WILLIAM JENNINGS SHEFFIELD was born in Spokane, Washington in 1928. He studied at DeForest Training School in Chicago and served in the U.S. Army Air Corps from 1946 to 1949. Since 1953, Sheffield has lived in Alaska. He is the founder and chair of Sheffield Enterprises, Inc., a hotel managment firm. He served as president of the Alaska Visitors Association and the Alasksa Chamber of Commernce and as national director of the U.S. Jaycees. Sheffield also was a member of the Anchorage City Planning Commission and the Anchorage Charter Commission. He was elected governor of Alaska in 1981 and served from 1982 to 1986.