Billy Cimino

Veteran - United States Army

Bill is a native of Sharon, Pennsylvania and a graduate of Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. Following college, he commissioned into the United States Army in 1986 and served as a Communications Officer with the 43rd Signal in Heidelberg, Germany and 24th Infantry Division in Fort Stewart, Georgia. After completing Ranger School in May of 1990  he went on to serve with the 24th Infantry during Operation Desert Storm in Iraq.  In 1991 he was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes and could no longer serve in the capacity he desired as an Airborne/Ranger. He completed his active duty service in January 1992.

Bill went on to serve the next 25 years with the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) where he worked a diverse range of positions in numerous field locations. He retired from the BOP in 2017 as the Administrator over Inmate Reentry Services in the Mid- Atlantic Region. Following retirement, he and his wife relocated to Fernandina Beach, FL where he obtained a Boat Captain's license and began working on his favorite hobby. Bill has been boating for over 20 years and would prefer to be on the water more than anywhere else. Bill continues to challenge himself, completing over 50 triathlons and several marathons and half marathons, showing that diabetes has not slowed him down.

In 2018, after meeting Paul Lore his fellow Foar from Home teammate, he felt compelled to start the Non-Profit organization Cross the Line Foundation. Cross the Line raises money for and awareness to all issues affecting Veterans. Through these efforts, the Foar from Home team was introduced to Fight Oar Die (FOD), an organization that uses ocean rowing teams to raise awareness about veteran suicide prevention and PTSD. Meeting some of the FOD team members inspired the Foar from Home team to take part and also complete a cross-Atlantic row representing Cross the Line. They named their team “Foar from Home” because they all reside in the city of Fernandina Beach and believe they will be rowing not only for themselves but for the entire Fernandina community.