District 21 Bridge Officers
and
Committees
| Commander | D/C Karl E. Fernandes, JN (HN) |
| Executive Officer | R/C Jean L. Hamilton, SN (HN) |
Educational Officer |
D/Lt/C Alice M. Pippin, JN (LC) |
| Administrative Officer Asst Administrative Officer |
D/Lt/C Shirley D. Heald, AP (DL) D/1st/Lt Scott McDonald, JN (HN) |
| Secretary Assistant Secretary |
D/Lt/C Dorothy M. Welch, SN (GB) |
| Treasurer Assistant Treasurer |
D/Lt/C Hilton B. Dickerson, AP (DL) D/1st/Lt Jerry W. Madden, S (SH) |
Click here for Bridge Member's E-mail Addresses
A complete roster of all District Committee Chairs
is available on the Members Only page.
D/C Karl E. Fernandes, JN
SQUADRON AFFILIATION: Joined the Houston Power Squadron in Nov 1995.
POSITIONS HELD: Boat Smart Chair, Squadron Bridge Officer, District Lieutenant.
PERSONAL: Greetings! I am D/C Karl E. Fernandes, JN 
of the Houston Sail and Power Squadron and it is both my honor and privilege to be your 2007 - 2008 District Commander. Those of you who have taken Piloting are already familiar with where I grew up - New Bedford, MA. It's on your 1210T Chart! My father moored his boat in the town of South Dartmouth on the Apponaganset River. We often fished around Cuttyhunk, Penikese, or Nashawena Islands (part of the Elizabethan Islands between the mainland and Martha’s Vineyard )! In 1988, after stops in Kansas and Illinois, I accepted a position as a Psychology Professor with North Harris College.
In June of 1995, my then Father-in-Law reintroduced me to boating and I joined the Houston Squadron in November of 1995. Since then, I have completed all the courses except for Navigation. I have served as a Boat Smart Chair, a Bridge Officer, and a District Lieutenant before my current tour on the District 21 Bridge. 
Around Houston, I am probably best known as the Bridge Officer who promptly got “lost for two years” on Trinity Bay. I survived on a life raft with only the absolute minimum of supplies - 144 cases of Diet Dr. Pepper â ! It was during my time on the raft that a Ship Channel pelican named Sextant befriended me.
Currently, I am on my third boat. My first was a 12-foot skiff. My second was a 23-foot Crownline Cuddy. My current boat is a 33-foot Cruisers 3375. Hmmm, does anyone notice a pattern developing?
As for naming my boat, I was given three bits of advice: 1) Do not name your boat (Anything) Day because the Coast Guard will react to every hail as a distress call; 2) Do not name your boat after your wife or girlfriend because the boat may outlast the relationship; and 3) Do not name your boat anything with an “R” in the name if you are a Yankee because the Cajun Coast Guard’s man you’ll get on the line during an emergency will make you spell it out for him every time!
As for what is the greatest benefit to membership in USPS? That’s easy! It’s been the opportunity to serve the Squadron and the District…because through service you are afforded the unique opportunity to get to know the truly fine members we have in our District’s Squadrons families.
Please make the effort to be part of District 21 this year by participating in any (or all) of the many exciting events our fine 14 squadrons have scheduled throughout the upcoming year. Remember, we are much more than a “club,” in District 21 we are an active part of America’s Boating Family…and we have saved a special seat…just for YOU!
DXO Jean Hamilton, SN
SQUADRON AFFILIATION: Joined Houston Sail & Power Squadron 1984; first USPS rendezvous with Jacksonville SPS at age 7; family subsequently member of Chicago PS & Shrewsbury PS.
