Commodore: Hugh Upton
Hugh has been boating/sailing for 56 years on a variety of crafts. Hugh was 15 when his father introduced him to boating after purchasing a 32 foot Chris Craft Cabin Cruiser. The family boated in San Francisco Harbor and the Sacramento Delta for many years. In 2009, Hugh received his Bareboat Certification from the US Sailing Association and sailed in San Francisco Bay, along the California Coast, in San Diego, Catalina, the Channel Islands, French Polynesia and the Caribbean. He is currently an active member of SIBC and the Carefree Boat Club and at The Landings. Hugh is a Mechanical and Nuclear Engineer and worked at General Electric Nuclear for 39 years ending his career managing the licensing of Advanced Boiling Water Reactors for GE Nuclear. In his early years after graduating from the University of Colorado in 1972, he was commissioned in the Naval Reserves as an Ensign and served as Navigator on Nuclear Submarines during the Vietnam War. He served in the reserves for 14 years and was honorably discharged as a Lieutenant in 1984. Hugh retired in 2017, moved to Savannah, GA and currently resides at The Landings with his wife Charlene.
Vice Commodore: Bill Doggett
Bill’s boating experience spans more than 40 years including motoring and sailing on Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay, and occasional sails offshore there and in New England and Maine. He has previously owned small sailboats and motorboats, and was an owner/member of the Spa Creek Club in Annapolis for several years. Since moving to The Landings in 2020, with his wife Suzanne, he has been a member of both the SIBC and an active member of The Landings Sailing Club, cruising the Wilmington River from Thunderbolt to Wassau and crewing on the Rhodes 19’s (also helping to maintain and repair some of these older boats), crewing on the J24’s, and has twice crewed in the annual Low Country Hook Race from Hilton Head to Landings Harbor. They have enjoyed several of SIBC’s member cruises, and accepting the opportunity to contribute and be more active in the club, Bill is delighted to be nominated to run for Vice Commodore, under our very capable and accomplished Commodore Hugh Upton and the Board of Directors.
Secretary: Cheryl Walters
Cheryl grew up in Pennsylvania, where opportunities to be on the water or in the water were plentiful. Lakes and creeks and streams were a regular playground for after school or weekend adventures. Water skiing and canoeing were favorite activities in the teen years. Trips to the ocean were on every summer’s calendar. Jetboats, ferries to the islands, and sunset cruises were a must. All of these adventures and opportunities became the fabric for the future.
Cheryl met her husband, Ric, while in college. After they were married, they moved to Lancaster County, PA and bought their first boat at a barn sale in 1979. The boat was launched on a dammed up section of the Susquehanna River, known as Lake Clarke.
At that point, they immediately joined a wonderful organization called Lake Clarke Rescue. That was where boat safety and camaraderie were thoroughly ingrained. Upon moving to Kennebunkport, ME in 1993, Cheryl and Ric became members of the Arundel Yacht Club. They bought a Boston Whaler, which they kept at a dock at their house, and then they bought a trawler to be able to fully explore the ocean, bays, rivers, and islands of coastal Maine. The theme continued to be the same – love and enjoyment of waterways, boat club activities, and the camaraderie of good friends. Upon moving to the Landings in May 2021, Cheryl and Ric immediately sought out yet another boating club in which to becomes members, and SIBC turned out to be a great fit!
Cheryl earned both a bachelors degree and a masters degree in Speech/Language Pathology and Communication Disorders. She practiced in a variety of settings, from hospitals, to state facilities, to private practice, and to all levels of public education. For the last 20 years of employment, she led a team of 39 professionals and paraprofessionals in the field of special education.
Treasurer, Lucian Gillis
My wife, Lee, and I moved from Atlanta to The Landings in August 2022. Lee had lived in the Atlanta area most of her life. I was there for 31 years. We now live next to the Palmetto Clubhouse, and we are thrilled to be here.
I practiced law full-time for 45 years. In 1974, I received a B.S. degree in Commerce from the University of Alabama. My prelaw major concentrated in finance. After graduating from the University of Alabama Law School in 1977, my first job was as a deputy district attorney in Birmingham, Alabama. In 1980, I moved to Mobile, Alabama to work with a private firm there. I left in 1991 to practice in Atlanta. From 2007 until I retired in July 2022, my firm was Gillis & Creasy, located in Dunwoody. My private law practice focused on general civil litigation, primarily business litigation and personal injury defense. I regularly have had fiduciary responsibilities for my clients, and sometimes for third parties.
A primary hobby for me since college has been competitive powerlifting. I last competed in 2010. I am certified as an international referee, and I regularly officiate contests at all levels. In addition to able-bodied competitions, I have for decades volunteered for disabled powerlifting events, both Special Olympics (for the intellectually challenged) and Paralympics (for the physically impaired). Now that I am retired, I want to get more involved here with clay shooting, swimming, fishing, cycling, and hunting.
Directors at Large:
Steve Hernandez
Steve has been a boater for most of his adult life and has traded his time on the water between sailing and motoring on Long Island Sound and is now a proud member, along with his wife June, of both the SIBC and the Carefree Boat Club here on Skidaway Island. Steve and June came to the beauty of Skidaway in 2017 after living in Westchester County, NY, for many decades. Professionally, Steve worked as an educator, school administrator, and university professor for over forty years.
Carl Ridgway
Carl Ridgway moved to The Landings in 2015 and joined the SIBC almost immediately. He had the opportunity to participate in the first four Hook Races with Reverie and they were as enjoyable as they were enlightening. He is a cruiser more than a racer, so much of the finer points of tactical sailing have eluded him until now. Before moving to Savannah he had never participated in sailing regattas or open water racing and looks forward to broadening his horizons and helping others to experience the joy of sailing. His career has been spent mostly in public safety and public health. He was in the Military Police Corps for eight years, after which he worked as a Paramedic before going to Nursing School, with a brief detour into computer programming during the dot comm boom. He recently retired from Nursing after ten years at Memorial Hospital ED.
Laurie Etherington
Laurie grew up and lived most of her life in the Northeast where she enjoyed many years on the water in powerboats, sailboats and kayaks owned by friends. After moving to The Landings in 2019 she subsequently joined SIBC. Thanks to a fellow SIBC member, Laurie bought a secondhand kayak in 2022, and since then has pursued kayaking in earnest learning the tides and winds while exploring various rivers, marshes, creeks along barrier islands, in state parks and even down in FL. Professionally, she was fortunate to experience two interesting careers, one in commercial real estate investment management and a second in retained executive search.