Rev. Solomon P. Hill Background

Education: Graduate of Lincoln University, Jefferson City, Mo.; master of public administration degree from Golden Gate University, San Francisco; and a master of divinity degree from the Methodist Theological School in Ohio.

Military: From the early 1960s to 1984, he served in the U.S. Marine Corps and retired with rank of lieutenant colonel, which he achieved in 1978. His assignments ranged from command of a 45-man platoon to a battalion of more than 2,500 soldiers. He served two tours in Vietnam, from 1965-66 and in 1970, and during his last tour he served as the commander of a Reinforced Infantry Company in combat operations against the Viet Cong. His last assignment in the Marine Corps from 1981-84 was as a U.S. delegate to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Business: He joined Marriott International Inc., where he worked in various executive capacities in Washington, D.C.; Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; Atlanta; and Cleveland. His last position was as the director of human resources at the Cleveland Marriott Downtown at Key Center. In 1998, he introduced “Pathways to Independence,” a welfare-to-work program, to Cleveland that successfully helped more than 250 participants gain full-time employment within the Marriott Corp.

Ministry: In January 2000, he attend Methodist Theological School on a full-time basis and was ordained an elder in the United Methodist Church on June 24, 2004. He served as pastor of North Hill United Methodist Church, Akron, for four years and became pastor of Centenary UMC on July 1, 2005.

Community: He received the Distinguished Chairman’s Award given by the mayor of Cleveland, a proclamation from the City of Cleveland designating July 25, 1995, as “Solomon P. Hill Day.” While pastor of North Hill United Methodist Church, he was a member of the board of directors for the North Akron Neighborhood Center Association and board of trustees for Akron Summit Community Action Inc. He is president of the board of trustees of the United Methodist Community Center with sites in Warren and Youngstown, and is team coordinator of the New Church Development Committee of the East Ohio Conference of the United Methodist Church.

Memberships: Member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity and the Military Officers Association of America.

Family: He and his wife, Mary, have three adult children and two grandchildren.