POSITIONS HELD: Initial HSPS position was Program Chair, then Cooperative Charting Chair 1989-1992, keeping HSPS (& herself) on honor roll all three years. 1990-91, served as ASEO, then SEO 1992-1996, during which HSPS held every class, every year, & S, P, AP twice every year, with completions in all. Won Prince Henry award, second place for Vern K. Venator & Gerald R. Rogers awards. HSPS Weather Class chair 1990-1997, Boating Course instructor 1986-1997, Piloting lecturer 1990-1997, IQ lecturer 1994-1997, Teaching Aids chair 1996-1997. Taught Oceanography Supplemental Program 1992-2002. D/21 Liaison chair 1996-1997, D/21 ABC Coordinator since ABC course launch, 2001. Joined National Weather Committee 1996. Stf/ C Weather Committee 1998-2001. R/C Weather Committee 2001-2002. R/C Marine Environment Committee (Weather & Cruise Planning) 2002-2004. Chair, Ad Hoc USPS Environmental Committee, reporting to C/C, 2004-2006. Currently serving as R/C USPS Environmental Committee, member MEnvCom, Grants & External Funding Com. Served as aid to P/D/C’s Karen Coady & Dan Joyce. There’s probably more, but who cares! can keep up with it all!
PERSONAL: Started on-the-water training 1960-1967 at the Florida Yacht Club in Jacksonville, FL., in FYC Pram Fleet, racing in all Fall, Winter & Summer series & several St. Johns & Gator Bowl regattas, Fleet Champion a couple times, all aboard The Blue Dolphin. Simultaneously, the family participated in many FYC & JSPS cruises aboard the Miss Ill Guided & the Blue Darter.
Moving to Chicago, my father continued USPS affiliation, but frankly, we children decided the water was too cold and tasted funny. Fortunately that was only a two-year period. We next moved to Rumson, NJ and lived on the Shrewsbury River…still cold, but better tasting. I crewed on Wood Pussy’s & 420’s at the Shrewsbury Sailing Club & on various sloops & ketches participating in the Sandy Hook Offshore Racing Association events. The family vessel was the Panacea, a 36’ Egg Harbor Sport Fisherman. There was little of the New England coast and Long Island Sound that we didn’t cover on summer trips aboard. It was a perfect one-day trip to leave our dock, round Sandy Hook, cross Raritan & Lower Bays, cruise under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, proceed up the East River, across the Harlem River through Hell’s Gate, then cruise back down the Hudson River and home – the Hamilton “Circle Line” tour. Since you couldn’t drive up there until you were really old…the kids all had Boston Whalers. Ours was the Buzzie (named after our grandmother who provided it for us). We water skied & explored every part of the Navesink & Shrewsbury River estuary system. For 4 th of July & other events on the water, it wasn’t unusual to have 20-30 whalers rafted up together.
I sailed a few times as an undergrad at Vanderbilt, but like Chicago, the water tasted funny, and you always eventually ended up on the other side of the lake. As a graduate student at Duke, the Buzzie became the Research Vessel Buzzie, & the primary means of transport to my thesis area, Shackleford Banks, off Beaufort, NC, part of the Outer Banks National Sea Shore (a much better boating area). I also participated in research cruises aboard the 118’ R.V. Eastward during this time.
Since my life commenced as an independent adult, I’ve bareboat chartered most of the Caribbean (Windward Islands – Granada, the Grenadines, St. Lucia, S. Vincent; Bahamas – Nassau, Chub Cay, Cat Cay, Andros & Long Island areas), Mexico – Cabo San Lucas area, also Tonga & Tahiti, and the west coast US out of Long Beach and Catalina. I cruised several times with my parents on the Altair (42’ double cabin Hatteras), again along the east coast and a couple of times in route to Houston, and part of the TenTom. I recently sold the Witch of Endor, my 27’ Catalina sloop, so I characterize myself as “between boats.” There isn’t much of the Galveston Bay/Freeport waterway I haven’t cruised, either aboard her, the Lady Tigre(s), Beluga, Ultra, aboard other friends’ boats, or as a guide on the Bay Ranger, with Galveston Bay Foundation folks. Want to plant some Spartina sometime? My most recent experience at sea was as a guest aboard the Lady Sharon, a Defever trawler, on the USPS Nor’westing national cruise in the San Juan Islands & Vancouver.
