Barbara White is originally from Richmond Virginia, where she graduated from the Medical College of Virginia with both Baccalaureate and Master of Science degrees in Nursing. Having held a variety of positions in health care she retired from Arizona State University as Professor Emerita of Nursing and Health Innovation after teaching there for 20+ years. She is now enjoying being around the water after all those years in the desert and has served the squadron as Administrative Officer, Assistant Secretary, and Photographer.

Jim and his wife Nancie moved to Wilmington in December 2021 from the Columbus, Ohio area where they had resided for 35 years. Jim’s background is in social work and information technology. He is serving his first officer position with CFSPS. He has been a member of the Squadron for two years and has become a certified Vessel Examiner. He has taken both the ABC and the Boat Handling courses. When not involved with boating, he plays tennis and coaches for the Special Olympics. Jim would like to focus on encouraging the involvement of every Squadron member, even if it means only one event or activity in the coming year.

We need an Administrative Officer! Won't you consider the position?

More information on Kathy is coming soon!

Gary holds a USCG 100-Ton Coast Guard Master’s License and is a 60-year Mariner with experience in sailing and teaching from 14’ wet boats to 51’ sailboats as well as power boats from a 12’ dinghy to a 64’ motor yacht. This includes owning and operating a 25’ fixed keel sailboat on Lake Michigan and a 27’ I/O SeaRay on the Ohio River and the Potomac Rivers. Before moving to Wilmington 2 years ago he spent 5 years as an owner/operator cruising the East Coast (Chesapeake Bay to Key West) Bahamas (Bimini to Turks and Caicos) and Caribbean (Dominion Republic to Grenada) with his wife, Betty, on their 64’ Grand Banks Aleutian Raised Pilothouse Motor Yacht Laa-Dee-Dah. He has taken numerous courses on navigation, weather, and systems maintenance and repair, including diesel engines with several different organizations and venues. He is also an experienced advanced scuba diver and has been diving throughout the world from the US to the Caribbean to the Western Pacific and Galapagos. He is also a 50-year instrument-rated pilot recognized by the Federal Aviation Administration as a Master Pilot. He is an active sports car driver having raced in a few racing series over the last 30 years throughout the US and Canada.

A lifelong Wilmington resident, I embraced my coastal roots by pursuing a Business Management degree at UNCW. After a short time at Travelers Oil Company post-graduation, I spent 15 fulfilling years as a Branch Manager at Bank of America. Transitioning to the pharmaceutical sector, I served as a Country Approval Specialist at PPD (Pharmaceutical Product Development Company) in Wilmington until my retirement in 2019. Now in retirement, I relish family time and indulge my passion for boating. My deep connection to the community is evident in my longstanding membership at Cape Fear Sail & Power Squadron, where I proudly served as Commander in 2010 and am looking forward to taking on the role again in 2024. With over two decades of membership, I have fostered numerous friendships. I also contribute to the community by serving on the board of the Wilmington Executives Club, which is a social organization in the Wilmington area. As the incoming 2024 Commander, my focus remains on promoting safe boating through educational programs and expanding the squadron membership.

Meg learned to sail at as a teenager at Camp Westminster on Higgins Lake, MI and raced on 470s at the University of Michigan. Throughout her career as an environmental engineer at a consulting firm, she and friends vacationed by bare-boat chartering with sailboats in the Caribbean islands. In 1997 she attended the Chapman School of Seamanship in Stuart, FL and earned her USCG 100-ton Captain license. In 2000 she sailed across the Atlantic Ocean with 4 friends on a 50-foot sloop. She recently bought a 40-foot Endeavor sailboat, Détente, and enjoys sailing out the Masonboro Inlet. Meg is a member of the District 27’s Navigator or “N” club and cherishes the comradery of the Cape Fear Sail & Power Squadron. She was part of the Kids and Boating class at the Wildlife Expo and enjoys coordinating the ABC course. She has participated in many of the Squadron courses and is a Certified Instructor. Meg moved to Wilmington in 2011 to be closer to her parents who retired here in 1992.

This position is currently vacant. Wouldn't you like to get involved in the leadership of your organization?

More information on Arleen will be coming soon.

