Executive Board Members

Born June 11, 1947 in Alice, TX., Billy and his younger brother, James, were raised and adopted by their grandparents, O. M. and Hazel Sandifer, and grew up on a farm between Agua Dulce and Alice. If not in school or working in the fields Billy was hunting or fishing in local creeks and ponds by the time he was 8 years old. At age 10 he began regularly fishing and running trot lines in bay waters with his granddad and at the age of 14 caught his first fish over 100 lbs. A 6' 3" Tarpon off Bob Hall Pier. Born an adventurer; after completing high school in Agua Dulce, Billy turned down a potential scholarship to Baylor and worked as a ranch hand in the Mussel Shell Valley of Montana for 7 months prior to volunteering and enlisting in the U. S. Navy Sea bees. Billy served 21 months (2 tours) in the Republic of South Vietnam attached to the Marine Corps. During this time he was heavily exposed to Agent Orange, received flesh wounds from shrapnel and received several awards including the Combat Action Ribbon. He served 2 tours in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and during this time was selected to compete in the Atlantic Fleet Rifle Matches in Annapolis Maryland and finished 13th among all Navy and Marine participants. Honorably discharged after 4 years active duty Billy worked on a large cattle ranch near Tilden, TX. for several months and then was hired as a U.S. Customs Air Security Officer and Special Deputy U. S. Marshal.

During the next 2 years Billy flew undercover on domestic and international airline flights to prevent sky jacking and was assigned to New York City, Minneapolis, Honolulu and Tucson. His most memorable assignment was standing personal body guard for Henry Kissinger and Jackie Onassis in New York one day. While assigned to Tucson Sandifer worked in drug interdiction with U.S. Customs Agents working in 2 man teams setting up ambushes and patrolling for smugglers on Pipe Organ Nat'l Park and other isolated stretches of the Arizona/Mexico border. After 2 years the funding was cut for the program and since Billy had no college education he was told he would be placed in a position as a Customs Inspector. Still the born adventurer and severely addicted to adrenalin, Billy resigned and after a short stint farming and fishing every second he could Billy re-enlisted in the U. S. Navy and spent the next 2 years 3 months in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he was assigned to the Harbor Police Division running a police boat. Eventually he was put in charge of the Division and at the request of the CO he completely revised the rule book governing the activities of the Harbor Police Division there.

When off duty Billy lived on a 36 foot boat he had refitted and commercial fished with rod and reel. In July of 1976 Billy was discharged and called Flour Bluff home for the remainder of his life. Totally fed up with society he lived "down island" alone for 1 and a half years. Friends brought him supplies.  Following this he worked as a deckhand on Gulf shrimp boats for 2 years, worked numerous years as a deck hand on bay and ULM shrimp boats, beach seined, commercial fished with a rod and reel and caught bait for bait stands. Some times living in Flour Bluff and at other times living in tents on Padre Island. Billy was always happiest living the life of a modern day nomadic hunter/gather. In 1991 he became the federally licensed guide on PINS and offered fishing, birding and naturalist's charters there until his retirement in 2013.  In 1995, he went to the superintendent of PINS and requested permission to organize and attempt the first Big Shell Beach Cleanup.

In the ensuing years over 8525 volunteers have removed 2,726,000 pounds of trash from the Big Shell area. He was the recipient of various conservation awards and was considered the "go to" man concerning Padre Island. His daily log books are considered invaluable as the only existing "trend data" on all aspects of PINS including bird numbers and he regularly sent reports of bird abundance to NPS and other agencies involved with bird studies. He constantly studied all aspects of the natural environment of Padre and other barrier islands for decades; in the field and in literature.

He was an Audubon Coastal Warden in the ULM working with the Colonial Nesting Waterbirds and a long time writer, having written over 300 published articles. He was a feature writer for Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine and along with his feature articles he wrote a "Bird of the Month" column to increase the knowledge and awareness of various bird species to outdoorsmen. Friends of Padre, Inc. was formed to ensure the Big Shell Beach Cleanup will continue in the future and in hopes of being able to help other worthwhile efforts of Padre Island. Billy passed away on March 30th of 2018 after the most successful Big Shell Cleanup to that date.Billy is survived his wife, Joy Eyvone, and his many friends and extended family.                                                                                                                             

 