My entire adult life (+ many USPS events/items) has been financed by the Marathon Oil Company, where I have worked in various geoscience positions since finishing graduate school. I started & am once again working the Gulf of Mexico exploration area. The first time, I had some on-the-water experience on rigs offshore, & getting back and forth when the weather was too bad to fly. The fast crew boat rides down the Atchalfalya River to the Eugene Island 57 Field aboard the Candy Cane were terrific. The crew was all ex/retired USCG & I was able to join them in the wheelhouse where I could monitor navigation & operations. The 17-hour work boat rides to rigs further out were less “exciting” operationally – not much to see except the 17-20’ seas & wait to get there. These days, I just send the geoscientists out that I hired, while I stay in the office & monitor the wells real time on my computer! During my career at Marathon, I’ve traveled UK-Ireland, Tunisia, Jakarta, Singapore, Cairo, Calgary, Hong Kong, Perth, & much of the domestic U.S. I’ve had staff, development & exploration positions.
I’m a SINK (single, no kids), but most people who know me say they’d be happy to come back in a second life as one of my dogs. Marie Galante (5) & Justinian (3) are 2 Parson Russell Terriers who accompany me when we can work things out. Their predecessors (Sutherland, Lydia, & Hotspur) made many USPS rendezvous. I’m a certified instructor with USPS, TPWD, a certified diver, hold a Tech Plus Amateur Radio License, and also keep a horse (HT, short for hidden Treasure). My hero is….no…if you haven’t guessed by my dogs & boat name, you’ll just have to go surf the web.
DEO Alice Pippin, JN
SQUADRON AFFILIATION: I joined Lake Charles Power Squadron in 1989. Prior to this I was a member of the LCPS "Petticoat Squadron" (can you believe) which provided support to LCPS. Earlier when my husband belonged to NOPS, I was a member of the NOPS Ladies Auxiliary. This also was a support group.
POSITIONS HELD: I held the positions of Administrative Officer, Squadron Commander and Education Officer. As the SeO, I organized classes and assisted in the teaching of AP, JN, ID and Cruise Planning. Of late, I have restricted my teaching to Instructor Development and ID Re-certification.
PERSONAL: I was married to Buford H. Pippin from 1969 until his death in 2005. During this marriage we lived in New Orleans and Sulphur, La. When we lived in New Orleans we day sailed Lake Pontchatrain and the Gulf Coast in an Islander 30 and Islander 36. He used to say that by the end of the two to three week cruise I was a "pretty good sailor". We vacationed on charter boats and with friends in the FL Keys, Bahama and Virgin Islands. Upon moving to the Lake Charles area we purchased a Ranger 23, but never enjoyed sailing as much. Eventually Buford's mobility necessitated our selling the boat.
I have a B. A. in Elementary Education from Louisiana College and a M. Ed. from the University of New Orleans. I taught in the New Orleans School System, teaching elementary education and emotionallyl distrubed children. Since moving to Sulphur, I taught mild-moderate handicapped students and worked as an Educational Diagnostician. I hold multiple certifications in the field of education.
Additional Info: My home was damaged by Hurricane Rita, but repairs are complete. Gaining order in my home is a continum. The once treed, shaddy yard has become a sunny lawn.
DAO Shirley Heald, AP
SQUADRON AFFILIATION: Member of the Dallas Power Squadron since 1990.
POSITIONS HELD: She served as Commander of the Dallas Sail and Power Squadron in 1996-97, as District 21 Assist Treasurer for 3 years, and as D/21 Treasurer for three years. She currently serves on the National Level as D/21 Area Representative for the Recreational Safe Boating Committee. Shirley has 14 merit marks.
PERSONAL: Shirley is an avid sailor. Her paying job is as Senior Operations Manager for Ryder, Inc. where she manages the Cadbury Schweppes Account in Plano, TX. She enjoys cooperative charting and boating with her USPS friends in her 15 foot Sea-Doo 4Tec Sporster, alias “the blonde boat”.
DSec Dorothy M.Welch, SN
SQUADRON AFFILIATION: Galveston Bay Power Squadron member since January 2001.
