The annual WIne Country Marines "Semper Fidelis Award" was awarded for the fifth time in 2009.
The award is given in testimony and tribute to outstanding contributions and exceptional accomplishments to the Marine Corps Veteran Community within the Sonoma & Napa Valleys.
COLONEL WILLIAM PEACOCK, USMCR (RET.) IS THE RECIPIENT OF THE 2009 SEMPER FIDELIS AWARD
Colonel Bill Peacock and his wife Nancy
Col. Bill Peacock with Gen. P.X. Kelley (Photo taken right after his promotion to Colonel in the Commandant's Office, Headquarters Marine Corps)
Each year, a Birthday Ball Planning Committee made up of approximately 40 people does the real work behind the scenes to ensure a successful and enjoyable event each November. Several members of the group are also actively involved in our other activities throughout the year to include our three non-profit charities: Devil Pups, Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund and Toys For Tots. When Marines decide to do something, they tend to really get the job done right. However, someone often goes above and beyond the call of duty and it is only fitting to recognize this type of dedication and hard work. Here is what Colonel Brendan Kearney (our current President and Chairman of the Board) had to say regarding the 2009 recipient:
"In testimony and tribute to outstanding contributions and exceptional accomplishments to both the Wine Country Marines and the Wine Country Marine Corps Birthday Ball, the Wine Country Marines takes pleasure in awarding the 2009 "Semper Fidelis" Award to Colonel William E. Peacock, USMCR (Retired). "
With the loving help and support of his lovely wife Nancy, Colonel William E. Peacock has served in a high-profile role with the Planning Committee for the Wine Country Marine Corps Birthday Ball. He has also served with distinction on the Board of Directors for our 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation. In fact, without his help in procuring our legal firm on a pro-bono basis, the Wine Country Marines would not have achieved a 501(c)(3) non-profit status. Colonel Peacock has also been extremely instrumental in recruiting many of the outstanding members of our Board of Directors and the Birthday Ball Planning Committee. He is also extremely instrumental in helping us procure very high-profile distinguished Marines as our future Guests of Honor.
Colonel Peacock will be the Master of Ceremonies at the 25th Anniversary of the Wine Country Marine Corps Birthday Ball on November 5, 2010. He will also become the 3rd President and Chairman of the Board of the Wine Country Marines in 2011.
Colonel Peacock has served in the White House and the Pentagon, having been appointed by the President and confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Assistant Secretary of the Army for Manpower and Reserve Affairs, where he helped spearhead the Army's "Be All You Can Be" campaign theme that lasted for 21 years. In addition to being a senior official in the U. S. Department of Energy, Mr. Peacock has served as a corporate officer in several Fortune 500 companies.
He earned his A.B., cum laude, from Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public Affairs and his J.D. from the Harvard Law School. He has also participated in senior executive programs at the Harvard Kennedy School and the Harvard Business School.
An Honor Graduate of both the Platoon Leaders Class (PLC) program and of The Basic School (TBS), and after a tour in Vietnam as a Marine Captain, he continued in leadership positions in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. He was promoted to Colonel personally by the Commandant, General P.X. Kelley (see photograph). After serving for several years in a senior VTU at HQMC, he retired in 1992.
Since the early 1990's, he has been engaged in helping to finance and guide several start-up companies in the Silicon Valley, primarily focusing on telecommunications, anti-terrorism and medical technology. He was appointed in 2006 by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger as a board member and currently sits on the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board.
Colonel Peacock has also served on numerous civic and charitable boards. He currently is a member of the board of the Advisory Council of the California Commonwealth Club and has served on the boards of the San Jose/Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce, the San Jose Symphony and the Portola Valley Schools Foundation.
He is heavily involved in raising funds for charities focusing on the military and education as well as the poor and sick. In this latter capacity, he has been the elected Prior of the Western United States for the Sovereign Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, Knights Hospitaller, an ancient Christian chivalric order that traces its roots back to the Crusades and the year 1099. Colonel Peacock is an active member of the Sainte Claire Club, founded in 1888, in San Jose, and he and Nancy reside in Redwood City.
Past Recipients of the Semper Fidelis Award:
- 2008 - Robert K. Leonard, Former Captain of Marines
- 2007 - Colonel Harry Pratt, USMC (Ret.)
- 2006 - Fred Unsworth, Former Sergeant of Marines
