Meet Bill Clendenin
Eileen Ballance '15 • July 10, 2025
Bill was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up 150 miles southwest of Chicago, along the Mississippi River. He graduated from Monmouth College in Monmouth, Illinois in 1973 with a degree in Business Administration. A sojourn to Arkansas and Florida occupied the next 32 years, before moving to Norfolk.
He retired in 2015 from his position as project manager for the City of Norfolk. He served as the City’s Americans with Disabilities Coordinator and administered the City’s ADA funding. His job included, among other things, administering industrial hygiene and abatement contracts.
Bill led volunteers at the Primeplus Senior Center garden during COVID. He coordinated Master Gardeners, Navy, and Rotary volunteers in planting and maintaining a pollinator and cut flower garden, with an eye toward native plants. This experience sparked his interest in becoming a Norfolk Master Gardener.
He thought the classes were very informative and were presented at a basic and easy-to-understand level.
To achieve his fifty-hour requirement, Bill worked at the Weyanoke Bird and Wildlife Sanctuary, the Dig & Divide for the Plant Sale, the Significant Tree Project, the Fred Huette Pollinator and Native Plant Garden, Urban Ag home visits, the Elizabeth River Project Shoreline Restoration, seed packaging, and attended a Communications Committee meeting.
He is working with Primeplus Senior Centers to build a new Pollinator and Native Plant garden at the Titustown Community Center on Diven Street. It will feature trellises, a gazebo which will double as an outdoor classroom, and a large rain barrel to promote water conservation.
When Bill isn’t working on Norfolk Master Gardener projects, he serves on the Norfolk Commission for Persons with Disabilities, participates with the Rotary Club of Norfolk, and enjoys kayaking.
Bill has three brothers, one in San Pacho, Nayarite, Mexico; one in Punta Gorda, Florida; and one in Cary, North Carolina. His stepdaughter lives in Virginia Beach.
When you see Bill, be sure to give him a shout out and welcome him to the Norfolk Extension Master Gardeners.