David McKee was born in a small Catholic hospital in Refugio, TX on March 19,1947. He attended public school in Sinton, TX graduating from high school in 1965.
He received his BS in Biology from Texas A&I University (Kingsville,1970), an MS in Marine Biology from Corpus Christi State University (1980) and a PhD in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences (Mariculture) from Texas A&M University-College Station (1986). McKee has been a Professor of Biology and Coordinator of the MS in Mariculture degree program at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi for over 20 years. McKee serves as the Associate Director of the TAMU-CC Laguna Madre Field Station and is a founding (and still active) Board member of the Corpus Christi Chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association. He has long collected and written about old fishing tackle and served as curator of two permanent displays of old fishing tackle and lures exhibited in Corpus Christi and Rockport.  Everything in his youth revolved around hunting and fishing because that was what all the men in his family did. He and his brother (Don) were raised by their mother and her parents and by his aunt and uncle (Helen and “Doc” Johnson) and thus were blessed by having 3 families. His grandfather (S.F. Hunt) was Sheriff of San Patricio County for over 30 years (44 years total in law enforcement). McKee helped him tend to as many as 22 bloodhounds (including some very large litters of puppies) and looked forward to the monthly practice runs where a trustee from the county jail was released on one of the large county ranches to simulate an escape and the dogs were put on the trail to track them down. The dogs always got their man and not a single prisoner ever went free! His grandmother was County Librarian in the basement of the courthouse and he and his brother got to know every square inch of the old building including the jail. McKee grew up with a fishing rod in one hand and a gun in the other and knew from an early age that he would end up in a career involving the outdoors, most likely dealing with the water. In the 1960s he began fishing in Port Aransas for tarpon and sharks from the south jetty (and from the north jetty when they could hitch a ride over there) and from Horace Caldwell Pier with his cousin Sam “Bub” Hunt III. They lived on the pier and jetties for weeks on end and survived quite well on little more than Spam, Vienna sausage and white bread. His uncle (Sam Hunt II) was a fishing legend, being one of the pioneers that fished for (and regularly caught) large sharks from gulf piers. When he couldn’t get to the coast, he spent lots of time on the Aransas River with his grandfather and uncle Bobby Hunt setting and running trot lines and jug lines for catfish and fishing for big alligator gar. He was introduced to surf fishing in the 1950s by another uncle (“Doc” Johnson) who had a Willys jeep and a fishing shack near Yarborough Pass on Padre Island. These family members taught him not only “how” to fish, but more importantly “why” to fish! For three summers after high school, McKee worked on shrimp boats in the Gulf of Mexico between Louisiana and Mexico, starting as a “header” and eventually working up to “rigger” (one BIG notch below Captain). When anchored up he would hang out on the stern with a bow and home-made fish arrows shooting ling that were attracted to the discarded by-catch of fish and crabs. He also used hand lines made of parachute cord and hooks baited with squid. After one 30-day trip he pocketed good money ($0.50/lb) for 22 ling sold at the dock in Aransas Pass. He also collected and preserved various species of fish that were brought up in the shrimp nets. Many were uncommon and poorly studied and were ultimately given to the Biology Dept. at Southwest Texas State Teachers College (San Marcos) where he started as a Freshman. After graduating from college he taught science in middle and high school for 5 years at Flour Bluff ISD which was only a half mile from the Upper Laguna Madre. Quite a few of his students were children of commercial netters and trotliners and it was not uncommon for them to wear white shrimper boots to school. A few wore no footwear as covering the feet was considered by some families to be unnecessary and basically un-affordable. Several students had their own wooden Vannoy net skiffs and were on the water before daylight catching fish to help their families make a living. In 1977 he was hired by the Coastal Fisheries Division of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department as a fisheries biologist working first at the Rockport Marine Lab and later out of the small Upper Laguna Madre Field Station in Flour Bluff. While with TPWD he made friends for life and was fortunate to have worked in a wide variety of bay and gulf fishery projects. McKee was accepted to the PhD program at TAMU-College Station in 1981 and before graduating was hired by Corpus Christi State University (now TAMU-CC) and has since been teaching full-time in the areas of marine science and mariculture. His “pet” courses are Ichthyology and Marine Ecology. He is blessed with being able to work with and mentor future marine/fishery scientists and fish culturists and participate in many different kinds of applied research projects. Everyone taking his classes hears a lot (and hopefully learns a good bit) about the Laguna Madre and its fishes and the therapeutic benefits of fishing. For the past 6 years McKee has secured funding from CCA for undergraduate marine biology students to intern with TPWD for a summer in his beloved Upper Laguna Madre. Because of this experience and the opportunity to “sell” themselves, several have been hired full-time following graduation. McKee is a member of the Ananias Fishing Club that was begun in the early 1940s by a group of Corpus Christi anglers that threw only lures for big trout and reds in the Upper Laguna Madre. He has been a judge in the Deepsea Roundup in Port Aransas for the last 30 years and was inducted into the Port Aransas Boatmen’s Association “Hall of Fame” in 2007. In 2007, McKee was given the Coastal Bend Bays Foundation “Conservation and Environmental Stewardship Award for Higher Education”. McKee has owned a fishing cabin on Baffin Bay for 30 years. A passion is stalking big trout with lures in the Upper Laguna Madre. He takes great pride in his latest boat, a 22’ Stoner Skiff (his 3rd Stoner) a hand-laid commercial net skiff designed exclusively for plying the shallow waters of the Laguna Madre. McKee is a self described “lagunatic” through and through! McKee has been married to his hometown Sinton High School sweetheart Jane (Hamilton) for the past 37 years. Many of their dates during the “courting” years were fishing trips in the local bays, surf, jetties, Papalote Creek and in the Aransas River. They especially loved fishing around the remains of the old La Quinta Pier near Ingleside. They started fishing the Laguna Madre in the mid-1970s and since acquiring their cabin on Twin Palms Island at Baffin Bay, have spent many wonderful years there with family and friends. Concerning his successes in life, he gives the “lion’s share” of the credit to Jane and their three children: Laura (San Antonio), Hunt (Corpus Christi) and Helen (Fort Worth). They have three beautiful grandchildren Luke, Elliot and Allyson who live in Corpus Christi and will spend lots of precious time on the Laguna Madre at their beloved fishing cabin-“Hewit South”.

