Friends of the Museum
NC Maritime Museum, Inc.
2020 Board of Directors
Walt Wood
President
Walt Wood was born in Oak Ridge, Tennessee and raised in Hammond, IN. After graduating from Indiana University in Bloomington (BS, 1968 in Mathematics), Walt joined the Army, became a lieutenant in military communications intelligence, served as a company commander in Texas and led a detachment in Vietnam. After surviving the war, Walt returned to graduate school at the University of Michigan, completed a masters (AM, 1974 in statistics) and all but a dissertation (ABD, 1976 in biostatistics). During his career, Walt has directed a health services research team, taught college math and statistics, was a partner in an international management consulting practice, and for 26 years until 2017, ran his own consulting firm advising the trustees of association sponsored health insurance programs.
On the weekends, Walt quenched his thirst for the sea by teaching sailing at the Mariner Sailing School in Alexandria, VA, Chesapeake Sailing School in Annapolis, then operated his own sailing school, the ChesBay Sailing School, in Mayo, MD. Walt and his wife, Beverly, have owned many boats; their most favorite was their Montgomery 17.
After visiting for over 25 years, Walt and Beverly moved from Maryland to Beaufort in 2012 and are active with the Beaufort Historical Association and the Friends of the NC Maritime Museum.
Bruce Prager
Vice President
Bruce Prager and his wife Mary are now pleased to call Beaufort their home after relocating from the New York City area two years ago. Bruce received his JD from Georgetown University Law Center in 1977 and his BS (magna cum laude) from Boston University in 1974.
Bruce is a retired partner in the New York office of Latham & Watkins, a leading global law firm. For nearly 40 years, he maintained a broad international antitrust counseling and litigation practice with concentrations in mergers and acquisitions and joint venture antitrust issues. Bruce co-chaired
Latham’s Global Antitrust and Competition Practice Group for more than five years during a period of rapid expansion and development. He has also been active throughout his career in leadership positions and membership in the Antitrust Sections of the American Bar Association, the New York City Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association. Most recently, he served on the NYSBA Executive Committee. He is an author and active speaker on a broad range of antitrust topics.
Through his commitment to public service, Bruce oversaw Latham’s pro bono project to pair hundreds of firm lawyers with Holocaust survivors to assist them in obtaining reparations from the German government and helped create a program model for other firms to follow. He is a past trustee of his synagogue in New York and The Rye Arts Center, a community-based not for profit dedicated to inspiring interest and participation in performing and visual arts.
In Beaufort, Bruce has become an active volunteer at the Harvey Smith Watercraft Center and a board member of his Homeowners Association at The Wye. He is also a member of the Men’s Club at Temple B’nai Sholem in New Bern. He is pursuing his love of photography by enrolling in classes at Carteret Community College. He also loves boating, travel, gardening and reading. Bruce and Mary have been married for over 40 years and have two adult daughters.
Mary Prager
Treasurer
Mary Prager moved with her husband Bruce to Beaufort three years ago from the New York City area. With an extensive background in finance and organizational management in both the profit and not-for-profit sectors, Mary has volunteered her skills to multiple organizations throughout her life, including her children’s schools, arts and cultural organizations, her synagogues, and community organizations whose work is devoted to those in need. Mary graduated with a BS in communications from Boston University in 1976 and a Masters in Accounting from Georgetown University in 1977. After starting her professional business life as a CPA with Price Waterhouse in New York City, she went on to serve as Controller, Manager, or Executive Director of several organizations. After almost 30 years of business experience, she changed direction and began studies at the New York School of Interior Design and launched her own successful design firm as a solo practitioner. She retired from the design profession when she moved to Beaufort and now has her own jewelry design company. Currently, Mary serves as treasurer of Temple B’nai Sholem in New Bern and is a member of the Garden Club and Women’s Club. Mary is an avid cook, reader, and traveler. She and Bruce have enthusiastically embraced their new hometown!
Beth Beswick
Secretary
Beth Beswick recently retired as Vice President of Human Resources and Community Relations at Carteret Health Care where she has worked for the past 40 years. She has called Beaufort home for 19 years. She was born in Chapel Hill, NC and grew up in Greensboro. She obtained her nursing undergraduate degree and Masters in Healthcare Administration from UNC Chapel Hill. She began her career at Duke in the Neurosurgical Intensive Care unit and then moved to Carteret County in 1979 where she and her husband could be closer to the boating activities they loved. She worked as a nurse manager in Critical and Progressive Care for 8 years before moving into Human Resources. Beth enjoys doing leadership training, coaching and staff development. She is active in her church and serves on the Board of the Broad Street Clinic as well as other volunteer activities. She has a grown son, Michael, who lives in Wilmington and a black lab named Jepp. In her spare time, she loves to swim in the ocean, read, fly airplanes, travel and cook for friends.
