FMHA Board of Directors
Tom Tantillo
President
Tom was named President in 2024 after serving as Secretary of the Board of Directors. He has been a FMHA Member since 2016 and continues to work as a member of the Bunker Buster electrical team and as a docent. In 2015, he moved from Bucks County, PA to Lewes after retiring as a health systems senior executive.
Tom holds a B.A from Villanova University, and advanced degrees from LaSalle University and the University of Pennsylvania, where he was an adjunct professor for 17 years. He has served as a board officer on county, state and national professional and trade associations, as well as on non-profit and public-private partnership boards. He also volunteers at the Historic Lewes Farmers Market and Bike Barn at Cape Henlopen State Park.
Will Short
Vice President
Fort Miles Museum (FMM) Representative
Events Coordinator
Will is a veteran of the elite United States Navy Nuclear Submarine Service. His 11½ year career with the Navy included seven deterrent patrols on a fleet ballistic missile submarine, three years as a nuclear prototype instructor and 2½ years at Electric Boat shipyard as a member of the pre-commissioning crew of a nuclear fast attack submarine.
Following his 11 ½ year Navy career, Will spent 25 years as a field engineer, manager and executive for several different technical services firms serving the commercial power industry and the Department of Energy. In 2002 he made a career change and went to work in the Clerk’s office at the Washington DC US District Court and then migrated to the risk management department at Well Fargo Home Mortgage in Frederick, MD. In 2008, Will moved his family from Frederick to Lewes, DE when he was hired as the Chief Financial Officer of a local business services firm.
Will retired in 2014 and joined FMHA as a bunker buster shortly thereafter. He completed Fort Miles docent training in 2016 and was elected to the FMHA Board of Directors in April 2017. Since the summer of 2017, Will has served as a docent and the coordinator for FMHA special events. He also served on the Fort Miles Interpretation Committee whose goal is to ensure exhibits, programs, and infrastructure decisions align with the museum’s vision, mission and values.
In 2024, Will was elected FMHA Vice President by its Board of Directors and in 2025 was selected to sit on the Fort Miles Museum Board of Directors. Will is a member of the Rehoboth Beach VFW Post 7447 and the Henlopen American Legion Post 5.
Bill Albright
Secretary
Bill holds degrees in Culinary Services and Business Management, from the Culinary Institute of America and University of New Haven.
With 45 years focusing on contract management, he retired as the Senior Vice President of Operations for the New England, Mid Atlantic, North Central, and East Central Regions.
Volunteering has become a passion after retirement, spending time doing something to benefit others. Working with Organizations such as:
- Fort Miles Historical Association
- Fort Miles Museum (State)
- Senators HOA Board of Directors
- Historic Lewes Farmers Market
- Lewes Historical Society Boat Builders
- Schellville Christmas Village
- Rehoboth Beach Sea Witch program
Bill is a hard working, reliable individual able to communicate with people at all levels with a mild sense of humor and pleasant approach to work.
Gail White
Treasurer
Gail is a native of the Washinton D.C. area. She is a retired CPA with more than 30 years of experience in audit, tax, and consulting services. Her clients included for-profit and nonprofit companies primarily in the housing industry.
After retiring she and her husband moved to Lewes, Delaware. She has always been interested in history, so volunteering at Fort Miles seemed like a good fit. Gail helps in the gift shop and assists with the financial and recordkeeping needs of the Association. Gail wants Fort Miles to succeed as a unique place that reminds visitors of what has come before.
Terrance McGovern
Assistant Treasurer
Terrance McGovern has authored twelve books and numerous articles on fortifications, four of those books being for Osprey s Fortress Series (American Defenses of Corregidor and Manila Bay 1898 1945; Defenses of Pearl Harbor and Oahu 1907 50; American Coastal Defenses 1885 1950; Defenses of Bermuda 1612-1995). He has also published 18 books on coast defense and fortifications through Redoubt Press or CDSG Press.
Terry was Chairman of the US-based Coast Defense Study Group and continues to be a long-time officer. He has also been the editor of the Fortress Study Group annual journal, FORT. He is a director of the International Fortress Council, the Council on America s Military Past, Fort Miles Historical Association, and International Naval Research Organization. He is also an appointed Trustee for the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Fort Monroe Authority Board.
