Former New Hanover County Commissioner Skip Watkins passed away on November 6th, according to a Facebook post his family made on Watkins’ personal page. Watkins was a well-known member of the Wilmington community well before he became a county commissioner. A proud Seahawk, Watkins graduated from UNC-Wilmington in 1980 with a BS in Business Administration and in 1988 with an MBA. He would later use those skills as a financial advisor for Capital Investment Group. Before entering into the political arena, most people in town knew Skip as the manager of the Cape Fear Fair and Expo. Watkins first stepped foot into the political world when he ran unsuccessfully for Wilmington City Council in 2013. However, in 2014 he ran for a seat on the New Hanover County Commission and was the top vote-getter that November with almost 28% of the vote. He served on the board for four years helping the community deal with big issues like the opioid crisis and Hurricane Florence as well as smaller issues like housing affordability and stormwater drainage. He lost his bid for re-election in 2018 by less than 1.2% of the vote.
A celebration of life will be held at the Riverlights Lakehouse, 4124 Watercraft Ferry Ave., on Sunday, Nov. 17, noon – 2 p.m. All are welcome to attend.
I first met Skip in 2013 when he was running for Wilmington City Council and I had him on my radio show to talk about his candidacy. Over the next seven years, I had Skip on my show maybe 40 times as both a candidate and a commissioner. He wasn’t just a great guest but he was also a great guy. He didn’t run for office because he wanted the power or title. He ran because he loved New Hanover County and he wanted to help make it a better place. Which he did. Skip only had one request when he came on the show and that was I play two bumper songs which were Tom Petty’s “I Won’t Back Down” and Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back In Town.” I doubt I will ever hear those songs and not think of Skip.
RIP Skip