Pennylloyd Baldridge
Pennylloyd Baldridge has lived in Beaufort since 1981. She was born in Plymouth, NC and grew up in Roanoke Rapids, NC. She taught in Raleigh, NC and Longmeadow, MA. She has undergraduate degrees from Western Carolina University and East Carolina University as well as an Ed. D. from East Carolina. In 2007, after many years as administrator and teacher with Carteret County Public Schools, she retired as Assistant Superintendent in charge of Curriculum and Instruction. She also served as the Principal of Morehead City Middle School, Assistant Principal of West Carteret High School, and Coordinator of Exceptional Children’s Programs. During that time Pennylloyd also taught workshops for the Principals’ Executive Program in Chapel Hill, NC. Pennylloyd currently sits on the Carteret County Public Schools Foundation Board and in the past has served on the regional United Way Board and Thompson’s Children’s Home Board. She is an active member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Beaufort and has served numerous times on St. Paul’s Vestry, once as Senior Warden.
Pennylloyd’s two adult children grew up in Beaufort often attending the Maritime Museum’s summer programs and both were active members of the Beaufort Oars while in high school. Son Finley is a Civil Engineer employed by S&ME, based in Greensboro, NC. Daughter Karen is a Microbiology Professor at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, TN with her husband Drew who is also Science Professor at UT. They have two daughters. Pennylloyd and her husband John are sailors who have spent two winters sailing their Tartan 37 to the Florida Keys, Dry Tortugas, Bahamas and back. Last year they sailed in the British Virgin Islands. Their boat, Caribbean Soul, can be seen sailing in Taylor Creek and out to Shackleford Banks and Cape Lookout as they love living/sailing in this wonderful place.
Will Harvey
William S. (Will) Harvey, III, is a native of Kinston. He’s a graduate of UNC and UNC School of Dentistry and has practiced his profession in Kinston for a decade. He and his wife, Kristy, and their 6-year-old son, Will, now live in a house they restored on Front Street in Beaufort. Will has joined a dental practice in Beaufort and currently divides his work between here and Kinston with a view toward ultimately working in Beaufort full-time.
Will’s dad, the late Billy Harvey, lived in Beaufort for many years and was a former Friends board member. The family has always enjoyed boating and fishing in local waters. Will says he looks forward to “being a part of all the exciting things that are happening in Beaufort and with the Museum.”
Lee Hinson
Lee Hinson is a native of Lexington, NC where he attended high school and then on to UNC Chapel Hill for a degree in Business Administration. Coming from a family of educators, he followed the expectations of continuing the teaching tradition but soon found the confines of a classroom too restricting and started a successful service business in the Piedmont area of NC, which he ran for 35 years. Lee spent much time at the coast enjoying one of his favorite pastimes, sailing his Hobie Cat 17, and other water related activities. For several years, Lee and Dean Vick, his spouse of 30 years, enjoyed a getaway condo in Beaufort and after full time retirement in 2010, they moved full time to the Morehead City waterfront. Lee began his relationship as a volunteer with the NC Maritime Museum in Beaufort in 2012. Lee and Dean are very proud of jointly receiving the museum’s Volunteer of the Year award in 2014 and they are also very active with the Friends of the Maritime Museum, including fundraising and serving your favorite beverages at Friends’ functions.
Lee is also an active board member of Downtown Morehead City, Inc., having just stepped down as Board Chairman for 2 terms. He is very involved with economic development and strategic planning of Downtown Morehead City with his role as a board member. He is also Chairman of Design Committee of DMC, Inc. and his committee is responsible for initiating the art projects in the Morehead City downtown area in their work to make it a walking arts district. MHC, Inc. is accredited by NC Main Street, which is part of the NC Department of Commerce.
Bernice Mason
Bernice Mason has lived in Morehead City since 2014. She and her husband Scott moved to North Carolina from Guilford, Connecticut where they sailed the coastal waters of New England with their two young boys. For over 30 years they were active members of Duck Island Yacht Club in Westbrook, Connecticut where Bernice served several terms as Rear Commodore – Social and as a member of the Board of Governors.