Vice President:  Tyler Thorsen

Tyler was born in Los Angeles, California on October 28th 1959. Some of his earliest memories involve fishing. He was hooked at age four when he caught a 14-inch Kokanee Trout while on a family vacation in Washington State. While growing up, Tyler's family lived in California, Missouri, and finally Texas. His love of fishing and exploring the great outdoors grew at each stop. Summer vacations were often spent in Washington where Tyler loved to fish for Salmon with his Uncle Si on the Puget Sound. As a teen in Texas he began competing with his father in the local bass club at the plant where his father worked in McGregor, learning from some of the best bass fishermen in the state and fishing legendary Texas bass lakes. A few surf fishing trips in the early 90’s grew to an obsession and in the spring of 1994, Tyler purchased his first 4x4 and he and his family made a total of nine 600 mile round trips to visit the coast before moving to the Seattle area in 1995. In 1997 on vacation back in Corpus Christi, Tyler and some friends took a trip that would change his life - a surf fishing charter with Captain Billy Sandifer. On that trip, Tyler lost a huge Speckled Trout at the 36 mile area and couldn’t get over Billy being mad at him for losing it due to a tight drag. After all he and his friends were paying good money to fish with him. Later on the same trip while shark fishing, Tyler was innocently explaining to his friend that he would love to see that shark rod go off and using his vocal talents, made a sound that sounded just like a 6/0 reel’s drag screaming to illustrate his point. That faux peeling drag sound sent Billy off running to inspect what he thought was a smoking fast shark run. As one can imagine, Captain Sandifer was not pleased but Tyler managed to survive the encounter – like stepping on a stingray without getting stung. Seeing the wonders of Padre Island on that trip convinced him to talk his wife into moving his entire family down from the Seattle area to Corpus Christi in 1998. Once in Corpus Christi, Tyler was a regular fixture on the Seashore and became friends with Captain Billy, often picking his brain at times while visiting with him down the beach. After seeing that Tyler was a pretty decent fisherman who was conservation minded and loved Padre Island, Billy took him under his wing and became his surf fishing mentor. In 2000, Tyler created Billy’s first website and solicited sponsors for and helped organize the Big Shell Cleanup. In 2001, Tyler began sharing his love of fishing with his own website - www.corpusfishing.com and through his weekly Friday morning fishing reports with Jim Lago at 1360 KKTX. In 2004, he was selected to serve on the Texas Parks and Wildlife's Spotted Sea Trout Work Group, and took over as the surf fishing writer for the Saltwater Angler Fishing Newspaper. In 2007, he was invited to be on the board of directors of the Corpus Christi Chapter of CCA, and in 2008 was honored to be asked to serve on the board of the Friends of Padre, Inc.

