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CBMM welcomes new board members and officers

At its June 24 annual meeting, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum (CBMM) in St. Michaels, MD elected five new governors, three Emeritus governors, and four board officers for the coming year.

The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum welcomed new officers and governors to its Board during its annual June meeting. Board officers for the 2013-2014 year are from left: Vice Chair Richard Tilghman, Chair Tom Seip, Secretary Dick Bodorff, and Treasurer Jim Harris.
The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum welcomed new officers and governors to its Board during its annual June meeting. Board officers for the 2013-2014 year are from left: Vice Chair Richard Tilghman, Chair Tom Seip, Secretary Dick Bodorff, and Treasurer Jim Harris.

Board officers for the 2013-2014 year are Chair Tom Seip, Vice Chair Richard Tilghman, Secretary Dick Bodorff, and Treasurer Jim Harris. Elected Emeritus governors include Howard Freedlander, Alan Griffith, and Joe Peters.

“As we approach the 50th anniversary of the museum in 2015, our best days are very much ahead of us, due in no small part to the work that we do here, as a board,” said newly-elected Chair of the Board Tom Seip. “There’s a lot of hard work to come, including our strategic plan which is currently in development, as well as fundraising plans which will allow us to better serve our communities—our members, donors, and volunteers, the local community, kids, vacationers, watermen, who are all a part of this great institution.”

The Board also recognized retiring members CG Appleby, Richard Kimberly, Pam Jana, and Anna Fichtner for their service. Each was presented with a memento made from the original wood of skipjack Rosie Parks and the bugeye Edna E. Lockwood, both under restoration at CBMM.

“I know the museum remains in capable, strong hands,” commented retiring Chair of the Board CG Appleby. “The Board of Governors has recruited a deep pool of talented, resourceful members with a terrific slate of officers. After nearly a decade of serving the museum, first as a board member for seven years, then as Vice Chair, and finally, as Chair for the last two years, I am especially proud of the museum’s efforts to reach out to so many different audiences, and of course, the restoration of the Rosie Parks is another highlight of my time at the museum. I saw the deterioration of the Rosie firsthand and now I am privileged to witness her rebirth.”

Newly elected to three-year terms on the museum’s Board of Governors are Bill Carter, Rick Johnson, Patrice Miller, Steve Sands, and Lelde Schmitz.

New CBMM board member Bill Carter served as a leader in the telecom industry for 40 years. He served as President and Chief Executive Officer for Submarine Systems Inc. (SSI), Director of International Network Operations for AT&T, President of Global Crossing Development Company, and Vice Chairman of Global Marine. Carter also served as an advisor to the U.S. government on communications and economic development. He received his bachelor of electrical engineering degree from Georgia Institute of Technology and has completed the advanced program for senior managers at MIT’s Sloan School.

Rick Johnson is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of PNC Financial Services Group in Pittsburgh, PA. Johnson’s 30-year career in banking began at J.P. Morgan Chase, where he served as Global Business Chief Financial Officer and Managing Director for the New York office, and the European Chief Financial Officer and Managing Director in London. Johnson plans to retire in August, 2013, when he and his wife, Laurie, intend to spend more time at their home in St. Michaels.

Eastern Shore native Patrice Miller is the granddaughter of one of the Hooper Strait Lighthouse’s lighthouse keepers. Miller manages properties and enjoys renovating homes. She and her husband, Herb, have five children and plan to spend more time at Myrtle Grove—their historic home on the Miles River. Miller received her bachelor of science degree from the University of Maryland.

Steve Sands is Managing Director of Wilmington Trust’s Wealth Advisory Services in Baltimore. Prior to joining Wilmington Trust in 2011, Sands spent nearly 35 years with the First National Bank of Maryland in Baltimore where he established the firm’s Private Banking Division, Financial Management Group, and Specialty Banking Group. Sands is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University, the Greater Baltimore Committee’s Leadership Program, and the Rice University Executive Management Program. He has served as Treasurer and Chairman of the Investment Committee for the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland and as a trustee for numerous non-profit organizations. Sands and his wife, Rosa, live in Glyndon, MD.

Lelde Schmitz has spent 27 years in international finance with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) specializing in designing economic policy and helping governments implement economic adjustment programs in emerging and low income countries in the Caribbean, Latin America, and Africa. Since 2007, Schmitz has counseled internationally on political strategy, economic policy, development issues and foreign direct investment. She has a master’s and Ph.D. in economics from the University of Karlsruhe in Germany, with special studies at Harvard University’s JFK School. Schmitz has served as a committee member of the IMF’s Art Society; as Founder and President of the Artist Guild of Oxford; and on the Board of Easton Main Street. She and her husband, Heinrich, have two adult children and live in Oxford, MD.

The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is the leading institution for studying, preserving, exhibiting, and celebrating the rich maritime history, heritage, traditions, and culture of the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal reaches. A non-profit organization serving museum members and the general public, CBMM offers changing exhibits, a working boatyard, educational programming, boat rides, and annual festivals from its waterfront campus on the St. Michaels harbor. More information is available at www.cbmm.org or by calling 410-745-2916.