William Otis Cullom

William Otis Cullom was born on March 20, 1932, to Otis McKinley Cullom and Elna Reese Cullom in Dallas Mill Village, a cotton mill village, in Huntsville, Alabama. He played football at Huntsville High School. After high school he headed to DC where he worked at the FBI in the fingerprint department and became the tour leader for J. Edgar Hoover. He began his college career at George Washington University but was soon drafted into the Korean War. He trained as a paratrooper at Fort Benning, Ga. While in the Army, Bill played football, and a scout took notice of him and invited him to Florida State University where he was awarded a scholarship. He played center at FSU but injured his neck in his second year of football and spent the last 2 years working in the trainer's room. At FSU, he met the love of his life, Caryl James, and they married in 1956. He graduated in 1958 and became the Assistant Business Manager for FSU. In 1964, he took a job with Ryder Truck Rental Inc. and became the Executive Vice President of Marketing.

The family moved to Miami in 1966, where Bill continued to work for Ryder until 1979 when he became the President and COO of Jartran Inc. In 1981, the job he had been waiting for all his life presented itself. Bill became the President and CEO of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. During his 23 years at the chamber, Bill helped spearhead the formation of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, The Coalition for a Drug Free Miami, the Beacon Council (Miami’s Economic Development Agency), the Homeless Assistance Center and We Will Rebuild after Hurricane Andrew. He embraced Miami-Dade County as a highly diverse community and rejected the notion that people from a variety of cultures could not live and work together. In the 1980’s he helped raise millions of dollars for the Liberty City Project and helped form the Business Assistance Center. He was awarded the Black Business Communities Economic Unity award in 1984, the Anti-Defamation League Human Relations Award in 1992, the NCCJ Humanitarian Award and Silver Award, Citizen of the Year Award from the Greater Miami Rotary Club, Daily Point of Life Award by President George H.W. Bush and the Sand in My Shoes Award in 2003. He and Caryl were also involved in Shake-A-Leg dedicated to teaching disabled individuals to sail. He loved Miami with all his heart and was constantly trying to make it the best place to be. The Chamber’s chair of development said at Bill’s retirement, “Bill is Miami. He personifies what the city is all about, and he has made it a better place for all of us.”

He was the president of the FSU Alumni Association, Chairman of the FSU Foundation, Vice President of the Orange Bowl Committee, on the Board of Directors for the Miami-Dade College Foundation, Baptist Hospital Foundation, Coconut Grove Playhouse, Goodwill Industries, Salvation Army, Kendall United Methodist Church, and the United Way of Miami-Dade County. He was a trustee at Bethune Cookman College, Barry University, and St. Thomas University. In his retirement he was on the Advisory Board of The Yancey Fund at the Community Foundation of Western NC from 2000-2017 and served as chair from 2008-2012.

He and his wife Caryl retired in 2003 to Elk Fork Farm in Burnsville NC – a beautiful tobacco farm built in 1904, that they purchased in 1973. He lived out his dream of making it a storybook place to be with his family. He was quoted as saying “there is no doubt that there is a heaven, but as far as I am concerned, I am in it.” He loved to mow with his tractor, and he created an amazing Native American artifact collection, a passion that began as a young boy.

In 2020, he and Caryl dealt with the death of their grandson Marshall and in 2024 they survived Hurricane Helene and were evacuated by ATVs from their beloved farm at ages 90 and 92. They moved to a lovely apartment in Winston Salem with their girls nearby, but they missed the farm, especially the chapel, Burnsville, and their friends.

His beloved wife, Caryl, proceeded him in death by 11 days. They had been married for 69 years, and he did not want to live on this earth without her. He is also proceeded in death by his parents, sister Majorie Snell, sister-in-law Jean Vaught, and grandson, Marshall Stewart. He is survived by his daughter Cheryl Stewart (Edward); daughter Jennifer Barksdale (David); grandchildren Hallie Barksdale, Emma James Barksdale (Stefan Kinnin), Parker Stewart (Anna Ottum), great grandson Grey Ottum Stewart, Dustin Stewart (Rosemary) and great grandchildren Lane and Grant Stewart. He is also survived by his nieces Juliana Larson (Lynn), Kathy Brett(Ford), and Juanita Morgan.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Bill’s memory may be made to the Yancey Fund of The Community Foundation of Western NC at http://cfwnc.org/affiliates/the-yancey-fund or to the Yancey History Association to help preserve and promote Native American history and culture in Yancey County and the Toe River Valley. Send checks to: Yancey History Association, 3 Academy Street, Burnsville NC 28714 in Bill’s memory.