William L. Bethea, Jr., has practiced law in Beaufort County since March 1969, first with Bethea, Jordan & Griffin, P.A., and its predecessor firms and from 2005 to 2007 with McNair Law Firm, P.A. with whom Bethea, Jordan & Griffin merged. Mr. Bethea was a resident of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina from 1969 until 2006. He and his wife, Paula, currently live in Moss Creek Plantation, in southern Beaufort County near Bluffton, South Carolina.
Born in Dillon, South Carolina, Mr. Bethea graduated from Newberry College in 1962 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. While at Newberry, Mr. Bethea was, among other activities, Co-Captain of the football team and President of his graduating class. He received his law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1969, graduating Magna Cum Laude and first in his class. While in law school Mr. Bethea was a member of the Editorial Board of the South Carolina Law Review, a member of the Order of the Wig and Robe scholastic honor society, and at graduation was the recipient of the Claude N. Sapp Award and the Phi Alpha Delta Outstanding Scholastic Achievement Award.
A veteran U.S. Marine Officer, Mr. Bethea was a member of the Marine Corps Reserve from 1958 through 1962, and then served on active duty as a Marine Officer from 1962 through 1966 in the fields of armor and counter-intelligence, rising to the rank of Captain. He served in Chu Lai and DaNang in Vietnam during 1965-66 in a counter-intelligence assignment and was the Counter-Intelligence Officer on the General Staff of the First Marine Air Wing.
Mr. Bethea has an extensive record of honors and community service. He served as a director of the Hilton Head Chamber of Commerce from 1973 through 1975, was selected for “Outstanding Young Men of America”, and for “Who’s Who in the South and Southwest” and “Who’s Who in American Law”. He was also elected to membership in Phi Beta Kappa by Alpha of South Carolina Chapter at the University of South Carolina in 1983. He is the recipient of the Alice Glenn Doughtie Good Citizen of the Year Award (Hilton Head, 1991). In 2006 Mr. Bethea and his wife, Paula Harper Bethea, were honored by the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce as the “Business Leaders of the Year”, the first couple so honored. In 2009 Mr. Bethea was recognized by the Lowcountry Legal Aid with its Advancement of Social Justice Award.
Mr. Bethea has served on numerous corporate and non-profit boards and commissions, including service as an organizing member of the Board of Directors of The Hilton Head National Bank, a member of the Board of Directors of Citizens and Southern Trust Company, Inc., Citizens and Southern National Bank of South Carolina, NationsBank, NA (Carolinas); and a member of The University of South Carolina Business Partnership Foundation Board of Trustees and Newberry College Board of Trustees.
Mr. Bethea also served as a member of the Board of Trustees of the University of South Carolina from 1980 until 1991 and from 2006 to 2008 and is now a Trustee Emeritus. Mr. Bethea served on the Board of Directors of the University of South Carolina Alumni Association from 2000 until 2010 and served as its President from 2006 until 2008. In 2011 Mr. Bethea and his wife, Paula, were each honored for their service to the University, their state, and their country as recipients of Honorary Doctorate Degrees from the University of South Carolina.
Mr. Bethea was one of the key organizers with Dr. Peter LaMotte in establishing The Hilton Head Hospital in 1974. His record of service to the Hospital spans some twenty years, including service as a Member of the organizing Board of Trustees and Secretary of the Board (1974-1982); Chairman of the Board of Hilton Head Hospital (1982-1994); Chairman, Hilton Head Health Services Corporation, the parent company of Hilton Head Hospital (1983-1994); and, Chairman, Beaufort County Aviation Board (1974-1975).
Mr. Bethea served as a member of the South Carolina State Ports Authority Board of Directors from 1991 to 2003 where he served as Treasurer (1991-1992), Vice Chairman (1992-1995) and Chairman (1995-1999). Mr. Bethea served on the South Carolina Coordinating Council for Economic Development (1995-1999), the Commissioners of Pilotage for the Port of Charleston (1995-1999), and the Board of Directors of the Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics Foundation (1998-2000).
From 1993 to 1998 Mr. Bethea was active in the development of several business initiatives in the Russian Federation, including the development of an American Business Center in the Urals Mountains city of Chelyabinsk, one of only eight such centers co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce in the areas encompassing the former U.S.S.R. that were previously closed to the West.
Since 2001 Mr. Bethea has been actively involved in the development of a tri-county industrial park on US Highway I-95 in Dillon County with the counties of Dillon, Marion, and Marlboro. In 2011 he was recognized by the South Carolina Commerce Department for his leadership in promoting economic development in the rural counties of South Carolina.
