William Clarence Sarpalius

SARPALIUS, WILLIAM CLARENCE (1948 ~ ). The following is a biography for former U.S. House Member Bill Sarpalius. The biography was provided by him.

William (Bill) Clarence Sarpalius was born in Los Angeles, California, the son of Robert W. Sarpalius and Joyce Ardys Maxwell.  Bill overcame polio at an early age; his father left him and his two younger brothers Bobby and Karl at the age of 10. His mother was an alcoholic and suicidal, they became homeless and lived in vacant homes in Houston, ate food out of trash cans. At age 13 Bill and his two brothers came to Cal Farley's Boys Ranch near Amarillo and everything they had was in one small cardboard box.  Bill was in the fifth grade and could not read.  

He found himself in a world of constant fear of losing his mother.  He was tall, skinny, shy, way behind in school because of polio, and had nothing going for him.  It all changed in his senior year in High School when he gave the sermon in Church and the founder of Boys Ranch Cal Farley who was dedicated to helping the bottom 10% of Americas boys died during the services.  After the service he returned to his dorm and got on his knees and asked God to use him in some way to help people. That was the beginning of an incredible journey.

Four months later Bill Sarpalius graduated from Cal Farley's Boys Ranch and got off a bus in Amarillo, Texas with $100.00 in his pocket, one suitcase and no place to go.  He was determined to help his mother “Honey” who lived in a small one room apartment.  Bill finally convinced his mother that she needed to get help. They hitchhiked across Texas trying to find a place to help his mother. There was no place in Texas to help her, unless if you had a lot of money. Texas ranked 50th in the nation for alcohol and drug treatment at that time.

Bill had no financial help to go to college, so he ran for State President for The Future Farmers of America and was elected. He served a year traveling to almost every high school in the state speaking to High School assemblies encouraging students to make their dreams come true. He received a full scholarship from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Bill was one of the founders of the Boys Ranch Alumni Association. He received his teacher’s degree in Agriculture from Texas Tech University and returned to Boys Ranch where he taught school as a Vocational Agriculture teacher.  He continued his education and graduated from West Texas State University with a Master degree of Agriculture.

His story is the American Dream of overcoming adversity and dreaming dreams and making those dreams come true. His mother was placed in a mental institution because of her struggles with alcoholism. When his mother committed suicide, he was determined to do something to help people with the struggles of this disease. The only way he thought he could do something for alcohol and drug abuse was to run for the Texas Senate.  He started his race with $25.00 and nothing but a dream.

He was a Democrat who defeated a Republican incumbent in a Republican district. As a freshman, Lieutenant Governor Bill Hobby appointed him Chairman of the Agriculture Subcommittee. He sponsored the first bill in the nation that gave tax breaks to produce Ethanol, and opened the door for a new market for corn producers across the nation. Ethanol is now used every time you fill your car up with gas. He sponsored legislation that setup loan programs for beginning farmers and funds to explore the possibility of creating an alternative energy from the wind. This opened the door for wind energy. He sponsored Senate Bill 1 known as the DWI bill. This legislation was the first bill in the nation that allowed for the use of video cameras to be used in the conviction of drunk drivers and had mandatory penalties for drunk driving. His political goal was accomplished in his last term in the Senate when he passed legislation that created the Texas Commission of Alcohol and Drug Abuse that created alcohol and drug treatment centers across the state and allowed for insurance coverage.

After serving 8 years in the Texas Senate in 1988 Bill was elected to the US House of Representatives and elected President of the Freshman Class. In his second week in office a man who was a music teacher from Lithuania, Dr. Landsbergis came and asked Bill (who is of Lithuanian ancestry), to help free the people of Lithuania and the Baltic States from the Soviet Union Communist Party. He found himself in the middle of the breakup of the Soviet Union and the end to the Cold War. Lithuania became the first country to break away that lead to the collapse of the Soviet empire and the end of the Cold War.  Because of what he did the country of Lithuania gave him the highest award they could give to a noncitizen.  They made him the Grand Duke of Lithuania.

He served 6 years in the US House of Representatives and served as Chairman of the subcommittee of General Farm Commodities and helped draft and negotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement that opened markets throughout the United States. Congressman Sarpalius was instrumental in gaining funds for the construction a new regional VA Hospital in Amarillo and combining two airbases to Wichita Falls Sheppard Air Base.

Sarpalius received many awards including the distinguished alumni from Texas Tech and West Texas University, and Texas Humanitarian of the Year. He served on several boards but one he was most proud of was serving on the Houston Livestock and Rodeo Association and Cal Farley’s Boys Ranch Alumni Association.
    
After leaving Congress he started Advantage Associates International, a powerful Washington consulting firm made up of former elected officials from Congress. Advantage represented many foreign governments before Congress. After the success of his book “The Grand Duke from Boys Ranch” and  made Amazon Best Seller, he became a highly sought after motivational public speaker, speaking to crowds as many as 85,000 people.
 
He always credited his success to that day when he got on his knees and ask God to take his life and use him to help people. He loved his God, his son David and his family and friends.