John Bond Gillam, III was born September 29, 1946 to John Bond Gillam Jr. and Della Louise Roberson Gillam in Windsor, North Carolina. His family arrived in what is now Windsor circa 1693. His grandparents were Mr. and Mrs. John Bond Gillam of Windsor and Mr. and Mrs. James Harvey Roberson of Robersonville.

Gillam is married to Muffin Crocker Gillam of Washington D.C. The Gillams now live in Nags Head, North Carolina and in Naples, Florida and have three children: Peter Snead Pastore Gillam, Catherine “Cathy” Ann McManus Jones, and Elizabeth Roberson Snead Gillam Hoffmier, two sons in law, and four grandsons. He has one sister, LaVerna Roberson Gillam Perry of Windsoe and a niece, Emily Bond Kilpatrick Wilson of Nags Head and her husband, Hosea Elbery Wilson, III, a nephew, Joshua Marshall Kilpatrick, III of Windsor and his wife Kimberly Mizelle Kilpatrick, three grat nephews, and a niece.

After receiving a graduate degree from the University of Virginia, John Bond Gillam, III and his family moved from Fork Union, Virginia back to Windsor in 1973. John returned to Windsor to work in his family’s peanut, farming, and hardware business. Upon his return, he became very involved in national, state, county, and Town of Windsor political and social activities.

His years of service to his church, the Boy Scouts of America, civic and social clubs positioned him to become an integral part of life in Eastern North Carolina. In 1974, he was elected president of Historic Hope Foundation, Inc. where he served as president for 12 consecutive years. In 1980, at the age of 34, Gillam was elected to the North Carolina House of Representatives. He served on countless state and federal boards and commissions. At the age of 36, he was elected president of the North Carolina Crop Improvement Association.

Fast forward to 2010, Gillam’s foundation, the Outer Banks Relief Foundation (OBRF) where he was founding president came to Windsor/Bertie County to implement OBRF’s Inner Banks Project – Bertie County. Gillam’s OBRF Inner Banks Project helped the friends of the food pantry establish a 5K findraiser and an annual October race known as the 5K Spooktacular. Due to his work in helping the local food pantry, Gillam was given the key to the Town of Windsor by Mayor Jimmy Hoggard in 2015.

On a whimsical note after Gillam had not lived in Windsor for more than two decades, a local minister saw him on the streets of Windsor and recognized him and said I understand you are an athlete. Gillam said oh no I am not the athlete, that’s my sister, Verna Gillam Perry, she was an All-American basketball player. He said I thought you were a marathon runner, and I said oh yes I am and I never thought about it, but I guess running marathons does make me an athlete.

In 1984, Gillam ran unsuccessfully for the United States Congress; in the late 1990’s, East Carolina University interviewed Gillam from his home in Nags Head and suggested that his campaign for Congress ushered in the Republican Party as it now stands in northeastern North Carolina.

Gillam’s 1984 County campaign chairs/managers were so disgusted at his 1984 defeat. 20 of the 21 campaign County chairs switched to the Republican Party and 20 of the 21 chairs became chairs of the Republic Party having all been Democrats.

Recently, in a nostalgic moment, Gillam shared a few of his many wonderful memories of growing up in the small rural town, Windsor, in northeastern NC. The most memorable thing about growing up in Windsor was how comfortable and safe we felt. Now that I look back, it was as though time stood still and we were able to be free-spirited young people.

Joe Cooper, now the Rev. Joe Cooper, was a big part of our lives growing up in Windsor. A dozen or more would go to BalGra every Saturday night, spend the night at his family’s log cabin, and do what teenage boys did at the time, but we always got up Sunday morning and went to church at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Windsor.

I hope that Chris Powell and Betty Brown Ruth are not going to be agitated with me, but when Windsor High School needed lions in their homecoming parade, I was the Papa lion, Chris was the Mama lion, and Betty Brown was the Baby lion. We had dyed mop heads on our heads and wore dyed long johns and, of course, in Windsor High School colors of black and gold.

Our fathers were standing together as the parade went north on King Street and I was told someone asked all three Jack Powell, Shot Ruth, and Bond Gillam who were the people dressed up in long johns? I am certain with a degree of dismay and I hope, they smiled and said they are our children.

There was the time that I decided the Methodist Youth Fellowship needed to have a mothers of the Methodist and Episcopal youth were disgusted with me because everyone had to work all weekend to entertain 125 young Methodist youth.

And then there was the time that our cousin, Gail Gillam, from Whiteville came to spend the week with our grandmother, Bum-Bum. Joe, Chris, Betty Brown and I decided we needed to have a welcome to Windsor party and we did so. The reason I am writing this is because we invited 125 people. We mixed the tossed salad in a trash can. Hopefully it was a new trash can but I do not remember. The party was held at the Parish Hall at St. Thomas Episcopal Church.

In 1993, I remarried and Randy White, my friend of six decades, was my best man. We made going to church fun, going to school fun, and our social life was over the top.

The long and short of all is: Life in Windsor in the 1950’s and 960’s was as perfect as life could have been… idyllic… with just the most precious and majestic memories.

Present day, John Bong Gillam, III is one of the 12 members of the National Council of the Jamestowne Society Richmond as well as the Organizing Governor and Governor of the Bay of Naples, Florida Company.