In 2007 Mr. Bethea served on the Bi-State Task Force between South Carolina and Georgia to negotiate an Intergovernmental Agreement between the two States for the joint ownership of the Jasper County site for a new port terminal on the Savannah River. Upon the execution of the Intergovernmental Agreement on January 27, 2008, Mr. Bethea was appointed a member of the Board of the Jasper Ocean Terminal Joint Project Office, on which he served until October 2012. The JPO is charged with the responsibility for undertaking all the planning necessary to lead to a Bi-State Compact between South Carolina and Georgia for the development and operation of the Jasper Ocean Terminal.
From 2013 until July 2020 Mr. Bethea served as Chairman of the South Carolina Military Base Task Force. The Task Force is charged with the responsibility of enhancing the value of military installations and facilities and the quality of life for military personnel in South Carolina as well as coordinating efforts among military communities and public and private sectors to maintain a significant Department of Defense presence in South Carolina. Mr. Bethea was honored by the Columbia Chamber of Commerce as the 2015 Military Advocate of the Year for his work on behalf of the Task Force. Upon his retirement from the Task Force, Mr. Bethea was named Chairman Emeritus.
Also in 2015, Mr. Bethea was presented the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina’s highest honor, by Governor Nikki Haley for his service to his Community, his State, and his Country, in the areas of airports, sea ports, health care, higher education, military service and support of our military installations, service members and veterans.
In 2017, Mr. Bethea was presented the Sgt. William Jasper Freedom Award by the South Carolina State Chamber of Commerce for his leadership since 2013 of the South Carolina Military Base Task Force in its efforts to support the military installations, communities, service members, and their families in South Carolina.
Mr. Bethea is married to the former Paula Mikell Harper of Estill, South Carolina, and they reside at 51 Peninsula Drive, Moss Creek Plantation, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
Mr. Bethea was one of the key organizers with Dr. Peter LaMotte in establishing The Hilton Head Hospital in 1974. His record of service to the Hospital spans some twenty years, including service as a Member of the organizing Board of Trustees and Secretary of the Board (1974-1982); Chairman of the Board of Hilton Head Hospital (1982-1994); Chairman, Hilton Head Health Services Corporation, the parent company of Hilton Head Hospital (1983-1994); and, Chairman, Beaufort County Aviation Board (1974-1975).
Mr. Bethea served as a member of the South Carolina State Ports Authority Board of Directors from 1991 to 2003 where he served as Treasurer (1991-1992), Vice Chairman (1992-1995), and Chairman (1995-1999). Mr. Bethea served on the South Carolina Coordinating Council for Economic Development (1995-1999), the Commissioners of Pilotage for the Port of Charleston (1995-1999), and the Board of Directors of the Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics Foundation (1998-2000).
From 1993 to 1998 Mr. Bethea was active in the development of several business initiatives in the Russian Federation, including the development of an American Business Center in the Urals Mountains city of Chelyabinsk, one of only eight such centers co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce in the areas encompassing the former U.S.S.R. that were previously closed to the West.
For the past thirteen years, Mr. Bethea has been actively involved in the development of a tri-county industrial park on US Highway I-95 in Dillon County with the counties of Dillon, Marion, and Marlboro. In 2011 he was recognized by the South Carolina Commerce Department for his leadership in promoting economic development in the rural counties of South Carolina.
In 2007 Mr. Bethea served on the Bi-State Task Force between South Carolina and Georgia to negotiate an Intergovernmental Agreement between the two States for the joint ownership of the Jasper County site for a new port terminal on the Savannah River. Upon the execution of the Intergovernmental Agreement on January 27, 2008, Mr. Bethea was appointed a member of the Board of the Jasper Ocean Terminal Joint Project Office, on which he served until October 2012. The JPO is charged with the responsibility for undertaking all the planning necessary to lead to a Bi-State Compact between South Carolina and Georgia for the development and operation of the Jasper Ocean Terminal.
Since 2013 Mr. Bethea has served as Chairman of the South Carolina Military Base Task Force. The Task Force is charged with the responsibility of enhancing the value of military installations and facilities and the quality of life for military personnel in South Carolina as well as coordinating efforts among military communities and public and private sectors to maintain a significant Department of Defense presence in South Carolina. Mr. Bethea was honored by the Columbia Chamber of Commerce as the 2015 Military Advocate of the Year for his work on behalf of the Task Force.
Also in 2015, Mr. Bethea was presented the Order of the Palmetto, South Carolina’s highest honor, by Governor Nikki Haley for his service to his Community, his State, and his Country, in the areas of airports, sea ports, health care, higher education, military service and support of our military installations, service members and veterans.
In 2017, Mr. Bethea was presented the Sgt. William Jasper Freedom Award by the South Carolina State Chamber of Commerce for his leadership since 2013 of the South Carolina Military Base Task Force in its efforts to support the military installations, communities, service members, and their families in South Carolina.
Mr. Bethea is married to the former Paula Mikell Harper of Estill, South Carolina, and they reside at 51 Peninsula Drive, Moss Creek Plantation, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.