Leadership & Volunteers of the CDSG
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CDSG Leadership
The CDSG is governed by a three-person board of directors, who meet by conference call each quarter. Each director serves a three-year term, with one new director elected each year. The current 2023-2024 Board members are Norm Scarpulla, Gordon Bliss, and Ned Libby. Volunteer members perform the functions of the organization through the following committees:
CDSG Publications
Handles the creation, printing, and distribution of the quarterly CD Journal and CDSG Newsletter
Chairman: Mark Berhow, Publisher: Norm Scarpulla, David Page, Carol Weaver, Renee Wagner, Editors
CDSG Press
Handles the creation, publishing, and distribution of books and reprints on coast defense subjects
Chairman: Terry McGovern
CDSG Fund
Works to raise donations and make grants for projects that promote the goals of the CDSG
Trustees: Terry McGovern, Quentin Schillare, & Mark Berhow
Membership Committee
Seeks new members to the CDSG and maintain the membership roles for the CDSG
Chairman: Quentin Schillare
Finance Committee
Handles financial and corporate matters for the CDSG
Chairman: Terry McGovern, Treasurer & Secretary
Preservation Committee
Promotes seacoast fortification preservation issues for the CDSG
Chairman: Gordon Bliss
Representative & Outreach Committee
Oversees local CDSG representatives that promote the CDSG goals to site owners
Chairman: Norm Scarpulla
Projects & Website Committee
Oversees new CDSG projects and the development and maintenance of the CDSG website
Chairman: Mark Berhow
Audit Committee
Reviews the financial statements of the CDSG and carries out special project as directed by the Board
Chairman: Ned Libby
Nominations Committee
Proposes board candidates to the Board for their approval
Chairman: immediate past board member
Conference and Tour Committees
Organize conferences and tours for the CDSG
Past CDSG Organization
The Coast Defense Study Group was informally organized during the last evening’s discussion at the third “St. Babs” gathering held at Fort Monroe in 1985. The Group was formally organized with the adoption of its first bylaws in January, 1989. The CDSG, Inc., was established as a 501(c)(3) Maryland Non-Profit Organization on August 23, 1993.
Original CDSG Executive Committee (1985-88): Robert Zink, Glen Williford
Past Members of the CDSG Board of Directors: Robert Zink, Glen Williford, Alex Holder, Michael Kea, Terrance McGovern, Leo Polaski, Mark Berhow, Dale Floyd, Bolling W. Smith, Karl Schmidt, Thomas J. Vaughan, Jr., Gregory J. Hagge, Gordon Bliss, Tom Batha, Alan Hardey, Joel Eastman, John Weaver, Elliot Deutsch, Sam Stokes, Jonathan Prostak, Steven Kobylk, Charles Bogart, Thomas Kavanagh, Phil Payette, Chris Zeeman, Mike Fiorini, Norm Scarpulla, Quentin Schillare, Alfred Chiswell, Alex Hall, Tom Batha, Danny Malone, Richard Wong, Robert Grimm, Steve Waldron
Past Editors of the CDSG News/Journal: Charles Kimbell, Robert Zink, Joel Eastman, Bolling W. Smith
Past CDSG Publications Committee Chairmen: Charles Kimbell, Thomas Vaughan, Jr.
Past CDSG Membership Chairman: Charles Kimbell, Elliot Deutsch, Glen Williford, Alan Hardey, Sam Stokes, Mark Berhow
Past CDSG Preservation Committee Chairmen: Terrance McGovern, Dale Floyd, Nelson Lawry
Past CDSG Representative Committee Chairmen: Joseph Sella, Andy Grant, Karl Fritz
Past CDSG Bylaws Committee members: Thomas Vaughan, Jr., Fred Holzbaur, Craig Lentz, Michael Kea, Terrance McGovern, Robert Zink, Anne Zink
Past CDSG conferences, meetings, and special tours have been held to (year/location/organizers):
Annual Conferences: 1978 New York (“Coast Artillery Routed Exchange” Group), 1984 New York (Robert Zink & Russell Gilmore), 1985 Chesapeake Bay (Robert Zink & Dick Weinert), 1986 Portland (Joel Eastman), 1987 San Francisco (Bud Halsey & Glen Williford), 1988 Boston (Alex Holder & Tom Vaughan), 1989 Galveston (Michael Kea), 1990 Baltimore/Washington (Charles Kimball), 1991 Narragansett Bay/ New Bedford (Alex Holder & Tom Vaughan), 1992 Los Angeles/San Diego (Sam Stokes & Gene Fedrickson), 1993 Beufort/Cape Fear River (Alex Holder), 1994 Pensacola/Mobile (James Parker), 1995 Puget Sound (Greg Hagge), 1996 Delaware River (Bill Lewis & Elliot Detusch). 