the 100,000th Paul Harris Fellow. In his role as Rotary International President, Bill and his wife, Peggy traveled the world meeting with Rotarians of all nationalities and inspiring others to follow the motto “Service Above Self.”