The Neoteric Hovercraft Team

The Neoteric Administrative Team

An Australian-born engineer, Chris Fitzgerald is the founder and President of Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc. and its subsidiary, Hovercraft Pilot Training. He has trained and certified rescue, recreational, commercial and military hovercraft pilots for more than 30 years. Fitzgerald is also founder and Chairman of the World Hovercraft Organization and the DiscoverHover International School Hovercraft Program, as well as founder and former President and Treasurer of the Hoverclub of America, Inc. For decades he has served as organizer and Chairman of major hovercraft events throughout the world, including World Hovercraft Week 2002. Fitzgerald served as Judge in the Emmy Award-winning Junkyard Wars Hovercraft episode, televised by The Learning Channel, and is co-author of two hovercraft books, Hovercraft Technology, Economics and Applications and Light Hovercraft Design.

• First Entrepreneur in Residence at the leading engineering college in the USA, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
• Recipient, Rotary International Foundation Award for worldwide hovercraft study tour
• Trainee Engineer, British Hovercraft Corporation
• Recipient, O’Shannessy Award, Society of Automotive Engineers
• Participant in the world's first hovercraft race, Canberra, Australia, 1964
• Service in the Royal Australian Air Force Air Training Corps
• Technical Assistant, Aeronautical Research Laboratories, Melbourne, Australia
• Research Mechanical Engineer, Readymix Concrete Australia, Ltd.
• Production Manager, Fitzgerald & Sons Pty. Ltd., Melbourne, Australia
• Mechanical Engineering graduate, Victorian Institute of Colleges, Australia
• Aeronautical Engineering graduate, Farnborough Technical College, UK
• Member/paper presenter, Canadian Aeronautics and Space Institute
• Member, Canadian Air Cushion Society
• Active, award-winning hovercraft racer

Rob Wilson – President, Neoteric Engineering Affiliates, Pty. Ltd; Australia / Technical Director, Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc.

Wilson’s credentials also include:

• 4-year apprenticeship / Automotive Technician’s Certificate, Gas and Fuel Corporation of Victoria
• Engineer intern, Steelweld Cranes Pty. Ltd.
• Project Engineer, REPCO Engine Technical Centre, Pty. Ltd.
• Product Development Engineer / Technical Director, Fitzgerald and Sons Pty. Ltd.
• Member, Australian Society of Automotive Engineers
• Member, Hoverclub of Australia.

Chad Steimel, from Vincennes, Indiana USA, manages technical data systems at Neoteric. He has an A.S. degree in drafting and design and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering Technology from Indiana State University. In his free time, Steimel plays drums and guitar and enjoys motorcycles.

A resident of Melbourne, Australia, Atkins operates his own design firm, David Atkins Design, Pty. Ltd., and has a long and varied career in product design in both America and Australia. His major clients include Telecom Australia and several governmental agencies. In addition to hovercraft design for Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc., Atkins has performed vehicle body design for Mercedes Benz and International Trucks. As former Designer for Australian Consolidated Industries, Ltd. and Crown Corning, Sydney, his skills are behind some of the most familiar products on the market in Australia. He is also recognized as a designer and manufacturer of fine jewelry with unique Australian motifs.

Atkins’ credentials also include:

• Product of the Year Award, Hoverclub of America
• Gold Citation, Design Institute of Australia
• Excellence Award, Institution of Engineers, Australia
• Designer in Residence, Indiana State University, Indiana USA
• Design professor, Melbourne Institute of Technology
• Diploma of Education, Victoria State College, Australia
• Associate Diploma of Industrial Design, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
• Victorian Student Award, Australian Design Institute
• Member, Design Institute of Australia

Ryan Dagey is President of Dagey Technology Solutions, LLC in Bloomington, Indiana USA. He developed and now directs Neoteric’s web-based manufacturing system as well as all the company’s information management needs. He received his B.S. degree in Computer Science from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, then became Microsoft Certified at Comm-Comm, Inc., Indianapolis, IN. Dagey has a wide variety of hardware and software skills, including C & C, Basic & Visual Basic, Java, XML/HTML, XSL/CSS, PHP, Perl, Flash, Windows 2000/XP and Linux.