President:  Aaron Scott Baxter

Aaron Scott Baxter was born at St. Mary's Hospital on Galveston Island, January 9th 1982. Though hard to believe, it actually snowed in Galveston on that day. As a youngster his time was split between the "beach house" in Galveston and "home" in Spring, TX where he was afforded the opportunity to fish, hunt, and explore the outdoors year round. Whether fishing the "creek" for small bass, catching snakes and turtles, or plinking away with his trusted pellet gun, he spent his time out-of-doors from sunup until the street lights came on. Even when he was forced to be indoors, outdoor television programs, magazines, and books always kept his mind outside. As a Boy Scout he learned to appreciate nature while developing a desire to protect it. This love of the outdoors and longing to become an ethical sportsman were encouraged by his two grandfathers, Pawpaw and Papa Wally, and stepfather, Ed. Some of his earliest memories involve swimming across the guts in the Galveston surf with his younger brother on his back in order to reach the magical third sand bar where speckled trout could be had in abundance. Seeing a large tarpon destroy his inadequate Zebco combo and pulling up shark robbed stringers of fish heads helped teach him a healthy respect for the ocean's inhabitants while fueling the desire to truly know these creatures. In an effort to please the "old salts" that served as mentors, he gave up his popping cork and live shrimp at a young age and took the plunge into the world of artificial lures. This is something from which he has never turned back. As an avid "plugger", Aaron moved to Corpus Christi in 2000 after graduating high school. Having heard stories of the fabled Laguna Madre for most of his life, he could not pass on the chance to actually live near and fish this legendary water body.Aaron received both his BS and MS in Biology from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, where he took classes and worked under Dr. David McKee (fellow FoP board member). He presently works as a researcher for the university on projects involving shorebirds, diamondback terrapins, blue crabs, water quality, freshwater inflow, and harmful algal blooms. Aaron's past times include fishing, hunting, birding, camping, and writing/playing music. In 2009, he began a new chapter in life with the arrival of his daughter, Sagan. This new addition has given him an opportunity to share his love of nature and to watch as his daughter gains the sense of wonder that was so familiar to him as a child. Whether "running and gunning" on the beach or silently stalking big trout in the shallows, he is at peace in the outdoors and knows that this is where he was meant to be.  

Secretary:  Cody Moravits

Cody was born in Corpus Christi on October 20, 1992. He grew up fishing the waters of the Upper Laguna Madre, but it was only a matter of time before his focus shifted to the nearshore waters of the Gulf of Mexico. At the age of 14, Cody’s mother would drop him off at the North Packery Jetty to fish during the summer months. When he was 16, he was assigned a school project where he had to give a speech about someone who has had an impact on our community. Naturally, he chose to speak about Billy Sandifer and his conservation efforts. Cody’s teacher actually contacted Billy and asked him to give his own presentation to the class following his speech, in which he gladly accepted. This was his first encounter with Capt. Sandifer, the founder and president of FoP.

Advisory Board Member: 

 

Jeff was born in Houston, Texas on July 5, 1970 to parents Don and Carol Wolda.  Jeff grew up fishing on the weekends off the Texas City dikes, Galveston piers and in the ship channel with his dad and grandfather, Frank Wolda. His earliest memories of fishing are sitting on the bank of the ship channel with a coffee can of dead shrimp fishing the Golden Croaker runs. His Grandpa would put a green Coleman cooler next to him and he would fill it in short order during the runs.  Jeff’s grandfather was also friends with some of the shrimp boat captains in the area.  A special treat was meeting the boats at the dock to see their catch for the day.  Of course, getting fresh shrimp for dinner that evening was also a plus. It was during these early years that Jeff developed his love for fishing. After graduating high school in 1989, Jeff attended college for a year.  After his freshman year, the war in Iraq was looming and he decided to serve his country.  He enlisted in the United States Navy and served for 9 years.  During his time in the service he was deployed to Bosnia twice, Operation Restore Hope in Mogadishu, Somalia and other operational theaters and received 9 medals, 4 service ribbons and numerous other awards. In 1999, after his stint in the Navy, Jeff moved to San Antonio, Texas and began his new career with a job in corporate America.  This gave him plenty of opportunities to fish during the slow times of the year. With frequent trips to Corpus Christi on the weekends he began to learn the area and soon rediscovered the love for the sport he enjoyed so much as a child. In the summer of 2004 Jeff booked a charter with Billy Sandifer.    One mid July day down Padre Island National Seashore was all it took.  He was hooked.  The best part was becoming friends with the Padre of Padre Island, Billy Sandifer.  For some reason, the old salty dog took a liking to Jeff.  He and his wife, Joy allowed him to come down and stay in their home while making trips down the seashore. Billy began teaching him the art of reading the surf, about the history of the island, the wild life and conservation. For the next 8 years, Jeff spent many days and nights running and gunning on the beach for many of its predators. During this time, Jeff served as a section leader and as a second command vehicle for the Billy Sandifer Big Shell Cleanup.  He also has participated in catching surf trout for the Harte Institute for a study in their migratory patterns. He also writes monthly articles and PINS fishing reports for Costal Angler Magazine. After Billy Sandifer’s retirement in March of 2012, the idea of taking Billy’s place as the guide down PINS began to become a reality.  After discussing it with his family and with Billy and Joy Sandifer, he made the decision to become a licensed fishing guide on PINS starting on September 1^st 2012. Jeff’s love of Padre Island National Seashore, its history, wildlife, and beauty are now his focus.  He enjoys sharing it on his charters with clients from across the country.