About Bill....

* Bill's bio info

     Bill was born on June 25, 1967 in Warwick, RI.  He grew up in Warwick, graduating from Toll Gate High School in 1985.  A lifelong resident of Rhode Island, Bill moved to Coventry in 1990, where he resides with his wife of 16 years, Tracy Lyn and their 2 year old daughter Sarah.  Bill currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Coventry Housing Associates Corporation.  The Hall's are members of the Rhode Island Zoological Society, The National Wildlife Federation, and The National Arbor Day Foundation, and the Coventry Democratic Town Committee.

* Early public service

     Bill's public service commitment began early on as a Boy Scout, earning the rank of Eagle Scout.  Bill chose a fundraising effort as his required Eagle Scout Service Project, coordinating efforts to raise over $5000 for the Toll Gate High School Library.  In high school, Bill served as a member of the Toll Gate Chapter of Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD) and was a founding member of Toll Gate's first substance abuse prevention club, 'One to One'.  Bill earned his Varsity Letter in Football and Track & Field and was also named to the Quill and Scroll Literary Honor Society.  After graduation, Bill served for three years as a Warwick Police Explorer, working during the summer with the Warwick Police Athletic League assisting with activities and sporting events for the children of Warwick. Originally intending to serve in a career in law enforcement, Bill changed paths and followed his father and grandfather into the fire service.

* Career

     Like his father and grandfather before him, Bill served his community as a volunteer firefighter.  In 1991, Bill was hired as a career firefighter with the Washington Fire District (now the Central Coventry Fire District), eventually becoming promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in 1999.

     As a firefighter, Bill has worked as the department’s Public Education Officer, teaching fire safety in our schools.  He is also a Certified Fire and Explosives Investigator, a National Board Certified Fire Service Instructor, an Assistant Deputy State Fire Marshal, and a Leadership and Ethics Instructor.

     After Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, Bill volunteered to be activated with FEMA’s Community Relations Team to assist with locating and providing much needed services to victims that were evacuated from the effected areas.  Bill was deployed to Fort Worth, Texas to assist thousands of Katrina evacuees.  During the 30 day operation, Bill’s team was redeployed to the Beaumont, Texas area to run the Beaumont Disaster Recovery Center following Hurricane Rita.  In Beaumont, the FEMA CR Teams were used to enter the effected areas to locate and bring needed services to victims immediately following the storm.

* More public service

     For four years, Bill was a member of the Coventry Substance Abuse Prevention Task Force, coordinating the annual Red Ribbon Parade as well as serving as the Task Force's Chairman for two 1-year terms.  Bill was a member of the Coventry Vocational Technical High School Study & Planning Group in 1998.  In 1999, Bill was a member of the Coventry Charter Review Commission.

     In 2000, Bill had the honor of being elected to represent District 4 on the Coventry Town Council; serving in that seat for four years.  During that time, Bill earned the reputation of being an energetic, dedicated Councilman knowledgeable in many aspects of town government.

     While serving on the Town Council, Bill drafted and gained approval for many town ordinances and initiatives; such as the town's Tobacco Sales Ordinance which creates a town license to sell tobacco products, thus giving the town a mechanism to hold vendors accountable for selling illegally to minors.  The Coventry Dirtbike Ordinance prohibits the use of dirtbikes, ATV's and like vehicles on private property without permission, provides a stiff penalty for violators, and places that fine money in a restricted account to be used for further enforcement of the ordinance.  While representing the Tiogue Lake area, Bill worked together with the Tiogue Lake Association to make great strides towards environmental protection including the development of an ambitious plan to eradicate invasive weeds and the re-opening the dam spillway, which naturally removes surface contaminates from the water as well as relieving storm surge pressure from the lake, thus preventing a potential dam breach.

     As Councilman, Bill served as the Coventry Town Council liaison to the West Warwick Sewer Commission and Chairman of the Coventry Sewer Subcommittee; both positions he continues to hold.  After leaving the Town Council in 2004, Bill has also served on the Coventry Economic Development Commission.

* Education

     With hard work, dedication, and tremendous support at home, Bill graduated with High Honors from the Community College of Rhode Island with an Associates Degree in Fire Science, in 2007, at age 39.  He is also a member of Phi Theta Kappa, the International Honor Society of Two-Year Colleges.  While attending CCRI, Bill also participated and graduated from the Honors Program.  His four Honors projects were on 'Residential Sprinkler Systems', the 'Implementation NFPA 1710', the 'History of Building Construction and its Effects on the Fire Service', and 'Fire Department Budgeting'.

Bill is continuing his education by pursuing a Bachelors Degree in Public Administration at Roger Williams University.

Bill’s decision to run for the State Representative seat is rooted in his dedication to our community and the experience gained from a lifetime of public service.

“A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives.”     - Baseball Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson