From the Editor 



Recognizing Excellence 



No 



"iorth Carolina Sea Grant has had a 

 bountiful year. Our overall program received an J 

 excellent rating from a national review panel. And 

 our staff and Coastwatch contributors have taken : 

 honors for academic excellence and skillful prose 

 — even boatbuilding. 



But there was one day in May that brought a 

 special excitement to our Raleigh headquarters. 

 Our director, Ron Hodson, made his first trip to 

 the office since sustaining critical injuries in a 

 January plane crash in Florida. 



Staff members eagerly welcomed Ron as he 

 made his way to his desk. We had been in regular 

 contact with him — quick questions by phone or 

 e-mail, longer meetings at his home. But this was 

 his first return to Sea Grant, where he has served 

 for two decades. 



We were happy to have him back — and he looks forward to 

 returning on a full-time basis. In the meantime, he offers many thanks 

 to the friends, colleagues and extended Sea Grant family who 

 continue to offer support through his recovery. 



Ron is obviously proud of the "excellent" rating we received 

 from the performance assessment team assigned by the National Sea 

 Grant College Program. The panel spent a week in North Carolina, 

 visiting extension projects along the coast and meeting with university 

 researchers and Sea Grant staff. Read more about the review in 

 Coastal Tidings. 



Sea Grant communicator Renee Wolcott Shannon took 

 individual honors as the top master's student in NC State University's 

 College of Humanities and Social Studies. Renee, who earned a 

 master's degree in English in May, received the award from Phi 

 Kappa Phi, a national honor society. 



Writer T. Edward Nickens of Raleigh won awards from the 

 Outdoor Writers Association of America for a pair of articles from his 

 Coastwatch series. 



"The Hook," a story on Cape Lookout that appeared in our High 

 Season 1998 issue, took second place in the natural history category. 

 "The Point" — a contemporary account of the rich heritage of 



Cape Hatteras surf fishing that appeared in our 

 Autumn 1998 issue — took second place in the 

 saltwater fishing category. 



Julie Ann Powers of Beaufort took Best in 

 Show honors at the Wooden Boat Show sponsored 

 by the North Carolina Maritime Museum. Julie's 

 account of the joy and frustration of building her 

 first boat appeared in our Winter 1999 issue. Julie 

 recently joined the Sea Grant staff in a part-time 

 capacity to handle communications for the state 

 Fishery Resource Grant program, which is 

 administered by Sea Grant. 



In closing, I thank readers who responded to 

 my request for images of the sea and shoreline 

 that inspire a child-like sense of wonder. Two 

 responses remind me that we should not take our 

 coast for granted. 

 Deb Greene of Galesburg, 111., has only seen the ocean once — 

 and she admits she felt a "sensory overload" — but the images are 

 still sharp: 



". . .how the waves kept coming, kept coming, and how the 

 sound of the surf never ended. The brightness of the kites against the 

 gray sky. The weathered faces of the old men fishing in the surf. 

 Picking up a seashell and wondering what are you — where did you 

 come from and how far have you traveled and what is your story?" 



Deb returns this year with her family. She's eager to watch the 

 faces of her sons and 1 0-month-old grandson as they take their first 

 steps in the surf. 



Virginia D. Wiseman of Danville, Va, thanks me for reminding 

 readers about the works of Rachel Carson. "Her writings about Bird 

 Shoal and the Florida Keys were great. We found all the sea life just 

 as she described it," writes Virginia who started a scientific collec- 

 tion of seashells in the 1950s. 



In the decades since, growth and progress have changed much 

 of the coast and the habitats for sea creatures. "The only place I now 

 find some sea life is at the east end of Ocean Isle," she adds. 



Thanks, Deb and Virginia. Keep the e-mails and letters 

 coming. □ 



Katie Mosher, Managing Editor 



Contributors 



Writers: 



Ann Green D Katie Mosher T. Edward Nickens D Julie Ann Powers D Renee Wolcott Shannon D Cynthia Henderson Vega 



Photographers: 



Dave Brenner D Michael Halminski D Joanne Harcke D Herman Lankford D Spencer M. Rogers D J. Foster Scott 

 Scott D. Taylor n Allison von Hagn D Roger W. Winstead 