John Roberts
Bunker Buster Operations
John Roberts is a leader of the Bunker Busters. He describes his history with Fort Miles. “I am a native Delawarean. I’ve been coming to the beaches here my entire life. I had an uncle in the Army, a colonel at Aberdeen Proving Ground and other facilities around the world. His family would vacation at Fort Miles when it was the recreational facility of Fort Meade.
“At the time, the Fort’s WWII activities had ended only 20 years earlier and nearly everything was still there, except for the artillery. When I was old enough to drive, I would visit Cape Henlopen State Park and explore … being careful to leave no evidence of my presence. I did this for many years. After a lucrative career in the semiconductor industry, I retired in 2008. Some years earlier, I met Lee Jennings, who was then the historian for Delaware State Parks, and was excited about the creation of the Fort Miles Museum. Looking for something to do, I took the initiative of working on our searchlight and later drying out its parking place, Battery 519. One thing led to another, and soon we had a following. The rest, as they say, is history. I am most proud of attracting an incredible array of talented people. We would be lost without these fine volunteers. It will be even more exciting to see what tomorrow brings.”
Ed Paterline
Fort Miles Museum (FMM) Representative
Docent Operations
Ed has been a member of FMHA since 2019 volunteering as both a Docent (tour and event guide) and as a Bunker Buster. He has over 40+ years experience in the Human Resources field as a trainer and held a number of mid and senior management positions during his professional career. Ed currently heads our new Docent training and certification program, as well as being responsible for updating and maintaining the Docent tour script. He is also one of the Museum’s primary presenters and a tour leader. Ed is an avid WW II history buff and never misses an opportunity to learn something new about WW II or Delaware ’s contribution to the war effort.
Cliff Geisler
Fort Miles Museum (FMM) Representative
Historian
Cliff is a retired federal employee with more than 30 years of experience in police, security and investigative work. He was employed by six agencies during his career, including the Supreme Court of the United States and the Office of the Naval Inspector General. Cliff is a native of the Washington, D.C., area and holds two degrees in military history from University of Maryland. He built a home in Lewes in 1992 and moved there full time after his retirement in 2007.
Joe Johnson
Director
Joe Johnson is owner of Shore Electric. He holds a master electrician’s license in Delaware and in Cecil, Montgomery, and Anne Arundel counties in Maryland. Joe moved from Claymont, Del., to Lewes in 1979. He has a longtime interest in Cape Henlopen State Park and the fort. In 2006, he joined FMHA and has dedicated time, expertise and materials to help restore Battery 519 and add lighting to the Artillery Park. Joe and his wife, Karla, have extensively explored the buildings and bunkers that made up Fort Miles during World War II. When working on his initial project to restore light and power to Battery 519, Joe began to look toward the vision of opening the Fort Miles Museum, which occurred in 2016. He looks forward to further development of the museum as an FMHA board member. Joe and Karla live in Milton, Del.
Charlie Daneri
IT Operations
Charlie was born and raised in the Washington, DC metro area. He attended Syracuse University and earned his degree in Business Administration. He enrolled in Air Force ROTC achieved the rank of 1st Lieutenant. In June 1971, he was assigned to Malmstrom AFB in Great Falls, Montana, as a Computer Operations Officer.
His computer expertise led to a career that included major corporations such as Burroughs Corporation and 1st Data. He also owned his own consulting firm. His career concluded as an IT professional with the IRS in November 2021. During a professional sabbatical, Charlie and his wife Emily, owned and operated a vineyard and winery in Frederick, MD.
Charlie and Emily moved to Lewes in 2013. After his retirement, he became an active volunteer at Fort Miles in 2022, continuing his work in IT. He was appointed to the FMHA Board in 2024.He has managed several IT projects, but his most memorable has been the paver Wall of Honor program.
Carol Wright
Director
TBD
Bob Frederick
Director Emeritus
Legislative Liaison
Bob Frederick is a co-founder of FMHA and board member for more than 10 years. He was elected mayor and police commissioner in Dewey Beach. During his eight-year term as mayor, Bob was elected by the mayors of other Sussex County towns as president of the Sussex County Association of Towns and the Association of Coastal Towns. During his more than 25 years of public and private service, Bob was president of Dewey Beach Lions Club and was honored by the Lions as a Melvin Jones fellow. He served on the Community Involvement Advisory Council, appointed by the governor, and Beebe Medical Center’s Vision Campaign, which led to construction of an out-patient center. Bob has many contacts in the Delaware legislative community and raises funds for FMHA. Married for more than 25 years, he lives in Dewey Beach.
