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After growing up on a farm in Illinois the only thing William “Bill” Schaefer III was sure of was that he didn’t want to farm for a living.
It was a good way to spend a childhood, but Bill had dreams of higher education and traveling to see the world.
He did just that. In fact, he made a career of both those things.
Interviewing Bill was interesting because of the way he approaches things. One of the first points he made was that he was currently in his fourth career: a successful retirement, but that it wasn’t fully planned out yet.
“I’ve been on every continent, had several successful careers, and I want to plan things out so that my life ends on a successful note,” he said, discussing his current circumstances.
PENNY FLETCHER PHOTO
William “Bill” Schaefer talks about some of the highlights in his life as a superintendent of schools and a Congressional liaison officer for the U.S. military.
But he’s pondering several ideas for his future, including helping returning veterans at MacDill Air Force Base and working (or volunteering) in the field of education; both extensions of his business careers that he says he knows could make a difference in other people’s lives.
“That’s what I want to do with the rest of my life,” he said seriously. “And it’s a hard thing, deciding where I can make the biggest contribution. I don’t want to just commit time. I’m looking at how I can make a real difference.”
Bill taught school three years after graduating with a Master’s Degree from the University of Southern Illinois before going into the Air Force during the Vietnam era. The draft was still in force, so by enlisting he got to choose in what branch of the military he wanted to serve. After five years of active duty, he spent 21 years as a reservist, working his way from a navigator weapons officer to squad commander to Congressional Liaison Officer who helped Congressmen decide which candidates would get to attend the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs.
“We always had 10 candidates for every opening,” he said. “We’d have to interview, and go through paperwork, and then confer and evaluate each one.”
During the same period he was a reservist, he was also working his way into a position of Superintendent of Schools.
First he went back school for his PhD so he could begin his next career as a school principal instead of a teacher. Following this, he spent 30 years as a school superintendent, with his first assignment replacing a retiring superintendent in Eau Claire, Mich.
After that he worked in the Chicago School District and later moved to Arizona and eventually Ohio where he earned the title of Ohio State Superintendent of the Year in 2001.
In 2002, he received the Businessperson of the Year award by the Upper Arlington (Ohio) Chamber of Commerce; followed by three business leadership awards for outstanding community service in his area, including one from the Ohio Education Service Center Association in 2005.
Meanwhile, Bill and his wife Michelle traveled back and forth to Hillsborough County to visit Michelle’s family several times a year.
Michelle’s parents, Stan and Gilda Atkins, live in Sun City Center and her sister and brother-in-law, Roz and Art Miller, live in Tampa Palms.
“I started to realize I’d have a lot more time on my hands than I’d thought I would after retirement,” Bill said. “I knew there were a lot of things to do here and I really liked the area.”
So the couple bought home in the new 55-and-up Valencia Lakes subdivision located along U.S. 301 in Wimauma.
“I’m career planning again,” Bill told me. “When I was a kid, I wanted to be a professional baseball player. But I soon realized there was a big difference between being a good player and a great player and decided I’d better find another career.”
Since that early decision, he’s made careful plans about each stage of his life. But while he thinks about the new direction his life will take, he’s enjoying an active senior lifestyle and pampering his two pet shitzus, Chien and Lucky.
*Perhaps you have something you’d like to share. Or maybe you’d rather tell the community about your favorite charity or cause: or sound off about something you think needs change. That’s what “Over Coffee” is about. It really doesn’t matter whether we actually drink any coffee or not (although I probably will). It’s what you have to say that’s important. E-mail me any time and suggest a meeting place. No matter what’s going on, I’m usually available to share just one more cup.
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