Chas Sampson

Chas Sampson (born May 21, 1986) is an American entrepreneur, executive producer, author, real estate investor, and U.S. Army Veteran. He is the founder of Seven Principles, a former candidate for mayor of Spring Lake, NC, a former board member of the Arts Council of Cumberland County, and a past chairman of the board for the Partnership for Children of Cumberland County, NC. 
Seven Principles, which is headquartered in Virginia, assists Veterans with completing Department of Veterans Affairs claims, transitioning out of the military, and launching new businesses.
==Early life and education==
Sampson was born in New Jersey, but his family relocated to Fayetteville, NC, when he was a toddler. He attended Mary McArthur Elementary School and Anne Chesnutt Middle School in Fayetteville, NC. During this time, he was a member of the Anne Chesnutt wrestling team in the 189-pound weight class. Later, Sampson graduated from Pine Forest Senior High School in 2004. He was a star athlete that played offensive and defensive line for the Pine Forest Trojans during his high school years.
thumb|Sampson playing football for Washington State University-Pullman|200px
Sampson then enrolled in Washington State University, where he acquired a Bachelor of Sciences in Business Psychology. During his time there, he was a member of the Student Veteran Committee, a mentor to student-athletes in the Peer-Mentorship program and a stand out athlete for the WSU football team. He then went to Argosy University, where he acquired a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership and Finance, Human Resources Management, and Personnel Administration.
==Career==
Sampson started his career in 2006 when he enlisted in the U.S. Army as a petroleum supply specialist (92F). He served for five years, during which he was deployed in Iraq on active duty for 15 months. 
thumb|left|Sampson at Camp Arifjan Army Base in Kuwait before his 15-month deployment to Iraq|200px
After his transition from the U.S. Army, Sampson began working in the Seattle/Tacoma region. Sampson then relocated across the country to Washington, D.C., where he began his lobbying, advocating, and federal government journey.
thumb|Sampson received his military transition award from HAF/A1 in March 2015|200px
In 2013 he became a member of government relations at Veterans for Smart Power – USGLC. During his tenure of two years there, Sampson performed outreach missions that collected the views of Veterans to develop legislation for the drafting of bills in the Senate or House of Representatives.
After giving much of his expertise and knowledge, he was selected to serve as a Rating Veterans Service Representative, also known as a Rater or Decision Officer, for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in Washington, D.C. During his tenure at the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, he executed thousands of final decisions on claims from Veterans across the country that applied for VA disability compensation and pension benefits. In this role, Sampson noticed a large void in the country regarding what Veterans understood of their VA disability benefits and what the VA will actually service-connect or compensate. 
After a successful career at the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Sampon was selected to manage Human Resource issues for the United States Department of Defense in the Workforce Effectiveness Branch at the Pentagon and Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, which is commonly know as Headquarters Air Force (HAF/A1). In this role, Sampson was influential in negotiating labor union grievances, federal employee discipline, arbitration hearings, federal employee adverse actions, terminations, and barriers in the workplace for Air Force personnel, both civilian and military. When asked what the best thing he learned from working with the Air Force as an Army Veteran, he shared lessons from the Air Force Handbook (AFH) 33-337, The Tongue and Quill; a 373-page memorandum on effective communication for Air Force personnel both civilian and military. Sampson jokingly shared how he felt the Army is better than the Air Force, a moment of pride for his service in the Army and often a constant joke shared amongst former and current service members in each military branch. 
Upon transitioning from the federal government, Sampson founded the Seven Principles Group, a firm of former federal VA Raters, medical professionals, psychologists, attorneys, and corporate executives. Sampson founded Seven Principles to fill a void between Veterans and his former employer, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. The firm is most known for winning successful VA disability claims, helping Veterans transition out of the military, and supporting their entrepreneurial endeavors. Their clients have an overwhelming, unfair advantage versus other clients that may do it themselves or go to other firms, mostly due to the unique expertise of the members of Seven Principles. 
Sampson successfully executive produced the first-ever social media-influenced military comedy show. He effectively built a team of military and Veteran social media influencers to showcase their talents to the public via a live audience. The first show was produced in Sampson's hometown of Fayetteville, NC, the day after Veterans Day, November 12, 2021. Sampson wanted to remember his hometown roots while bringing humor to Fort Bragg troops. 
Sampson is also the author of The Startup Toolkit: Everything You Need to Start, Grow, and Sustain Your Business. Sampson wrote this workbook as a guide for transitioning military members who plan to become business owners.
thumb|Sampson spoke in his hometown of Fayetteville, NC, during his mayoral run in 2017|200px
==Personal life== 
Sampson is the happy father of two beautiful daughters, Natalia and Chyna, and resides in Virginia. He is passionate about developing teams, scaling businesses, diving, parasailing, kayaking, geocaching, and discovering new hiking adventures across the globe. Sampson enjoys traveling to different countries and befriending the locals. The motto he lives by is, “strangers are friends, and friends are family.” He is also fluent in American sign language, which he learned growing up with his deaf best friend, Harold. 
In 2019, Sampson was one of Fayetteville, N.C.’s Top 40 Under 40. 
==In the media==
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==References==
==External links==
* Official website
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Category:1986 births
Category:People from Jersey City, New Jersey
Category:American entrepreneurs
Category:Executive Producer