For nearly 20 years, the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center in San Clemente, California, has endeavored to preserve and share the history, heritage and culture of surfing around the world. And now, as surfing comes to a bit of a crossroads with more people in the water than ever before, a teflon crew of surf industry veterans is in lockstep to ensure that hundreds of years of surf stories continue to be told.
Announced last week, a new Executive Director and Board of Directors has been named, and it’s an all-star list. SHACC will now be helmed by Jeff Alter, the son of the late, great surfboard legend Hobie Alter. And the list just goes on from there. Co-chairing the board will be Vissla founder Paul Naude and Laguna Beach entrepreneur Mark Christy will serve as Co-Chairs. Backing them up will be surf filmmaker and iMax inventor Greg MacGillivray, Roxy mastermind and genius brand builder Randy Hild, along with surf industry veterans Royce Cansler and Dan McInerny. Patti Paniccia and co-founder Spencer Croul will maintain their seats on the board as well.
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“The strength of this team lies in our collective experience in building businesses that support surfing which, by the way, happens to be the Official Sport of California,” Naude said in a press statement. “We feel a profound responsibility to both protect and project the richness of surf history. Our goal is to infuse SHACC with fresh energy and vision, recognizing that surf history is a living narrative.”
Founded in 2005 by Croul and surf industry pioneer and all-around adventurer Dick Metz, from its extensive surfboard collection, to one-of-a-kind museum exhibits (there’s currently an exhibit dedicated to the accomplishments of MacGillivray that’s up and well worth the effort to go see), to unique talk-story events and gatherings, SHACC’s long been a very special place for surfing. Heck, they even have Bruce Brown’s old editing deck and John Severson’s desk from his SURFER Magazine days on display (thanks to a donation by Steve and Debbee Pezman at the The Surfer’s Journal).
“I can’t express how excited I am to finally pass the torch to a new generation,” says Metz, who learned to surf in Laguna Beach in the 1930s. Spent time on the beach with the likes of Shirly Temple, but more importantly, is credited with tipping Brown off about a little spot in South Africa called Cape Saint Francis.
“Now at 95, knowing that SHACC will be in the hands of a team with the energy, focus, leadership, guidance, and fundraising acumen to take it to the next level, is just incredible. I’m deeply grateful to everyone who made this possible,” Metz continued.
Full transparency, for the almost ten year I worked as SHACC’s digital and social media manager, only stepping down from the role to take the Editor in Chief job here at SURFER. As a big believer in the importance of what they do, this new chapter for the organization is endlessly exciting and it’s going to see fantastic where Alter, Naude, MacGillivray and company take things. SHACC’s in good hands.
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