Van D Hipp Jr

From 1986 to 1989, Van Hipp served as the Chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party. In 1988, Hipp served as a member of the Presidential Electoral College, and as a speaker at the Republican National Convention, he introduced former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich. Hipp is a veteran of the U.S. Army and served on active duty in both Operation Desert Storm and Operation Restore Democracy. He continues to speak on defense issues at public forums across the country, and his articles on defense and international policy have been widely read in the national print media. Since the September 11th attacks on the United States, Hipp has appeared on the Fox News Channel well over 300 times as an expert commentator on the war on terror and has been a guest on virtually all of the network's major news programming including The O'Reilly Factor and Hannity and Colmes. In addition, he has appeared on MSNBC, including HardBall and Scarborough Country, CNN with Paula Zahn and Daybreak, the London-based Sky News Channel, and the CBS Evening News. He has also been named to the President's Council of the National Safe Skies Alliance. In 2002, Hipp was named by then Governor Jim Hodges (D-SC) as South Carolina Ambassador for Economic Development. Currently, he serves on the Board of Advisors for the Salvation Army and the Alexandria Community Shelter. Hipp received his Bachelor's Degree in Economics from Wofford College, and now serves as President-Elect of the National Alumni Association. He received his Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law. In 1990, Van was the recipient of Wofford College's National Young Alumnus of the Year Award. Van Hipp is married to the former Jane Grote of Nashville, Tennessee, and they have three children: Trey, age 17; Sarah Camille, age 15; and Jackson, age 5. Van and his family reside in Alexandria, Va.