CCEF President, Region 10 Commissioner, CCSNA Trustee, CCEF Director, CCSNA Past President, CCSNA Past Vice-President, Former CCSNA Trustee
Carl Guilford was raised on the Redneck Riviera, i.e., the northwest Florida coast of the Gulf of Mexico, which has recently been remarketed as “The Forgotten Coast.” He comes from pioneer stock on both sides of his family, his Campbell ancestors being among the first white settlers in northern Florida. As a lover of languages and books, he studied Spanish in high school and went on to obtain a BA in English from Berry College in Rome, Georgia, in 1978, and an MA in German from the University of Georgia in 1983.
Upon moving to Bakersfield, California, he discovered the local Scottish Society and soon thereafter the CCSNA, which he joined in 1987 (Life Member 1994) and for which he went on to become central California commissioner, state and regional commissioner, and eventually vice president in 2014 and president in 2017. Newly arrived in Bakersfield in 1983, however, he soon discovered that his sainted mother was right: with a BA in English and an MA in German and $1.50, one could get a cup of coffee (NB: the rates have gone up).
With no teaching possibilities immediately available, Carl applied with the Kern County Welfare Department and soon became a social worker in the child protective services division, where he was able to put his English degree to work writing court reports. When he realized that he was going to be a social worker when he grew up, he went back to school and obtained an MSW (Master of Social Work) from California State University, Fresno, which enabled him to finish his career as manager of the county children’s shelter, where there was never a dull moment.
In 2013 Carl was awarded the Commissioner of The Year Award for his dedication to the Clan Campbell Society.
While employed as a social worker, Carl enrolled in the distance learning program of Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, the Gaelic College on the Isle of Sleat, to learn Scots Gaelic, calling Scotland once a week in the wee hours of the morning to participate in tutorials with a native speaker and fellow students. He retired from social work in 2014 and currently volunteers for the Dewar Project, transcribing Gaelic stories which were collected in the 1800’s by John Dewar for the Duke of Argyll, and which are now housed in the Argyll Archives at Inveraray Castle.
Carl also continues to serve as CCSNA Region 10 commissioner, a trustee of the CCSNA and a director of the Clan Campbell Education Foundation. He also volunteers to monitor, answer and/or forward the emails that are sent to the CCSNA website by members of the public seeking information on all things Campbell. Carl resigned his CCSNA Trusteeship when in 2023 he was elected President of the Clan Campbell Education Foundation.
At the 2023 Annual General Meeting of the CCSNA Carl was presented the President's Award for Meritorious Service Award.
Carl A. Guilford, Jr. was honored at the Inaugural Investiture Ceremony of the Order of the Bog Myrtle for a Lifetime of Service to Clan Campbell and the Clan Campbell Society. The Ceremony was held on the evening of October 21, 2023 at the Annual General Meeting of the Clan Campbell Society (North America) in Peachtree Corners, GA, USA.