Current Commission Board Membership

Current Commission Board Membership and Term Limits

Steven G. Bowman, Commissioner of Marine Resources, Board Chairman, Appointed in 2006, re-appointed by Governor Bob McDonnell in 2010; term runs concurrent with the Governor (2014).

Associate Board Members:

TERM RUNS CONCURRENT WITH GOVERNOR (JUNE 30, 2015)

John E. "Ed" Tankard, III

of Northampton, VA

Appointed by Governor Tim Kaine in August 2006 and reappointed by Governor Robert F. McDonnell in January 2011. Mr. Tankard is president of the Tankard Nurseries, Inc. of Exmore. He has served as president and board member of the Barrier Islands Center and as Treasurer and board member of the Virginia Eastern Shore Land Trust. He is also a board member of the Citizens Advisory Committee to the Chesapeake Executive Council.

TERM ENDING JUNE 30, 2012

Kyle Schick

of Colonial Beach, VA

Reappointed by Governor Tim Kaine September 2008; originally appointed in September 2004 by Gov. Mark Warner. He operates the Colonial Beach Yacht Center.

William "Bill" Laine Jr.
of Smithfield, VA

Appointed in September 2008 by Governor Timothy M. Kaine. Mr. Laine holds the official recreational fishing representative seat as designated by the Code of Virginia. He has been an avid angler for the past 50 years, and fishes regularly in the lower Chesapeake Bay. He also is the retired Circuit Court Clerk of Isle of Wight County, having served from 1973 to 2007.

TERM ENDING JUNE 30, 2013

Rick Robins,

of Suffolk, VA

Appointed in December 2004 by Governor Mark Warner; reappointed by Governor Kaine August 2009. He manages Chesapeake Bay Packing, L.L.C.’s seafood exporting operations in Newport News, Virginia and owns Bernie’s Conchs, L.L.C., a conch processing company located in Cheriton, Virginia. He is also a lifelong recreational angler and avid offshore tournament fisherman.

J. Carter Fox,

of Reedville, VA

Appointed July 2005 by Governor Mark Warner; reappointed by Governor Kaine August 2009. Mr. Fox is a former Chairman and CEO of the Chesapeake Corp. of Richmond, Virginia. He has a long-standing interest in fishing, commercial and recreational and has studied aquaculture activities on an International basis.

TERM ENDING JUNE 30, 2014

Bryan Plumlee,

of Virginia Beach, VA

Appointed by Governor Robert F. McDonnell in September 2010, Mr. Plumlee is an attorney who specializes in land use and aviation law with the law firm Poole Mahoney PC. He served more than six years on the Virginia Beach Wetlands Board, two as chairman. He's a 1991 graduate (magna cum laude) of North Carolina State University, with a bachelor's degree in political science. He received his law degree in 1996 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He and his wife, Anne, live in the north end of Virginia Beach with their two sons. Mr. Plumlee is a saltwater fisherman who plays guitar and enjoys beach activities with his family.

TERM ENDING JUNE 30, 2014

Whitt G. Sessoms III

of Virginia Beach

Mr. Sessoms is President of Cape Development and Real Estate Co., which is involved in land development in Southeast Virginia and Northeast North Carolina. He also is a partner in Fisherman’s Wharf Marina located in Rudee Inlet in Virginia Beach. He a graduate of James Madison University with a Bachelor of Business Administration. He and his wife, Terri, have three sons, Jennings, Jack, and Neysi. They live in the North End of Virginia Beach. He and his family enjoys fishing, surfing, and sailing in the ocean.

Joseph C. Palmer Jr.

of Virginia Beach

Mr. Palmer has been a commercial fisherman for more than four decades, since he was 13 years old and harvested blue crabs, horseshoe crabs and other species. He also has a law enforcement background, having served for 27 years on the Virginia Beach Police Department and earning a bachelor of science in Police Science from John Jay College. He retired from that position as a sergeant in 2005. He is married to Jizel Palmer, and has two children, Tammy Lynn and Joseph Palmer III. He enjoys fishing, martial arts and loves to travel to the Caribbean.

For questions related to the Commission meetings please contact:

VMRC
Jane McCroskey
Commission Secretary
2600 Washington Avenue
Suite 107
Newport News, VA 23607-0756
E-mail: jane.mccroskey@mrc.virginia.gov