Kevin currently windsurfs at Buckroe Beach and Hatteras Island, team races Sonar class keelboats at Hampton Yacht Club, volunteers as Sailing Coach for Hampton Roads Academy, and is a vice-president of the Virginia Interscholastic Sailing Association. Kevin has served on the vestry and as a youth leader at St. Johns Church in Hampton, VA
Rosemary enjoys fleet and team racing in Sonar Class boats and she also helms a Soveral 30 sailing vessel that she and her husband enjoy racing together. Rosemary holds a BSBA from Old Dominion University and an Executive Certificate in Strategic Planning from Wharton School of Business. Rosemary is excited to bring her skill sets and passion of sailing to benefit the community’s youth through her work at YSV in fundraising, grant writing and serving on the Finance Committee in hopes of spreading her love of the lifelong sport of Sailing!
Carolyn and her husband John recently celebrated 35 years of marriage. They have two sons, Dylan and Miles, who both sailed in the Hampton Yacht Club summer sailing program and then for their high school teams. Carolyn and John were active in supporting the high school sailing programs, as well as Youth Sailing Virginia. Over the years, Carolyn and her family have been active in boating with their motor boat, canoes, and kayaks.
Claire Bellecci is President and COO of Mellen Street Creative. Mellen Street Creative designs and produces marketing, publications, museum exhibit design, video animation, branding and websites for institutions and organizations and businesses. Mellen Street Creative has been in business for more than 30 years and has distinguished itself as a leader in graphic arts and communication, always exceeding the expectations of its clients.
Prior to joining Mellen Street Creative, Claire worked in the non-profit sector in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her work there included partnerships with the San Francisco Foundation, The Marin Community Foundation, Helicon Collaborative, The East Bay Community Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, LINC (Leveraging Investments in Creativity) and Northern California Community Loan Fund to name a few.
Claire holds a B.S.from the University of California, Davis. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Soundscapes, is on the Advisory Board for Thomas Nelson Community College Visual Arts Department, Public Affairs and Marketing Advisory Board for Sister Cities Newport News, and the Arts and Design Advisory Board for the Academy of Media in the Academies of Hampton. Claire grew up sailing at the Warwick Yacht and Country Club where she participated in club racing. She quickly became connected to Youth Sailing Virginia when she signed her twins, Ava and Angelo, up for a beginner sailing course in 2019. Angelo has since found his own passion for sailing, starting the first high school racing club team in Newport News Schools in decades, and hopes to become an instructor with Youth Sailing Virginia in the future.
In March 2021, Gary Bodie was awarded the 2021 US Sailing Nathaniel G. Herreshoff Trophy at a ceremony at the St Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco. This is US Sailing’s most prestigious award, and is presented annually to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the sport of sailing in this country in any associated activity.
Gary Bodie has coached intercollegiate sailing since 1978, working at Old Dominion University, the US Naval Academy, and Hampton University (the first minority sailing program in the US). His teams have won an unprecedented fifteen College National Championships, including four Dinghy Championships. Individual sailors coached by Bodie have earned 30 first team All-American honors, 26 All-American crew, 11 All-American women, plus 11 Honorable Mentions.
The most important individual award, College Sailor of the Year (equivalent to the Heisman Trophy in college football), has been awarded four times to sailors in Bodie’s programs.
Prior to the 1996 Olympics, Bodie worked as a private coach with Olympic aspirants in Laser’s, Europe’s, 470’s, and Finns. In 1998, Gary was named Head Olympic Coach and High Performance Director for the U.S. Sailing Team, and he worked specifically with Laser and Soling sailors leading up to the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. Under Gary’s leadership, the U.S. Olympic Sailing Team won four medals in Sydney: Gold in the Star class, Silver in the Men’s and Women’s 470, and Bronze in the 49er class. In 2004, sailors won Gold in the Men’s 470 class and Silver in the Tornado. For the 2008 games, Gary again served as the High Performance Director, coaching that same Tornado duo in their fourth Olympics while most of the 2008 sailors were attending their first Olympic games.
