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William J. Walker was born in Georgetown, SC, the second child of Mr. Nathaniel Walker and

Mrs. Rebecca Walker. He is married to Mrs. Betty Metcalf Walker, formerly of Tupelo,

Mississippi and is the father of Willis LaSeth Walker.

William has two members who are members of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. His sister is a

member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. He has two nephews who are also Sigma men.

William was educated in the public schools of Georgetown. He was a member of the first

graduating class at J.B. Beck Elementary School. He graduated in the top 10% percentile of his

class from Howard High School. He was an all-state track and field sprinter in high school. He

co-wrote the class song for his graduating class. Following graduation, William relocated to New

York and worked for Coca Cola Export. He established membership with the Bright Temple

AME Church in the Bronx. He accepted the call to the ministry at age 19 and was appointed

Youth Pastor by his father in the ministry Rev. James Huggins.

Education was a value that was encouraged in the Walker family and with the support of his

pastor William enrolled in Wilberforce University, Wilberforce, Ohio. William was a member of

the track team and was the first freshman to be elected as a captain by his teammates. He

established or equaled several sprint records in the state of Ohio. He was silver medalist his

junior at the NCAA Division 2 Outdoor National Championship. He was an NAIA all American.

He graduated from Wilberforce with a BA in Theology and Sociology. He earned a master’s

degree from Webster University in Administrative Management and earned a Doctorate from

Columbia State University in Religion. Following graduation from Wilberforce he relocated

back to his hometown of Georgetown to recover from surgery.

He was employed as a 7th grade teacher at Rosemary Middle School in Andrews, SC. He

organized and coached the JV basketball and track teams. After teaching at Rosemary for four

years, he was offered the track coach position at Choppee High School in Georgetown County.

He also established and coached the JV basketball team and the girls high school track team.

During his tenure at Choppee, Walker was selected to serve on a school district team that worked

with the staff of Georgetown County Alcohol and Drug Commission on a school-based alcohol

and drug prevention program. He was offered the lead position for the program and was hired as

the Director of Education and Prevention Services for the Alcohol and Drug Commission. Under

his leadership, the Georgetown County School District was recognized by the federal

government as a top ten national program. After serving in the position for 6 years, Walker was

offered the position of Executive Director of the Georgetown County Alcohol and Drug

Commission. He became the first Black citizen to serve as a director of a county affiliated

agency since Reconstruction. Walker was also elected as the first Black director to serve as

Chairman of the South Carolina Association of Alcohol and Drug Authorities. He served as

director for 28 years before retiring.