Friends of the Museum
NC Maritime Museum, Inc.
2019 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.
Laura Snyder
Secretary
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
Treasurer
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.
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.
Dave DuBuisson
David DuBuisson and his wife, Allison, have lived in Beaufort since 2002, when David retired from the Greensboro News & Record. In Beaufort, the couple owned and operated the Pecan Tree Inn Bed & Breakfast for 13 years. David originally moved to North Carolina in 1968 after growing up and getting his start in journalism in Massachusetts. Over a 35-year newspaper career, he was a writer and editor, primarily in Winston-Salem and Greensboro, where he was editor of the editorial pages. He joined the Friends 26 years ago after a memorable museum-sponsored weekend at Cape Lookout. In addition to three terms on the Friends Board, including two years as president, David is a member of the Vestry of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and has served on the boards of the Piedmont Land Conservancy and the Beaufort Historical Association. For the Town of Beaufort, he has served as chairman of both the Planning Board and the Board of Adjustment. He holds a BA from Marietta College and a JD from the UNC School of Law. He and Allison have a daughter and a son and three grandchildren. In his spare time, David enjoys cooking, gardening, woodworking and reading history.
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.”
Winburne King
Winburne King and his wife, Joan, bought their first house in Beaufort in 1990, after having been regular sailing visitors for years. They moved permanently to Beaufort from Greensboro in 2006. Winburne practiced law with a large Greensboro firm from 1975 to 2000, at which time he became General Counsel of Smith Richardson Foundation (Westport, CT), a position he still holds. He is a 1968 graduate of UNC and of the UNC School of Law, 1975. Both Winburne and Joan have been long-time supporters and members of the Friends, as well as other Beaufort activities, including BHA, Boys & Girls Club and Carteret Community Foundation. Their children and grandchildren live in Morehead City and New Bern. Winburne enjoys boating, hunting, fishing and UNC athletics. He is a Vietnam veteran and retired Captain, USNR.
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.
Vick Moore
Vick Moore and his wife Pat moved their sailboat to Beaufort in the early 80’s and fell in love with the view of Gallants Channel, jumping at the chance to build in Gallants Landing where they hope to spend more and more of their days. Vick was born and bred in Raleigh and left the Broughton High School class of ’63 for Wake Forest University; graduated in ’66 and went straight into the US Coast Guard as a Deck Officer on a cutter, instructor at the Reserve Training Center in Yorktown; then back to Raleigh in 1970 to work in the insurance industry with Moore And Johnson Agency. After 45+ years in the agency, Vick has retired, now spending more time in Beaufort. Being a life-time boater, Vick – and Pat – enjoy time in Beaufort and on the water, and look forward to becoming more active in the community. A son, daughter, five grand-kids, numerous relatives, and friends from Raleigh have been reported to hang out at their home at 112 Gallants Lane and on their catamaran, In Tandem.
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.
Susan Sanders
Susan Sanders attended UNC-G ’73 (BS Math) and then Wake Forest ’80 (MBA) while working at Carolina Steel Corporation 1973-1989 as Division Controller – Construction Products Division.
Susan started Harbor Specialties in 1989, a retail and embroidery business, in Oriental. After moved the business several times along the North and South Carolina coasts she moved the business to Beaufort in 2005.
Susan spent 3 years in Georgetown, SC (2012-2014) getting the South Carolina Maritime Museum established, having been involved with Harbor Historical Association of Georgetown since its inception in 1994. The SC Maritime Museum has been the ultimate goal of this non-profit group. Susan is still very active and involved with the Georgetown Wooden Boat Show and Boatbuilding Challenge. Both events are sponsored by the Harbor Historical Association.
Susan started the Beaufort National Boatbuilding Challenge in 2008. This event is sponsored by the NC Boatbuilding Heritage Foundation and proceeds go toward scholarships to young adults pursuing careers in the boat building and maritime industry. Susan has enjoyed sailing the North Carolina sounds and waterways for 45 years.
Willie Schrader
William Schrader is a native of Long Island, New York. Born in 1943, he lived in Oceanside where he attended the public schools. He holds a B.A. (1964) and Ph.D. (1969) in biochemistry from Johns Hopkins University. His scientific career in endocrinology included postdoctoral training at Vanderbilt Medical School (1969-1972), and a professorship at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX (1973-1995). He has served on several peer-review panels for the National Institutes of Health, and is a member of the Endocrine Society, where he has served on various committees including chairing the Society’s Finance Committee. He and his wife Phyllis moved to La Jolla, CA where he carried out drug discovery as VP for Endocrine Research at Ligand Pharmaceuticals (1995-2002). He and scientists at the Salk Institute co-founded XenoPharm in 2002. In 2003 he was appointed Deputy Scientific Director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, NC where he remained until retiring in 2015. [Phyllis practiced law in Texas, California and North Carolina until her retirement in 2008]. They moved permanently to Beaufort in the fall of 2015. The Schraders began volunteering at the NC Maritime Museum and became members of the Friends of the Museum. Bill enjoys working in the museum’s Watercraft Center, where he has participated in building a number of vessels and in restoration of others. He has extensive boating and fishing experience on three US coasts and continues to own two fishing skiffs. His other interests include amateur radio, wine collecting and hunting. The Schraders have one daughter, who is married and lives with her family in Greensboro.
Bill Weinhold
F. William “Bill” Weinhold, a native of Morehead City, is a vice-president of Sound Bank. He joined the bank in 2000, before it officially opened its doors. 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
Gina G. Holland
Director of Communications