Born in Villa Rica, Georgia, Republican State Representative Bill Hembree went on to see much of the world. The Legislator for the Douglasville area has visited 42 different states and 34 countries! He graduated from Douglas County High School and later traveled the globe on his quest for knowledge. Having lost his father at the age of three, Hembree and his four older siblings were raised solely by his mother. This caused him to have to really work hard in order to go to college, earning scholarships to a number of places. This hard work kept him motivated to keeping learning more and more.

In 1985, he was National President of the Distributive Education Club of America and a part of the Youth for Understanding Exchange Student program, for which he earned a scholarship and spent time in Germany. From 1987-1989, he attended Johnson and Wales College and University in Providence Rhode Island on a scholarship, earning both his Associates and Bachelor’s Degrees and graduating Cum Laude for both. The institution also awarded him the University President’s Trophy. Also in 1987, he participated in the University of Pittsburgh’s Shipboard education program. This program allowed Representative Hembree and many other students to travel abroad via ship and see much of the world, doing field studies wherever they docked. He described the experience as the most rewarding and interesting part of his education.

In 1990 he participated in the Master’s Program at the University of Glasgow in Scotland for a year, studying International Finance. The aforementioned academic accolades certainly serve as points of merit for Hembree’s membership on the Higher Education Committee, for which he has had an active membership role in for the last 12 years. He is also currently a member of the Appropriations, Health and Human Services, and Insurance Committees and Chairman of the Rules Committee. In 1997 he was appointed to the Atlanta Regional Commission.

Chairman Hembree and his wife, Beth, have twin sons, Thomas and Miles, and an older son, Will Jr. The Hembree’s are members of First Baptist Church of Douglasville, Georgia. His involvement in other civic duties includes membership in the Chamber of Commerce and National Youth Chairman for the Muscular Dystrophy Association.