Bill Wooten’s path to Clemson was not planned or conventional, but he seemed destined to find his way here. He is not a South Carolina native. Instead, he grew up in Anniston, Alabama and earned a Civil Engineering degree from Georgia Tech in 1966. The next two years of his life were devoted to service in the US Navy, after which he realized he was unsure what would be his next pursuit. Recalling his youth involvement in the Anniston YMCA, he applied for and then accepted the position of Program Director for the summer staff at the YMCA Blue Ridge Assembly in Black Mountain, NC. That same summer, Mr. Butch Trent, Director of Clemson University’s YMCA, brought a delegation of youth to a YMCA youth conference at the Assembly. By the end of the week, Mr. Trent met and encouraged Mr. Wooten to consider a new Youth Program Director position at the University YMCA that would be available by the end of the summer. Mr. Wooten applied for and accepted the position, and gained not only a job, but a lifelong mentor and friend in Mr. Trent. Mr. Wooten served as Program Director from the late summer of 1968 until the early 1990s when he assumed the role of Executive Director of the Clemson University YMCA following Mr. Trent’s move to become Director of the University Union. And eventually, Bill completed a MEd at Clemson and is most definitely a proud CU alumnus.
As Program Director in the early 1970s, Mr. Wooten established Camp ONEOT (Over Night Every Other Thursday), a two-week summer day camp program that offered multiple sessions at the YMCA Recreation Area. During his tenure, the YMCA also began the first seasonal soccer program in the area. Through these and other programs, Mr. Wooten coached, trained, and supported hundreds of staff, volunteers, campers, children and youth athletes, and community members during his decades of work.
In the early 1990s, Mr. Wooten transitioned to the Clemson University Department of Campus Recreation. As Director of Club Sports, he oversaw and supported the club sports program, which grew to include more than 50 clubs, each with their own student leaders and travel schedules to compete with other clubs from other universities. He eventually became an Associate Director of Campus Recreation, where he supported a variety of programs and assisted where needed with facility operations until his retirement in 2013.
Mr. Wooten has undoubtedly left his mark on the recreational side of Clemson, but his service contributions are arguably more valuable. As a member of Clemson First Baptist Church, he was involved with programming for children, visited senior members no longer able to attend services, and established and oversaw a recycling program at the church. Clemson First Baptist is also home to his favorite Clemson memory: meeting Susan, his wife of 46 years and a partner to much of his service work. Throughout the years, Mr. and Mrs. Wooten donated food to Clemson Community Care, but after retirement, he volunteered one morning a week to pack bags of food. Mr. Wooten has been a member of what is now called the Clemson Sunshine Rotary Club for 36 years, where he participated in various local efforts, from job shadowing for teenagers and literacy programs providing books to elementary students to picking up trash along a section of highway and cleaning area bus stops. Additionally, the Sunshine Rotary Club participates in international Rotary programs to eliminate polio and to support sustainability efforts. According to Mr. Wooten “Service is an equal blessing to those serving and to those being served.”
Mr. Wooten's dedication to both service and recreation ripples in our community, with generations speaking to his kindness, honor, and enthusiasm around recreation and quality of life for Clemson families. “Being in a community like Clemson changed me,” he said. “The people I worked for and with both nurtured and empowered me in my work with children and families.”
But as much as Clemson has changed him, the community has been equally changed because of him. While we honor Grand Marshal Bill Wooten and his legacy today, we would be remiss to not mention all of those who empowered him, from Mr. Butch Trent who brought him here all those years ago to the families involved in recreational programs he led to those in need who have benefitted in some way from his volunteer efforts.
A year after Susan retired, the couple’s first grandchild was born, and they found themselves frequently making the trip from Clemson to their son’s home in Pennsylvania to build a relationship with their granddaughter and provide support during COVID19 to this young family. So, while Mr. Wooten calls Clemson a “lovely location” and has fond memories of he and Susan raising their sons here, they have relocated to Pennsylvania and are looking forward to many new memories with their children and grandchild in this new location.
Today he again shows his strength, love, and commitment to Clemson by making the trip from Pennsylvania, honoring all of us as we honor him for all his tireless work to bettering our community. So it is only right that we leave you today with what Bill Wooten would like us all to remember, and a statement that summarizes the life Mr. Bill Wooten has lived: “As we enjoy this year’s Christmas Parade and the holiday season, may we all strive to do the best we can with the gifts we have to make a positive difference for those whose needs are greater than our own.”