After retirement, Bernice and Scott spent two winters cruising the Bahamas on their Beneteau 41. In 1979 Bernice began her career in Medical Imaging as Radiographer. She completed her training at Quinnipiac University and Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, Connecticut and went on to specialize in Orthopedic Radiography. In 2013, after 25 years, Bernice retired from Orthopedic Associates of Middletown. She now enjoys time for her creative outlets such as photography and art.
Since moving to the area, Bernice and Scott have enjoyed their social membership at Morehead City Beaufort Yacht Club and their volunteer opportunities with the Friends of the Maritime Museum.
Their two sons live in Branford, Connecticut.
Carl Ragsdale
Carl Ragsdale is a native of Richlands in adjacent Onslow County. He attended Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia and graduated from there in 1958. He entered the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, spent 3 years in the US Army, and graduated from UNC in 1965. While in the Army Carl was in the Army Security Agency, which required a Top Secret/Crypto clearance. He spent 15 months in Korea and a year at the National Security Agency (NSA) in Laurel, Maryland.
Carl and Alicia were married in 1962 and have three married daughters and 7 grandchildren. Carl spent 31 years owning and operating automobile dealerships in eastern NC, primarily in Jacksonville. In 1997 he sold his store to his son-in-law and worked for 10 years at the National Automobile Dealer’s Association in McLean, VA. There he became the COO and was responsible for all 5 revenue producing divisions. He retired in 2007 and moved to Carteret County as a full-time resident.
He and Alicia have owned numerous boats in their lifetime. They piloted their 36 ft power trawler from Annapolis to the Bahamas and all up and down the East Coast. Later they took their 25 ft power cat from Morehead to Montreal. Their last major trip was to circumnavigate the NC sounds. Several of their grandchildren have participated in the Junior Sailing Program in Beaufort.
At various times Carl has been President of the NC Auto Dealer’s Association, Trustee of the Episcopal High School, Board member of the National Association of Episcopal Schools, and chaired the fund-raising drives for Trinity Center that raised approximately $2.5 million for the center.
Laura Snyder
Laura Snyder was born and grew up in Bowling Green, KY. She first got to know North Carolina while earning her BA at Salem College. She went on to get her M. Ed. at the University of Louisville. In 1975 Laura and husband Bill moved to Beaufort where she was employed at the Neuse Mental Health Clinic Beaufort office, which was above what was then the Hampton Marine Museum.
Careers took the Snyders to several other North Carolina cities. In 1991 they bought a place in Beaufort where the family spent weekends and vacations until Bill and Laura moved here permanently in 2014.
Laura’s career in special education included years as a classroom teacher, a program supervisor at both county and state levels, and as Assistant Director of the Exceptional Children Division at the NC Department of Public Instruction, the position from which she retired in 2012. Among other honors, she holds the Order of the Long Leaf Pine. Laura and Bill have two adult children, Will, in Chicago, and Elizabeth, in Asheville.
Joe Ustach 
Joseph Ustach, of Beaufort, was born in Springfield, Mass. He first came to Carteret County in 1967 when he worked on his MS thesis at the Radiobiology Lab, now the Southeast Fisheries Center. He tagged menhaden for two summers. He left for the Army in 1969 and in 1971 worked at the Chesapeake Biological Laboratory. In 1973 he returned to NC State to pursue his doctorate. He moved permanently to Carteret County in 1974. He was the Executive Officer for the Duke/UNC Oceanographic Consortium, which operated the R/V Cape Hatteras, for 30 years. He retired in 2011. He is married to Nancy and they have two children, Emily and Peter. His son is a graduate of the Museum’s Junior Sailing Program. He has been on the vestry of St. Paul’s Church, volunteers for Meals on Wheels and the Broad Street Clinic. He also is a member of the Southern Aires Big Band and the Carteret Sunshine Community Band.
Bill Weinhold 
F. William “Bill” Weinhold, a native of Morehead City, is a vice-president of Coastal Bank & Trust. Bill is a graduate of Atlantic Christian (now Barton) College. He and his wife, Sarah, a public-school teacher, live in Newport. Their son, William, 25, is a veteran of the Friends’ Junior Sailing Program. The Weinhold family are avid sailors.
Bill has served on the boards of the Carteret County Chamber of Commerce, Communities in Schools, and the Downtown Morehead City Revitalization Association. He currently serves as Treasurer of the Carteret Community College Foundation.
Ex-Officio Members:
Joe Schwarzer
Director of Maritime Museums
Randy Mann
Museum Business Manager
Brent Creelman
Director of Operations
David Daly
Director of Development