The Board is comprised of seven members, four of which are appointed by the Mayor of Waukegan and three of which are appointed by the Governor of Illinois (each via its own internal policies & procedures). Board Members serve an initial 6-year term, unless appointed to fill a vacancy.
Ben Veal is a retired Chief Operations Officer and Sales Vice-President of Dynetics Engineering Corporation where he led the 46-year old international manufacturer of credit card mailing systems to profitability. Mr. Veal’s career includes prior positions with General Electric, and Square D Company. Ben is an award-winning business consultant and product development engineer with patented products represented by fortune 500 companies like Rubbermaid. His career continues as he is involved with several business enterprises.
Currently, an adjunct instructor at the College of Lake County, Ben has a Bachelor’s degree in Electronic Engineering from Southern University and a Master’s in Administration from Central Michigan University. He enjoys boating and has been a licensed pilot since 1974.
Ben lives in Lake County and wants to assist the Waukegan Port District to make both the Airport and Marina an exclusive destination.
Gene arrived in Waukegan in 1966 with General Marine Corporation and has remained a resident since that time. His career in the construction industry includes estimating, contract negotiation, project management, and business management. He has visited numerous commercial ports and marinas from North to South America and has sailed over 19,000 miles on the Great Lakes, including 35 Chicago to Mackinac Island Races , 47 Chicago to Waukegan Races, and numerous other regattas and boating events on the Great Lakes.
Gene is a founding member and the President Emeritus of the WYC Youth Foundation which teaches children 5 to 17 years of age safe boating in Waukegan Harbor. He is also a member of the Mackinac Island Goats Sailing Society which supports the Mackinac Island Medical Center and, for the past 34 years, he has been the Region 4 Representative for the Lake Michigan Per- formance Handicap Racing Fleet providing equitable racing handicaps for a diverse fleet of over 1,000 racing sailboats.
Greg Petry a resident of Waukegan since 1987, served the Waukegan Park District for 30 years, with 22 years as the Executive Director/CEO of the district. His leadership guided the district through an unprecedented period of organization, development, and growth. The parks, programs, and services developed during his tenure, had a huge impact to the health and well-being of residents and the local and regional economy. Upon his retirement he created Greg Petry Consulting LLC. focusing on leadership and organizational development.
He earned a BS degree from Manhattan College, and an MS in Parks and Recreation Administration from The Pennsylvania State University. He is a Certified Park and Recreation Executive (CPRE).
Greg’s experience working with community boards, economic initiatives, professional associations, and governmental committees provides a background well-suited to serve as a member of the Waukegan Port District.
Paula Trigg is a retired County Engineer/Director of Transportation for Lake County. In addition, she has been a resident of the City of Waukegan since 1982 and has served as the City Engineer for the City of Waukegan. Paula was awarded the 2017 Chicago Metro Chapter APWA Top Ten Award. Her leadership guided the Lake County Division of Transportation through an aggressive capital improvement program with an average annual budget of $56M, focused on preservation, modernization and expansion projects.
Recognizing that most significant successes involve partnerships and collaboration, Paula has been instrumental in developing joint projects and programs that cross traditional agency jurisdictional boundaries, always seeking ways for agencies to improve and work together for the benefit of the public. She plans to use this experience to assist the Waukegan Port District, both the Marina and the Airport, to improve and flourish.
Paula earned a BS degree in Civil Engineering from Michigan Technological University and is a registered professional engineer.
Tom leads Abbott’s advocacy efforts in the U.S. and Canada as Vice President for U.S. Government Affairs. During his tenure at Abbott, he has served in a number of Health Policy and Government Affairs roles, including Divisional Vice President, State Government Affairs. Abbott hangars their corporate jets at the Waukegan Airport for business travel.
Tom’s interest in government extends to his personal life as well. He was elected to four terms on the Gahanna, Ohio city council from 2004 – 2010, serving as President in 2005 and 2009. In addition to be- ing a member on the Waukegan Port District Board, Tom also serves on the Board of Directors of the Public Affairs Council and the Board of Directors of the National Association of Manufacturers.
Tom earned his bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and his Master of Business Administration degree from the Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.
Becky Jones moved to Waukegan in 2016 and is a Captain in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve. Her 24-year Coast Guard career has focused on marine safety and disaster preparedness, and she has led the response to numerous hurricane and pollution events. She is also focused on the prevention of disasters and has led facility and container inspection programs and chaired Port Security and Area Committees while building partnerships with federal, state, local and commercial entities as well as the public. She also worked at the biopharmaceutic company Genentech and focused on manufacturing operations and regulatory compliance.
Becky graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy with a B.S. in Marine and Environmental Science, and has a M.S. in Environmental Management from the University of Maryland University College, and a MBA from the University of Oregon. She is very excited to be part of the Waukegan Port District.
Bob is a registered professional engineer and founded Gewalt Hamilton Associates, Inc., where he served as President until 2009, and Chairman until retirement in 2014. His expansive background and experience as an engineer, business owner, expert witness, and professional traffic operations engineer is a valuable asset to the Board. Bob owns a 2000 Mooney Eagle, holds a commercial license with instrument rating (1400 hours), flies for Angel Flight Central, and is on call for Homeland Security.
Bob was awarded the Engineer of the Year Award, Illinois, in 2013 from the American Society of Civil Engineers. He contributes his time and expertise to many nonprofit and civic organizations.
Bob earned his bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Detroit in 1972, his master’s degree in Civil Engineering in 1973 from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, and his Master of Business Administration from Lake Forest School of Management in 1984.