Skip Watkins has lived in Wilmington for nearly 40 years. He met Valerie, his wife of 32 years, at UNCW in 1979. They have two children. VJ is finishing her MS in Mathematics at UNCW and Brian is studying Mechanical Engineering at CFCC. Their nephew, James, resides with them also studying Culinary Arts at CFCC. Skip earned his BS in Business Administration and his MBA from UNCW.
Skip has been in the financial services industry for over 25 years. He is currently a Financial Advisor with Capital Investment Group in Raleigh, NC. He has also teaches Economics for the University of Mount Olive.
Skip and Valerie have been involved in the community for over 30 years as well. Both have served on the Board of Directors of the Cape Fear Fair and Expo. Skip has been the Fair Manager for over 15 years and also serves on the Executive Board. They have also served in various capacities with the NC Azalea Festival. They currently serve as Co-Chairs of the Circus Committee. For the last five years, Skip has spoken at the UNCW’s Cameron School of Business’ Business Week. They are also involved in various other volunteer capacities.
For most of his life, Skip has felt drawn to serve in an elected office. He feels his experience as a Financial Advisor and his work with various non-profits give him the unique perspective of sound fiscal guidance and consensus building. He promises to combine these attributes with his Conservative view of Government. He is not afraid to be the lone voice or lead the change.