Sharolyn Herring is consultant to Neoteric in all marketing, public relations and corporate communications endeavors and is the author / SEO director for all Neoteric Hovercraft websites. She is the former Director of Corporate Communications, Sam’s Club/The Wholesale Club and Director of Marketing/Public Relations, Signature Inns, Inc. Herring’s career includes numerous awards for copyrighting, marketing, advertising and promotions in all media. She is an accomplished artist and recipient of awards for both fine art and advertising design. Herring studied Art, Creative Writing, and Marketing / Public Relations at Indiana University, the University of Nevada and Indiana State University.

Ralph Weas, of Indianapolis, Indiana, manages sales, policy development, purchasing and human resources at Neoteric. His diversified business background includes management, sales and customer service experience in the oil, collections and fast food industries. As a member of the Hoverclub of America, Inc. for 25+ years, Weas has served as President, Vice President, Treasurer, member of the Board of Directors, and race official. An attendee of the first World Hovercraft Championship in Germany in 1987, he was a member of the USA delegation that was instrumental in founding the World Hovercraft Federation.

Weas has played leading roles in the organization of two World Hovercraft Championships in the United States, for which he also served as Chief Scorer. In 1982 in California, Weas participated in the production of the first television commercial, for Labatt’s Beer, featuring sport hovercraft. He graduated from Indiana State University in 1980 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. A former long distance runner, his hobbies, in addition to hovercraft, include Formula One racing.

Barbara Johnson of Terre Haute, Indiana USA is the manager of the Neoteric Hovercraft, Inc. office. Johnson has an Associates Degree in Business and performs all general office duties including bookkeeping, accounting, and payroll and has webmaster responsibilities for the Neoteric websites as well. She enjoys reading, baking, and candy making and is a member of Steadfast Apostolic Tabernacle.

Steve Stafford of Bedford, Indiana USA has served more than 20 years with the Lawrence County Sheriff's Department. He has more than 15 years of hovercraft experience, including many Search and Rescue missions for numerous agencies, including the Indiana State Police and the FBI, and contract work with the DEA using hovercraft for marijuana eradication. Stafford is a graduate of the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy and a certified SCUBA diver. His hobbies include hovercrafting, railroads, & spending time with his family.

The Neoteric Manufacturing Team

Mark Dial, originally from Champaign, Illinois USA, first worked for Neoteric during his high school and college years performing wooden and later fiberglass hovercraft construction; he now manages the Neoteric fiberglass manufacturing division. After earning a degree in business from Indiana State University, he continued to work for Neoteric until 1989.For the next 10 years Dial worked at Hyster Fork Lift Trucks in Danville, Illinois as a system parts analyst. He earned a Master's Degree in Instructional Systems Technology in 2000 from Indiana University.

Eric Whalin of Marshall, Illinois USA comes to Neoteric with prior experience in the thermoplastics production industry, where he ran prototype injection machines and managed/supervised production runs. In his free time, Whalin restores vintage motorized vehicles such as trucks, cars and motorcycles, and he plays harmonica.

Thiam Huat Ho, formerly of Malaysia, serves as a fabricator in the Fiberglass division at Neoteric. In Malaysia, he managed a gasoline station for a number of years before operating his own business selling telephones.

Keith Maxwell comes to Neoteric with 20 years of mechanical and electrical skills, as well as 13 years’ experience as a security officer. His hobbies include cars and radio-controlled vehicles.

From Peterborough, England, Neil Murtagh comes to Neoteric with experience in mechanical fitting, machining, and machinery maintenance. He is a Mustang enthusiast and is currently restoring a 1968 Fastback. He also has an extensive film collection.

John Tabor originally joined the Neoteric team in 1998. He left for a few years to work in industrial waste water treatment, then returned to Neoteric as a machinery assembler. Tabor started his working life as a loader, then moved into industrial painting of railroad freight cars and later grain blending machinery. He has also operated FMC Wicketer machines in the plastic bag industry. Tabor is also a musician and plays guitar in a band.