William Walsh, Vice President & General Manager of Lockheed Martin Sippican, Inc., is slated to receive the prestigious William J. Cabral Memorial Award at United Way of Greater New Bedford’s Annual Awards Banquet, to be held on April 10th at White’s of Westport.

Established in 1998 in memory of former United Way Vice President William Cabral, the award is presented annually to a local resident who has demonstrated lifelong dedication to volunteerism and an investment in the community. 

Mr. Walsh, who is planning to retire from Lockheed Martin in April, has been employed at the Marion-based company since he was hired in 1975 as an Oceanographer.  He has also served as President and Chief Operating Officer and Chief Executive Officer.

“We are proud to present Bill with this special award,” said Michelle N. Hantman, United Way President.  “Throughout his years at Lockheed Martin Sippican, he has established a work culture in which employees are encouraged to engage in volunteerism and become involved in their community.”

Serving as United Way’s Campaign Chair in 2000 and 2001 and as a Loaned Executive in the past, Mr. Walsh said he was particularly impressed with the committed individuals who support the community. 

“It was an extremely rewarding experience working with the Campaign Cabinet,” he said.  “I was able to meet so many people who were dedicated to the United Way and its mission – it was really quite impressive.”

Under Mr. Walsh’s leadership, Lockheed Martin employees have regularly volunteered for United Way events and committees – often during work time – such as the Day of Caring, Loaned Executive program, the Campaign Cabinet and Board of Directors.  Additionally, Lockheed Martin employees volunteered 100 hours in 2007 at the Sharing the Harvest Community Farm, a collaboration between United Way and YMCA Southcoast which grows fresh produce to be distributed to local food kitchens and pantries.

A Massachusetts native, he currently holds positions on several organizational boards – the Center for Quality of Management, the High Technology Council, and the UMass Dartmouth College of Engineering Industrial Advisory Board, to name a few. 

Mr. Walsh graduated with a BA in Physics from Holy Cross College and also holds degrees from the US Naval Postgraduate School and the University of North Florida. He served as Naval officer and reservist from 1970 until 1981.


When asked why he thinks it’s important to be truly invested in one’s community, Mr. Walsh’s answer is refreshingly simple:  “It’s just the right thing to do,” he said.

Over the years, the award has been presented to such civic-minded leaders as David Cameron, Joseph Dias, Orren Robbins, Joseph Luiz III, Carolyn Burnham, Joel Burns, Richard Perry, Everett Eaton, James Mathes and the late George A.D. Saint Aubin.

“Knowing some of the prior recipients of this award, I am humbled to be included in that group,” he said.

United Way of Greater New Bedford

United Way of Greater New Bedford works to bring together individuals, businesses and organizations to address our community’s most urgent needs.  We believe that to truly improve lives in our region, we must act collectively to impact the critical issues affecting our neighborhoods – building a better community for us all.

Through an annual campaign, we provide funding to more than 60 programs at local health and human service agencies serving residents of New Bedford, Acushnet, Dartmouth, Fairhaven, Freetown, Marion, Mattapoisett, Rochester and Wareham.  In addition, we administer a number of programs to address specific needs in our community.  Through the Hunger Commission of Southeastern Massachusetts we supply food to emergency soup kitchens and food pantries in Bristol County, while our Community Building Mini-Grants Program provides funding and skill-building opportunities to all-volunteer groups. In addition, our Volunteer Solutions database provides the only local online volunteer tool to match willing volunteers with nonprofits in need of support.

It takes our whole community working together to reach our goals.  Whether it requires fundraising, planning, or just getting people to work together, that’s what we do. 

We need your support!  Visit www.unitedwayofgnb.org to learn more about the different ways that you can help.

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