Head is Destin Area Retired Military Person of the Year



MAC Chair Jim Chitwood (left) presents Bill Head with the first Destin Area Chamber Retired Military Person of the Year Award.

     Destin, FL, Nov. 20 - To honor a local veteran active in the Destin community, the Destin Area Chamber of Commerce’s Military Affairs Committee (MAC) created the Destin Area Retired Military Person of the Year Award. During the Chamber’s Nov. 14 breakfast, William C. (Bill) Head, Colonel, USAF, MSC (Ret.), was the first chosen to receive the honor.

     “Our committee had a formidable assignment because of the quality of nominees, but Bill Head was a unanimous selection because of his service to this country and to the Destin community. You could say Bill Head retired from the Air Force and then went to work for the residents of Destin because of the many groups and organizations he assists,” said MAC Chair Jim Chitwood, Northwest Florida State College.

     Head served with distinction in the Medical Service Corps of the United States Air Force from July 3, 1969 through Aug. 1, 1999, since which time he has been a part of the Fort Walton Beach Medical Center (FWBMC) administrative team. While at FWBMC, he has been the liaison between the medical center and the Eglin Regional Hospital. He established a program for Eglin Family Medicine Residents to receive part of their training at FWBMC and assisted in developing agreements for obstetrical services for Eglin patients to be provided at FWBMC for 18 months and an ongoing agreement to support Eglin’s surgical services.

     In addition, Head supports the community in recruiting physicians to the area in multiple specialties to provide quality healthcare for FWBMC’s more than 282,000 patients. He recently served as the medical center’s representative to the Committee for a Sustainable Emerald Coast and currently serves as the Vice-Chair of the Public Health Sub-committee of the Okaloosa/Eglin Growth Management Committee.

     Head is active on the Destin Area Chamber’s Board of Directors, MAC, and the Destin Seafood Festival Committee and attends almost all Chamber-sponsored events. He also serves on the Destin Kiwanis Club Board of Directors, the American Heart Association’s Community Advisory Board, and the Condos for Kids Board of Directors. He previously served as a Loaned Executive to the United Way of Okaloosa-Walton Counties and on the Philharmonic Society of Northwest Florida’s Board of Directors.