Bill O'Neal was appointed State Historian of Texas by Governor Rick Perry, and during his six-year tenure he traveled tens of thousands of miles across the Lone Star State as an ambassador for Texas history. He is a past president and fellow of both the East Texas Historical Association and the West Texas Historical Association, and he has been a member of the Texas State Historical Association for over half a century. Bill is the author of more than fifty books. He was awarded the A.C. Greene Literary Award at the 2015 West Texas Book Festival in Abilene. In 2012 Bill received the Lifetime Achievement Award of the Wild West Historical Association, and in 2007 he was named True West Magazine's Best Living Non-Fiction Writer. His account of Wyoming's Johnson County War won a book of the year award.Bill has appeared on TV documentaries on TBS, The History Channel, The Learning Channel, CMT, A&E, and the American Heroes Channel. During a long career at Panola College in Carthage, Texas, his most prestigious teaching award was a Piper Professorship, presented in 2000.In 2013 Panola's new dormitory was named Bill O'Neal Hall, and in that same year he received an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from his alma mater, Texas A&M University-Commerce. Bill's four daughters all have entered the field of education, and he is the proud grandfather of seven grandchildren.