The current staff and Board of Directors is committed to honoring the spirit and history of the Bay Center while leading this beloved organization into the future. The vision and work continue thanks to all the dedicated volunteers and visitors who have contributed to the making of The Bay Center. Please join us and be part of our journey.
Board of Directors
Claiborne Dingledine, president
Claiborne Dingledine is passionate about connecting with Nature. He is the owner/operator of Sail & Surf Adventures, offering sailing charters and lessons on the Rappahannock River. He is an avid traveller, surfer, climber, and enjoys practicing yoga. A native Northern Necker, his roots run deep in this community, as does his enthusiasm for the connection-based projects supported by the Bay Center.
DAN SISSON, Vice president
Dan grew up in the Northern Neck and after graduating from Chowan College in North Carolina he moved to Richmond VA where he raised a family and he and his wife Phyllis owned and operated a landscaping business as well as a home deco business together for over 30 years.
In 2012 Dan came back to the area as a weekender. In 2018 he and Phyllis moved back full time and he lives in his family home in Kilmarnock. Dan became involved in the Bay Center grief support group after his wife Phyllis passed in September 2021.
“I became a grief support facilitator and a board member in 2023. I wanted to give back to a group that helped me so much during a very difficult time in my life. I am very thankful to be back home and to have the opportunity to help others in our community.”
Dan, having once been a DJ, is a lover of all types of music and he is an avid reader.
Tom Coye, Treasurer
Tom Coye has been part of the Northern Neck since 1988 when he became pastor of the newly formed St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Kilmarnock. Though he has recently retired from full time church service, he continues to serve various community ministries, most notably Linking Hope and Help, Inc. His enduring theme of ministry is the importance of service to God and people. Tom's range of hobbies include music of all kinds, hiking, cycling, and computers. He and his spouse, Linda, have one child, Tim, who lives in Seattle.
Cheri Bennett
Cheri came to the Northern Neck after living and raising a family in Northern Virginia, and retiring as the Health Promotion & Communications Manager of an international organization in 2014. After the sudden passing of her 23 year old son Jeremy, and her father in 2017, Cheri sought and found the much needed support of The Bay Center Grief Support Group, joined the Board in 2021, and is a Grief Group Support Facilitator. “I am honored to give back to a community that has and continues to help me through the most difficult season of my life.” She treasures spending time with her husband Jim, singing, cooking, praying and visiting people in need, and volunteering with many community & church activities. She also loves kayaking, treasure hunting to repurpose items into art, and having friends & family visit often to reconnect. She summed up her life in the Northern Neck now: “I was a come-here, but now I belong-here!”
John Dutton, Endowment Coordinator
John Dutton came to appreciate and support the Bay Center in 2019 by way of the Grief Support Group. He is the retired Vice President and Principal Officer of what is now Thrivent Financial Services in Appleton, Wisconsin. John’s leadership led to the organization being given the White House Award for Mobilizing Volunteers by President Reagan, and then to his becoming Vice President of The Points of Light Foundation in Washington, D.C., where he led the development of the nation’s Volunteer Center system. Before moving to Lancaster County five years ago, he lived in Mathews, Virginia, and was President of the Board of the Gloucester Mathews Free Clinic. John lives in Weems with two untrained and overbearing Scottish Terriers and is working on his second book, this one about mothers who are raising sons by themselves.