POSITIONS HELD: Served as District Assistant Secretary 2006-07, Squadron Member Involvement Chairman 2004, Squadron Photographer for Monthly Newsletter 2004-06, Squadron Meetings and Rendezvous Supply Chairman 2004-05, Squadron Entertainment Member 2004, Fund Raising Chairman for Las Vegas Night 2004-06, Vessel Safety Examiner, National Cooperative Charting Honor Roll Member, Certified Teaching Instructor for Public Boating Course and Navigation Instructor.
PERSONAL: Married to Phil Welch since 1978. Dot and Phil have two children each from a previous marriage and nine grandchildren all total. Dorothy retired from Southwestern Bell (now AT&T) in December 1991 with 32 years service. She held positions as District Secretary, Business Services Supervisor, where she managed 22 employees at the Houston Headquarters Office. She was also Supervisor of Business Services Executive Accounts, Manager of the Tariff Violations Section and Training Supervisor for the Texas area. Dorothy was runner-up for the Texas Speed Typing Contest in 1960 with 95 correct words per minute. She is past Chili Cook-Off Grand Champion D21 in 2006 and past Black Jack Champion 2004 for Events with Carnival Cruise Lines. Dorothy and Phil are world travelers through Phil’s employment with W.R. Grace and Company for 32 years. Dorothy was born in Chappell Hill, Texas before moving to the Houston Heights Area in 1950. She attended Catholic schools all but her freshman year at HISD’s Hamilton Jr. High and graduated from St. Pius High X in Houston. She has also been a Real Estate Agent and has a paralegal degree. She enjoys the opportunities that USPS has offered to provide meaningful services as a volunteer, to meet people, visit old friends, and to travel all over the country. Most members call her Dot for short and she looks forward to meeting and working with all D21 members and spouses.
DTreas Hilton B. Dickerson, AP
SQUADRON AFFILIATION: Joined Dallas Sail and Power Squadron in 1995.
POSITIONS HELD: Served as AO, XO, Cdr., SEO and several committee positions including Chairs of Boat Show, Coop Charting, and OT. Have earned a Merit Mark every year beginning in 1996. USPS Certified Instructor and Texas Parks and Wildlife Boating Education Instructor teaching Boat Smart. Also co-instructor for P and AP. Served three years as Assistant District Treasurer (2002-2005), and have been in charge of District 21 Ship's Store (2002-present).
PERSONAL: Single , retired Computer System’s Analyst. Also Major, U.S. Air Force Reserves Retired.
§
The following is from "USPS Operations Manual"
Page 71, Revision 9/23/04
District bridge. The district commander
(D/C) is the ranking officer of the district and holds
equal stature with a rear commander. The D/C
presides at all district meetings, such as district
conferences and council meetings, and serves ex
officio as a member of all district committees
except auditing, nominating and rules [Bylaw 6.4].
District operations are apportioned among five
departments: executive, educational,
administrative, secretary's, and treasurer's, each
headed by an elected officer serving with the rank
of district lieutenant commander (D/Lt/C). The
district commander and these department heads
comprise the district “bridge” [Bylaw 6.2].
Lines of authority. Squadron
commanders report to the district executive officer.
Educational responsibility (a staff function, not
line) flows between the district and squadron
educational officers. The executive officer is the
senior district lieutenant commander, followed in
turn by the educational officer, the administrative
officer, the secretary and the treasurer [Bylaw 6.2].
Each district bridge officer must obtain one
advanced grade and be awarded at least one merit
mark prior to nomination [Bylaw 6.8]. A district
may elect an assistant educational officer, assistant
administrative officer, assistant secretary and/or
assistant treasurer, who serve with the rank of
district first lieutenant (D/1/Lt or D/1st/Lt) [Bylaw
6.3]. The district commander, district lieutenant
commanders and district first lieutenants are the
district flag officers. All district officers must be
members in good standing of squadrons in the
district [Bylaw 6.7].
Webmaster Lt/C Kathryn E. Polt, P