About Will

Growing Up…

Will was the first of three born to a tool-and-dye maker (William E. Fowlkes, Jr.) and a radiology lab assistant (Angie Fowlkes) in the small town of West Memphis, Arkansas – just across the mighty Mississippi River from Memphis, Tennessee. For the first six years of his life in the upper delta region of Arkansas, the lower-middle class family of five was chasing the American Dream with his father’s promotion to machinist manager and also with the purchase of their first home when a simple lifting accident disabled Will’s father, leaving him with two ruptured discs and intense back pain until he passed away in early 2006. With his father’s career over, Will’s mother had to work two jobs (as an elementary school cafeteria worker during the day and as a concessioner at the Southland Greyhound Park at night) just to put food on the table and to pay the mortgage. Will grew up looking after his younger brother and sister and his father while his mother worked day and night. During those years, Will visited his grandmother, uncles and cousins in Hazard, Kentucky, where just about every male in that region worked in the coal mines of eastern Kentucky.

Developing Leadership…

Will graduated in the top ten percent of his high school class and served as his class vice-president. He also attended Arkansas Boy’s State, was nominated for Arkansas Governor’s School, and attended the University of Arkansas on an academic scholarship in computer science and political science. Will held an office in nearly every high school club or organization he was ever a part. He met then Governor Bill Clinton between his sophomore and junior year of high school while attending Arkansas Boy’s State – the time at which Will developed a deep interest in politics. While at Arkansas, Will was an officer in the Resident’s Interhall Congress and served as a regional executive officer for the Southwest Association of College and University Residence Halls (SWACURH). Will was provided several more opportunities to meet with Governor Bill Clinton while in college and upon returning back to West Memphis when he became very active in the community serving several positions with the West Memphis Junior Chamber of Commerce (Management Development Vice-President, President and Chairman of the Board), the John Gammon Scholarship Foundation (Secretary), the Northside Redevelopment Organization (board member), and Holy Cross Church (vestry member), to name a few. Nominated one of the Ten Outstanding Young Arkansans in 1992, Will served with the Arkansas Jaycees in various capacities. But his interest in politics never subsided, working on President Bill Clinton’s 1992 and 1996 presidential campaigns and Vice-President Al Gore’s presidential bid in 2000.

Now…

Now, residing in Kennesaw, Georgia, with his wife, Melissa, and their two children, Hillari and Zac, Will is an active member of Transfiguration Catholic Church and works as the Project Management Office Deputy Director and Sr. Project Manager for the United States Army Reserve Command. Will became involved with his daughter’s interest in the performing arts, and was a community and professional stage actor and director in the metro Atlanta area for six years, performing in over twenty theatrical productions of which over half cast him as a lead actor. He serves on the Board of Directors as Vice-President of the Blackwell Bears Athletic Association and coaches his son’s football team as well as his son’s Upward Basketball team.  Will also serves as Assistant Webelos Den Leader for his son’s Cub Scout troop and judges theatrical productions as a judge with the Metropolitan Atlanta Theatre (MAT) Awards.

Will was elected in early 2007 by the Cobb County Democratic Party to serve as District Captain for House District 35 and to chair events and appear publically for the committee. In 2008, Will was elected to complete the term of Treasurer for the county party as well as to serve on the State Committee for the Democratic Party of Georgia. He recieved the Democrat of the Year Award and was later elected that year as Chairman of the Cobb County Democratic Party. Will also worked with the Georgia for Hillary and Atlanta for Hillary grassroots organizations as well as chairing committees with each of these groups.