Bill Thomas has the distinction of being the first Talawanda student athlete to win a state championship in any sport. He did it in golf in 1984. He was also district and sectional champion that year. His score in the sectional meet still stands as a record. He was southwestern Ohio’s player of the year in 1984.

Bill was a qualifier for the State Junior Insurance Youth Classic of Ohio four consecutive years. He was a medalist in the Junior World Qualifier from Dayton, and one of seven boys from Ohio to play in the Optimist Junior World Tournament in San Diego. He also qualified for the United States Golf Association National junior tournament in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In 1985, he was third in the Ohio Juniors Golf Championship.

In basketball, Bill was an outstanding player and lettered all three years he played on the varsity team.

Upon graduation, Bill enrolled at Miami University, where he played four years of golf, one of them on a Mid American Championship team. Following graduation from Miami, Bill entered the School of Dentistry at Ohio State University, and graduated in 1994. Bill and his wife Becky have their own dental office in Oxford.