Bridge Officers
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| Commander
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Cdr Barbara White, AP
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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.
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| Executive Officer
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Lt/C Wendell Lightner, P
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Wendell retired as an Operations Area Manager at Rutgers University - NJ. Over the years he managed the maintenance of buildings from the top of NJ to the very bottom (Cape May) which included an old Coast Guard station at the mouth of Egg Harbor/Tuckerton, labs researching oysters, horseshoe crabs and mosquitoes to name a few. Then there were a slew of buildings on the main campus'. After 25 years of service it was time to move on. Having vacationed in the coastal carolina's over the years, Wendell and Sharon decided to put down roots here in Hampstead. Our interests are boating, fishing, plays at Thalian Hall and music at Live Oak Pavilion to name a few. |
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| Educational Officer
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P/C Otis White, P
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Otis retired as Faculty Chair for Business, Management and Public Administration at Rio Salado College and as a faculty member in the School of Public Affairs at Arizona State University where he taught 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. Family includes his wife Barbara (Current Commander of the Squadron), son Robert and Daughter Heather. 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 boat is a completely rebuilt classic 22’ Shamrock inboard named Potential II. 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. Otis and Barbara joined the squadron in 2017, and he has served as Member Involvement Chair (1 year), Administrative Officer 1 Year), Executive Officer (1 year) and Commander for 3 years 2020 to 2022. Otis served as District 27 Commander for 2024 – 2025. District 27 covers all of North Carolina and has 12 very active squadrons. He is currently serving as Squadron Education Officer for the Cape Fear Squadron and is a member of several national committees.
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| Administrative Officer
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Vacant
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We need an Administrative Officer! Won't you consider the position?
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| Secretary
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Lt/C Sharon Lightner, P
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Sharon was born in NJ and lived in Edison NJ where she graduated Edison HS. Pursuing a 4 year degree in Musical Studies and Computers, she graduated from Middlesex County College followed by William Patterson College in Wayne NJ where she played Division III basketball and also Track and Field while attending. During and after college she worked at Tops Appliance City as Asst. VP Operations for 10 years. Sharon and Wendell met in 1990, then married in 1994, when they moved to Kingwood NJ and built their own home. She changed jobs and worked 20 years at Costco as a senior manager, and stepped down to supervisor when her first child was born. Retired from Costco, she went on to work her last 11 years for the Alexandria BOE as a Special Education Para Professional till 2019.
After both Wendell and Sharon's parents passed and empty nest hit them, they decided to finally move to NC in 2021, which they had been planning since 1999, as they visited for family reunions every odd year. She loves fishing and boating, watching football, going to festivals, concerts, plays and shows. She also likes working with her hands and loves to do puzzles. But, being with family and friends is what she loves the most.
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| Treasurer
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Lt/C Gary Church, S
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 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.
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| Immediate Past Commander
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Cdr Barbara White, AP
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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.
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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.
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. T
Rafael Toro is a retired high school special education teacher from New York and a former U.S. Marine officer who was stationed at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, in 1975. During his time there, he lived and trained on base, where he drank, bathed, and swam in the water. He has happily called North Carolina home for the past ten years. For the last five years, he has been an active member of the Cape Fear Sail & Power Squadron, enjoying the camaraderie and time on the water. When he’s not volunteering or out boating, Rafael enjoys fishing, bike riding, and sailing.