Bill Eccles brings a variety of experience to the Tolland Patch. As an independent blogger for many years on Bill's Words, he discovered a small but devoted fanbase who appreciate his solid conservative values and his somewhat-liberal views of computing and technology, although not necessarily at the same time.
He comes about these values and views honestly: born and reared in the southeast in a family of academics, he learned early on the value of education and service. Earning a full Air Force ROTC scholarship carried him through his engineering education, conducting his undergraduate studies at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and earning his Master's degree at the University of South Carolina. It was at USC that he met his wife, Terry M. Eccles, now a pediatrician in Stafford Springs. After he finished his tour of duty in the USAF in Omaha, Nebraska, the family moved to Tolland, a convenient, beautiful, and highly-regarded town close to both Terry's practice and Bill's work first at Pratt & Whitney and then at Hamilton-Sundstrand. He continues to work hard for "HS" as a test equipment designer and hardware expert, and works even harder at being a good husband and father to his two sons. Having participated in past years as chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee on Residential Growth (pdf) and on the Zoning Board of Appeals, Bill has decided to run for the Tolland Planning and Zoning Commission. To this board he brings these varied experiences with the goal of ensuring that the town's citizens and their needs are considered first and foremost in the Commission's efforts. However, he understands and respects the needs of businesses, developers and Mother Nature, and intends to work with all parties to establish balanced and fair regulations which benefit as many of Tolland's citizens as possible. That's a pretty lofty goal, but he believes he's up to the job. When he's not campaigning, writing for his blogs or working on one project or another, Bill and Terry enjoy cycling the roads of Connecticut and Massachusetts.