Charles Gill was born Oct. 1, 1947, in Pittsfield, Mass. He moved with his mother to Kingsport, Tenn., when he was 5 years old. He grew up in East Tennessee and attended school there. He calls himself a hillbilly from the Tennessee hills.[cointent_lockedcontent]

He graduated from Tennessee Military Institute in Sweetwater, Tenn., in 1965. He was enrolled at Tennessee Tech, but in the fall of 1966, he was drafted into the U.S. Army. He served on the military base at Fort Campbell, Ky., and at Fort Gordon, Ga. He was stationed for 13 months in South Korea.

After his discharge from the military in 1968, he enrolled at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tenn. He graduated in 1973 with a degree in industrial technology.

During the time Charles was working in graduate studies, he worked at Sperry Univac, located in Bristol, Tenn. While he was employed there, he got the opportunity to be interviewed for employment at the Milliken Company, headquartered in Spartanburg.

He was hired by Milliken, and in 1974, he came to South Carolina and started working at the Gayley plant in Marietta. He started in the plant engineering area. His job was to maintain the building and the equipment. He worked there for three and a half years before being transferred to the Gerrish Milliken plant in Anderson County. As plant engineer, his job there was to modernize the building and replace the old equipment. In 1979, he was transferred to the Valway plant in La Grange, Ga. In 1980, he went to the Milliken corporate headquarters in Spartanburg. In 1985, he was assigned to a special project. He was asked to start up a new manufacturing process at the Cotton Blossom Plant. In 1987, he was transferred to the Magnolia plant in Blacksburg. In September 1987, he came back to the corporate headquarters in the purchasing department. He remained there until he retired in January 2009 after 35 years of service.

Charles and his wife, Debbie, were married June 7, 1975. They have two daughters, Ashley and Laura, and three grandsons. They have lived in Easley since 1976. He said it is their home now.

He visits the Pickens Senior Center almost every Tuesday morning. He says he enjoys visiting with friends there and listening to the music the band plays. He is on the renovation committee at the center. The auditorium there is in the process of being remodeled and is scheduled to be completed by November.

Charles is the current chairman of the Pickens County Beautification and Environments Advisory Committee. Pickens County and this committee present the annual Traveling Trash Bash Program to all third graders in the School District of Pickens County.

Charles said he has five hobbies. No. 1 is snow skiing. When asked where he skis, he said anywhere in the world he can find snow. He has skied in the Rocky Mountains, Europe and Switzerland. No. 2 on his list in golf. He thoroughly enjoys playing at Rolling Green Golf Course in Dacusville. No. 3 on the list is helping out with any work that needs to be done at his church, St. Matthias Lutheran in Easley. No. 4 is doing volunteer work. He is a member of the volunteer group Roundtowners, which does volunteer work in Greenville and Pickens counties. He says they offer help to anyone in need. Last, but certainly not least, is No. 5, which he says is to stay happy by doing what he enjoys. He says by doing Nos. 1 through 4, it makes No. 5 work well for him. He has experienced fun, success and adventure.

Charles has musical talents. He took piano lessons at an early age, and he sings in the choir at his church.

Easley resident Carol Baker highlights interesting local residents and helps us get to know more about the fascinating people who call Pickens County home. If you have someone somewhere who you think people should know about, contact us at news@thepccourier.com.[/cointent_lockedcontent]