Otis retired as Faculty Chair for Business, Management, and Public Administration at Rio Salado College and continues as a faculty member in the School of Public Affairs at Arizona State University where he teaches Public Sector Leadership online. For over 25 years he has taught classes in entrepreneurship, business statistics, human resources, public leadership, and a wide variety of management courses in both the community college and university setting. Before joining academia, he created and ran two companies. One in the advertising and public relations arena and the other in strategic planning for large family-owned companies. His entrepreneurial career spanned over 21 years and his academic career has continued for an additional 25 years. The family includes his wife Barbara, son Robert and daughter Heather. Between the son and daughter, there are 5 grandchildren. Three are in Minneapolis and two are in Palmyra, VA. His boat is a completely rebuilt classic 22’ Shamrock inboard named Potential II. Barbara and Otis moved to Wilmington permanently in 2016 after retirement but have been traveling here regularly since 2011 to visit grandchildren and family. His local interests include boating on the NE Cape Fear River and the ecology of the river environment as well as the history of the Cape Fear area. He received his Piloting grade in 2019. Otis and Barbara joined the squadron in 2017 and Otis has served as Member Involvement Chair (1-year), Administrative Officer (1-Year), Executive Officer (1 year), and Commander for 2 years. He is currently the Commander of District 27.

Pat and Patty relocated from Fort Lauderdale in 2020 to the Wilmington Riverlights area. Transferring to CFSPS from the Pompano Beach Power Squadron, Pat continues to focus on making recreational boating safer by being a vessel safety examiner and an ABC instructor.

Pat grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, earning a BA in Chemistry from University of Louisville and an MBA in Finance from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville. He worked for a chemical company for 35 years in various positions from R&D to senior management in the paint & coating and marine construction industries. After retirement, he enjoyed working as lamination trainer for Hatteras Yachts, in technical sales to boat builders in south Florida and consulting to boat manufacturers. Our most enjoyable boating years were cruising the ICW on a Regal 32 and then on their Carver 366 Compromise from Ft Lauderdale to Annapolis MD several times, as well as living aboard Compromise 1½ years in New Bern, NC while at Hatteras Yachts.

George learned to sail while attending summer school at the Citadel when he was 16, crewing Lightnings owned by the school. He followed up by purchasing a Chrysler Pirateer sailboat his senior year in college. The Pirateer is not a well-known boat; it is 13’ long with a planning hull and runs a main and jib and could run a spinnaker. The summer after graduation George tried to solo sail the Pirateer, named Eurydice, from Little Washington to Cedar Island. That plan did not pan out when George was caught in a thunderstorm while his daggerboard was snagging a crab pot. Letting go of the tiller and sails George was able to raise the daggerboard and free the boat but decided to head to the nearest land, which turned out to be a small uninhabited island where he spent the night. He awoke the next morning when a Marine Harrier jump jet used the island and his boat as an aiming point for practicing attack maneuvers. The maneuverability of that airplane is quite remarkable and fortunately, it did not fire any munitions. George returned to Little Washington. His sailing career continued with the Pirateer, and he also crewed racing boats on Kerr Lake. Sailboats went away when George moved to DC to attend GW law school in 1978, but were replaced by expedition kayaks, including a tough folding Nautiraid 2-person kayak. The Nautiraid traveled to Alaska in 1993 where he and a friend paddled the 70-mile Savonoski Loop originating at Katmai, a tremendous adventure. At one point they saw 40 brown bears in one hour. George also has done guided kayak tours in Alaska and floated the Salmon River. After a legal career in the private and public sectors in DC, where he played with airplanes along with kayaks, bicycles, and motorcycles, George and his wife Laurie retired in 2021 to Wilmington, his dad’s hometown. At retirement, George purchased a 2015 Glacier Bay 2680 power boat and has enjoyed the challenges of learning how to run and maintain that craft. He has taken several of the Squadron’s training courses and really appreciates Meg giving out the answers before test time!

Chuck and Janis Eldridge moved to Hampstead in 2015 after the sale of their sign company in Philly. Chuck was born in Washington, DC, and cruised, fished, and sailed every Friday-Monday, March to Thanksgiving on the Chesapeake Bay from 1965-1984. He bareboat chartered various sailboats from West Palm to the Bahamas and some similar Caribbean voyages. They have 4 adult children and 2 grandkids. Their Hampstead home is their twelfth home in the last 30 years, so they had to quickly learn to navigate different waters across the country. Chuck passed the Piloting course when basic boating was Piloting in 1972. He is an active VSE Examiner. Chuck acquired his USCG Operator’s License (6-PK) in 2020. He primarily teaches safe boating on the water and fills in time with fishing charters on their 2004 22’ Proline Center Console. Chuck and Janis are both Virginia Tech Alumni. They are highly active Board members of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). They co-instructed the Basic Boating course in ‘86-’88 as active members of the Northern Virginia Sail & Power Squadron.