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In 1974, with only $1,000 in capital, Mr. Crutchfield founded Crutchfield Corporation in his mother's basement. Since then, Crutchfield Corporation has grown into one of the nation's largest specialty direct retailers. Since the inception of their prestigious awards program, Catalog Age magazine has bestowed on the Crutchfield catalog and website seventeen awards for design excellence. BizRate has consistently ranked Crutchfield as one of the top Internet retailers in the country based on customer satisfaction. Crutchfield Corporation has been awarded BizRate's "Circle of Excellence" for the past seven consecutive years. Crutchfield is one of only two e-retailers which have achieved this distinction. In 2002, Crutchfield Corporation was awarded the Governor's One Virginia Technology Award in recognition of its innovative use of technology to serve Virginia's citizens. In both its December 2005 and 2006 issues, the leading consumer magazine ranked Crutchfield.com as the top online consumer electronics retailer in the nation. In 2006, Crutchfield Corporation's two call centers were recognized as J. D. Power and Associates Certified Call Centers.
Mr. Crutchfield is a 1965 graduate of the University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce and still maintains an active involvement with that fine university. He has served as Chairman of the McIntire School of Commerce's Alumni Advisory Board and was its 1992 Executive-in-Residence. Also, Mr. Crutchfield holds an appointment as a Visiting Lecturer at the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration. He served as a Director of the Health Services Foundation from 1993 to 1999. In recognition of his service to the University, he was elected in 1993 to the Raven Society. In 1997, Mr. Crutchfield was presented with the Raven Award one of the highest honors given an alumnus. In 1997, Governor George Allen appointed Mr. Crutchfield to the University of Virginia’s Board of Visitors (Board of Directors). Governor James Gilmore reappointed him in 2001. Along with other duties, he served as a member of the Board of Visitors’ Executive Committee and Building and Grounds Committee, a Board of Visitors’ member of the University of Virginia’s Medical Center Operating Board and as Chairman of the committee that oversees the University of Virginia’s College at Wise. His second term ended in 2005 and he was not eligible for reappointment.
In October of 2007, Bill Crutchfield will be inducted into the Consumer Electronics Association's Hall of Fame. This is the highest honor in the consumer electronics industry. In 2004, he was awarded the William "Billy" Gitchell Award by the Central Virginia Chapter of the American Heart Association because of an innovative and effective corporate wellness program that he pioneered. In 2001, he became one of the first retailers to be inducted into Dealerscope magazine's Hall of Fame. In 2000, Mr. Crutchfield was presented the United Jewish Appeal Consumer Electronics Division’s "Retailer of the Year" award. Bill Crutchfield was the Ernst & Young "1999 Master Entrepreneur of the Year" for Virginia. In 1999, he was also selected as a finalist in the Ernst & Young international "Entrepreneur of the Year" award only the second Virginian in the program's history to be so honored. And, in that same year, he was awarded the Wise County (Virginia) Chamber of Commerce's "Distinguished Service Award." It was given because of his contributions to the University of Virginia’s College at Wise and because of the economic impact that Crutchfield Corporation’s Wise County call center has had on the region. This was the first time that this award was ever given to a person living outside of Southwest Virginia.
Mr. Crutchfield is a popular speaker. Since 1979, he has spoken to many undergraduate and graduate classes at the University of Virginia. Also, he has been a featured speaker at numerous local and regional events. In 2006, Mr. Crutchfield was the keynote speaker at the 23rd Annual Conference for Catalog, Internet & Multichannel Merchants (ACCM) held in Chicago.
At the invitation of former President Jimmy Carter, Mr. Crutchfield was a participant at the Carter Center's 1988 Consultation on Competitiveness. During 1991, he served as Chairman of the Virginia Economic Recovery Commission's Innovation Workgroup. Mr. Crutchfield served on Lieutenant Governor Beyer's Virginia Strategic Council from 1990 to 1993. He was a participant at the 1992-1993 Renaissance Weekend. Governor Allen appointed and, Governor Gilmore re-appointed, Mr. Crutchfield to the Commonwealth of Virginia's Advisory Council on Revenue Estimates. Governor Gilmore appointed Mr. Crutchfield to The Virginia Strategy a group of state business and community leaders charged with developing new economic development policies and initiatives. In 2002, Governor Mark Warner appointed him to the Governor's Commission on Efficiency and Effectiveness chaired by former Governor Douglas Wilder.
Bill Crutchfield has served on numerous local, regional and national Boards, Commissions, and Councils. He is an alumnus of the Young President's Organization (YPO) and is a current member of the Chief Executives Organization (CEO), World Presidents' Organization (WPO) and Beta Gamma Sigma the national business honor society. Mr. Crutchfield's accomplishments have earned him a citation from the Small Business Administration and inclusion in Who's Who in America and the upcoming issues of Who's Who in the World and Who's Who in Finance and Business.
During the Vietnam War, Bill Crutchfield served in the United States Air Force as a commander of a Titan II missile crew and as a Strategic Air Command senior instructor. For his distinguished service, he was awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal. Mr. Crutchfield separated from the service in 1970 holding the rank of Captain.
Mr. Crutchfield's wife is President of Wachovia Bank's Charlottesville market. From a former marriage, he has a twenty-three year-old daughter and an eighteen year-old son. | 