Bodie has also served as U.S. Team Leader/Coach for the ISAF Youth World Championships and the ISAF Team Race World Championship. Gary served several years as chairman of the US SAILING Team Racing Committee, and has been a member of the Youth and the Inshore committees. He has been a member of the Youth and Inshore committees. He has been a long time member of the Board of Directors for High School Sailing.
Bodie raced many one design classes, but the 505 was his favorite for almost 20 years. Victories included Bermuda Race Week, CORK, East Coasts, and Midwinter Championships. Bodie has also finished top ten in the 505 World Championship. Three-on-three team racing is his other sailing passion, and he competes whenever his schedule permits.
Gary graduated from the California Institute of Technology in 1978 with a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering. He is married to the former Mary Pitchford of Norfolk, Virginia, and they have three daughters, Kelly, Katie, and Caroline.
James “Jim” DiSomma has over 40 years’ experience on the water. While growing up on Forked River, New Jersey, he sailed, surfed, lifeguarded and worked clamming boats on the Jersey Shore. After moving to Virginia in 2001, Jim has been involved in the community as President for Historic Hilton Village, and Ambassador for Thomas Nelson Community College’s Nursing Program. He is a Peritoneal Dialysis Instructor and a Kidney Transplant Coordinator. He is also an amateur boat building, as well as ABYC Standards Certified, and a Marine Surveyor. He is currently serving as Vice Commodore for the Broad Bay Sailing Association and will become Commodore in 2022.
Jonathan Romero is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Nursing at Old Dominion University. Jonathan is “fairly” new to sailing and boating, having bought and sailed his first boat, an Ensenada 20 in 2004. During this time, Jonathan has been able to found the Hampton Roads Sunfish Challenge & Dinghy Distance Race, become certified as a US Sailing Race Official, and served as the Principal Race Official for the Hampton University Varsity Sailing Team. In addition to small boat activities, Jonathan is an active keelboat racer, winning his class at the 2017 Southern Bay Race Week, as well as being awarded the Hampton Yacht Club Sportsmanship Award in 2018. Jonathan cruises his Cal 33-2 Tempo up the Chesapeake Bay, around the DelMarVa peninsula, and has single-handed his boat from Hampton, Virginia to Marblehead, Massachusetts.
Staying active in service to his community, Jonathan is currently a board member of Thomas Nelson Community College, and WHRO Public Media. Jonathan is happy to serve on the board with Youth Sail Virginia, increasing access to sailing for the local community youth.
Jason Samuels currently serves as the Program Manager of the Hampton Healthy Families School Age Programs, and is a member of the Hampton City School Board. For the past 23 years, Jason has served the City of Hampton as both a Social Worker and as a Program Manager with the City’s Department of Human Services. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work from Norfolk State University, a Leadership Certificate from the Academy for Nonprofit Excellence at Tidewater Community College, and a Muma College of Business Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Workplace Certificate from the University of South Florida.
Jason is married to Keisha M. Samuels and they have two children.
Jason’s community organizations/affiliations include: serving the City of Hampton with the Department of Human Services as a Social Worker in many capacities to include Foster Care, Child Protective Services, and Adult Services; serving on various local, regional, state, and national councils and boards to include the City of Hampton Purchasing & Procurement Oversight Committee (Past Member), Thomas Nelson Community College Human & Health Advisory Council, PTA member of Hunter B. Andrews Pre K-8, Downtown Hampton Kiwanis Club, Crowne Pointe Home Owner Association (President), Hampton Triad, Hampton Senior Citizen Advisory Council, Peninsula Agency on Aging Advisory Council (Past Chairman), Peninsula Agency on Aging Board of Directors (Past Member), Aberdeen Historic Civic Association, Hampton Branch of the NAACP and a member of Ivy Baptist Church.
Rick Spaulding is the Vice President of Business Process Standardization at Newport News Shipbuilding, A Division of Huntington Ingalls Industries. He has a degree in Naval Architecture from the University of Michigan.