Governor Larry Hogan Names Captain Eldridge Meredith ‘Admiral of the Chesapeake Bay’

Lt. Governor Rutherford Presents Award, Celebrates Life of Captain Eldridge Meredith

Governor Larry Hogan has commissioned Kent Island resident Captain Eldridge Meredith as the 101st Admiral of Chesapeake Bay, a prestigious lifetime achievement award for an individual’s extraordinary commitment to the conservation and restoration of the Chesapeake Bay.

Lt. Governor Boyd Rutherford presented the award on February 23, which is also Meredith’s 91st birthday.

“Captain Meredith has spent a lifetime on one of America’s most treasured resources,” said Lt. Governor Rutherford. “His unwavering commitment and dedication to the Chesapeake Bay, which is both his home and livelihood, makes him the quintessential waterman and worthy of this prestigious honor.”

Captain Meredith, a third-generation Queen Anne’s County waterman and charter boat captain, has worked in and around the Bay for 80 years. He docks his charter boat, the Island Queen 11, at his pier in Grasonville on the Eastern Shore. Captain Meredith is the fifth African-American known to have received this honor.

“As a business owner, charter boat captain, entrepreneur, and veteran, Captain Meredith is the quintessential Chesapeake Bay waterman,” said Natural Resources Secretary Mark Belton. “It is truly an honor to recognize his many selfless contributions to his community, state, and nation.”

Instituted by Governor J. Millard Tawes in 1959, the Admiral of the Chesapeake Bay title has gone to prominent individuals from various pursuits including sailors, journalists, shipwrights, watermen, conservationists, elected officials, and many others. Captain Meredith’s nomination was reviewed and recommended by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.