1997 New York (Leo Polaski) 1998 Tampa Bay (Robert Burt), 1999 Columbia River (Gale Hemmen & Mark Berhow), 2000 Chesapeake Bay (Terry McGovern & Dale Floyd), 2001 Portsmouth/North Boston (Norman Scarpulla), 2002 New Orleans (Alex Holder), 2003 Long Island Sound (Gary Paliwoda), 2004 Charleston and Savannah (Bolling Smith), 2005 Portland (Joel Eastman), 2006 San Francisco (John Martini & Sam Stokes), 2007 Boston (Gordon Bliss), 2008 Galveston (Dale Manuel), 2009 Baltimore/Washington (Jon Prostak & Andy Grant), 2010 Puget Sound (Al Chiswell & Steve Kobylk), 2011 Narragansett Bay/ New Bedford (Chris Zeeman), 2012 Great Lake/Northern Front (John Weaver), 2013 Pensacola/Mobile (David Ogden), 2014 Los Angeles/San Diego (Mike Fiorini & Joe Janesic), 2015 Delaware River (Terry McGovern), 2016 Portsmouth (Craig Lentz & Norm Scarpulla), 2017 New York (Shawn Welch & Norm Scarpulla), 2018 Columbia River (Mark Berhow), 2019 Chesapeake Bay (Terry McGovern & Ned Libby), 2020 Virtual Meeting (Charles Bogart), 2021 Charleston & Savannah (Gary Alexander), 2022 New Orleans (Quentin Schillare), 2023 Portland Maine (Mark Berhow), 2024 Key West (Chuck Ruby)
Past CDSG Special Tours: 1989 Bermuda (Robert Zink & Lance Furbert), 1991 Manila Bay, Philippines (Terry McGovern), 1991 Oahu, Hawaii (Dale Floyd), 1992 Puerto Rico/Caribbean (Dale Floyd), 1993 Canal Zone, Panama (Dick Whistler & Terry McGovern), 1994 Long Island Sound, NY (Leo Polaski), 1995 Victoria, British Columbia (Dale Mumford), 1996 Manila Bay, Philippines (Terry McGovern), 1998 Bermuda (Lance Furbert & Terry McGovern), 1999 Halifax, Nova Scotia (Dale Floyd), 2000 Key West, FL (Alex Holder), 2001 Manila Bay, Philippines (Glen Williford), 2002 Vladivostok, Russia (Terry McGovern), 2005 Galicia/Strait of Gibraltar, Spain (Terry McGovern), 2006 Manila Bay, Philippines (Glen Williford), 2007 Helsinki/St. Petersburg (Terry McGovern), 2010 Victoria, British Columbia (Dale Mumford & Al Chiswell), 2010 Maginot Line/Feste, France (Terry McGovern & Michel van Best), 2010 Beaufort/Cape Fear River (Phil Payette), 2011 Halifax, Nova Scotia (Charles Bogart), 2013 Norway (Terry McGovern), 2014 Manila Bay, Philippines (Andy Grant & Glen Williford), 2016 Canal Zone, Panama (Terry McGovern), 2017 East New York (Terry McGovern), 2017 Montauk New York (Terry McGovern), Switzerland 2018 (Terry McGovern), Philippines 2020 (Andy Grant & Glen Williford), Singapore 2020 (Terry McGovern), Sweden 2022 (Terry McGovern) 2023 Northern Poland (Terry McGovern), 2024 Tampa Bay (Chuck Ruby)
The CDSG Volunteers
The CDSG depends on its members to volunteer to organize the annual conferences and special tours, to write for the Coast Defense Journal and CDSG Newsletter, to be site representatives, and to volunteer for CDSG committees and functions. Volunteer labor is key to the organizations continued operations as the membership dues primarily support the printing and mailing of the Journal and Newsletter, and maintenance of the website. Annual conferences are self-supporting, with the attendees sharing the costs of meeting places, site entry fees, and banquet, while the CDSG Press and E-Press products are paid for by fees charged per unit. The quarterly Coast Defense Journal includes articles written by members, and reviewed and edited for accuracy and source documentation. Also, CDSG publishes on demand the American Seacoast Defenses, A Reference Guide, now in its third edition and available as a hardbound book as well as an electronic version. CDSG has published reprints of six basic US seacoast defense books, and one never published doctoral dissertation about the earliest US forts. Since 1995, the CDSG Fund has made 25 grants to museums, site owners, and other organizations to preserve fortifications, ordnance, equipment, and documentation, or to provide interpretive displays. Each project typically involves advice and facilitation by CDSG members in addition to the monetary grant. The CDSG also has a representative program to keep in regular contact with the various sites that were once coast artillery locations. This program is designed to exchange information and resources between the CDSG and the site locations. The CDSG has become an established organization, which is recognized and respected by fortifications site owners and managers. The CDSG provides key sources of information on American seacoast defenses and has actively enhanced the availability of information and documentation on the subject. The CDSG continues to seek ways to support preservation and restoration efforts at former US seacoast defenses sites, but can only do so by its members volunteering to work on committees and take on projects. Members wishing to volunteer their time should reach out the appropriate committee chairman or the Board of Directors.
