Board of Directors

Patti Paniccia – Co-Chair

Patti Paniccia still calls Waialua, Hawaii home, even though she moved to Southern California in 1985. She continues to spend a significant amount of time at her Waialua home on the North Shore of Oahu, surfing her favorite spots with family, friends and neighbors. Patti was one of the top-ranked surfers during the 70s and early 80s, and was one of six women who competed on the first women’s world pro tour in 1976. In the early 70s, she co-founded the Hawaii Women’s Surfing Hui, and as competition director, established a qualifying contest system for Hawaii’s pro contest invitations to women. She then worked with Fred Hemmings, alongside Randy Rarick, to launch the women’s and men’s pro tour for International Professional Surfing (IPS), the first pro surfing tour and precursor to the ASP and today’s World Surf League (WSL). Patti Paniccia is an adjunct law professor at Pepperdine Law School in Malibu where she teaches Employment Discrimination, Gender and the Law, and First Amendment Law, and founded the Patti Paniccia Law Scholarship to assist law students parenting minor children. She is also a hearing officer for the Los Angeles Country Employee Relations Commission. She is a former CNN correspondent and received an Emmy nomination for an investigative series on the court system’s failure to deal adequately with infant abuse. In 2000, she was sent on a nationwide book tour by Ballantine/Random House for her book, Work Smarts for Women: The Essential Sex Discrimination Survival Guide and continues to be regularly interviewed in the media on issues of workplace and gender discrimination. She is currently general counsel for the Radio & Television New Association of Southern California (RTNA) where she addresses issues of free press and media access, and is past chairman of the board of Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, which performs with the LA Phil and LA Opera. She and her husband have two daughters – one who sings opera and the other who is a business executive. She tried hard to get them to cut school and go surfing.

Spencer Croul – Co-Founder / Co-Chair

Spencer Croul, Co-Founder, Board Member, grew up surfing in Newport Beach, California in the early 1970’s, bicycling to the beach with surfboard in tow. A San Diego State University graduate in Recreation Administration Management, he earned his Associate of Arts degree at Orange Coast College after graduating from Newport Harbor High School in 1974. He worked 15 years in the private sector as a foam packaging designer and later in the family paint manufacturing business before finding and pursuing his passion as a Surf Culture Preservationist. Bringing foundation management experience to the Surfing Heritage, he also serves on the board of his family’s Foundation. He has amassed his own private collection of historical surfing artifacts, and brings not only his collection to the Surfing Heritage but also his vast knowledge in surfing collectibles and surfing history. Presently residing in Newport Beach, California, he is married to Susan Croul, has two children and continues to surf whenever possible.

Dick Metz – Founder / Board Member

Dick Metz, Board Member and Founder, has supplied the vision for the SHF and the initial funding. Central to the mission, Dick has donated his extensive surfboard collection, and bequeathed his estate to Surfing Heritage. Dick, who grew up in Laguna Beach as a buddy of such notables as Hobie Alter, Reynolds Yater, and Hevs McClelland, is himself a pioneering figure in our sport and industry. As the driving force behind Surfline Hawaii and the Hobie Sports retail chain, and as the traveling surfer who cross-pollinated a fledgling South African surf scene with Hobie and Gordon Clark in California, and suggested to Bruce Brown that he film for The Endless Summer in South Africa, Metz has changed the course of surf history. Now, his goal is to preserve it.

Randy Taylor – VP – Treasurer

Randy Taylor (RT) Board Member. Chairman of SHACC Annual Golf Tournament. Native Californian moved to Dana Point in 1961 and began surfing Doheny and Poche at age 10. Moved to Northern Calif. near Santa Cruz for 9 years, but returned to Southern Cal in 1970 for warmer water and hotter chicks! Mr. Taylor holds a B1 General Contractor’s license and built homes to sell in the late 70’s, changed career paths and went into Health Care Administration for 11 yrs. In 1998. Mr. Taylor decided to dedicate more time to serving others and began a 21 yr. journey with OC Goodwill of Orange County. RT’s current position is VP of Facilities and Operations. Mr. Taylor holds a BA and Master’s Degree from Columbia Pacific University and currently serves on 3 Boards. He has contributed his time, support and expertise to fundraising events for over 30 years. Mr. Taylor loves the ocean above and below the water, surfing, scuba, fishing, all tropical beaches, golfing and world travel. Member of the Hawaiian Surf Club.

John Mazza – Board Member

John Mazza, Founding Partner, began surfing at age 11 when he moved to San Clemente 1956. Always an amateur, his interests  have centered around surfing and its cultural lifestyle for over sixty years. Although his primary residence has been in Malibu for the last fifty years, he has also maintained homes in Laguna Beach and the North Shore (Sunset Point) since the mid- 1970s. An avid collector of historic surfboards, his Malibu Surfing Museum, founded in 2002, contains over one hundred fifty significant boards and is currently located at Pepperdie University in Malibu with about forty surfboards on display. He has sponsored several exhibits at SHACC and loaned surfboards to many others.

John received a BA in fine arts and economics from Claremont McKenna College and an MBA in econometrics and finance from the Marshall Business School at the University of Southern California. His career in finance included block trading, mutual fund management, technical chart analysis and investment banking. He was CFO and president of several investment firms as well as founding  companies in the investment, commercial real estate and adaptive optics fields. He is a member of several boards including the Adamson House Foundation at Surfrider Beach and the Point Dume Community Services District, both of which are in Malibu. He is active in Malibu civic affairs and am presently the chairman of the planning commission. 

Greg Dillion – Board Member

Greg Dillion, Board Member and Founding Partner, grew up in Ohio but took up many of his favorite sports later in life after moving to California — skiing at 25, scuba at 30, surfing at 34, snowboarding at 40, wakeboarding at 45, wake surfing at 48, kiteboarding at 50, cattle roping and roundups at 52, dirt biking at 55 and snow motorcycling at 61. Greg is never happier than when sharing these pastimes with his wife, five kids and friends. Locally, Greg’s surf spots range from Oceanside to Bolsa Chica, but he also likes to safari each year and has surfed a number of locations in the Indian Ocean, the South Pacific and Central and South America. Greg obtained his B.A. from Cornell University and his law degree from the University of Texas. In 1984 he co-founded Newmeyer Dillion. Since then, the firm has grown from three lawyers to over 70 and has become a full-service law firm with offices in Newport Beach, Walnut Creek and Las Vegas. Greg has been named by Best Lawyers in America® as Lawyer of the Year for Orange County in the fields of real estate and construction litigation and insurance and construction law. He has been named as one of Orange County’s top 50 lawyers and one of Southern California’s top 100 lawyers by Super Lawyers®.

Bill Eddy – Board Member

Bill Eddy is an entrepreneur, author/writer, film producer, brand ambassador, and business strategist. He is the author of “The Eddy Line,” a personal email newsletter about the business world, captivating people, his clients, his travels, life in Hawaii, our culture and the spirit of aloha, the essence of relationships and mutual respect.

Eddy and filmmaker, Richard Newman co-produced, “Addicted to Joy,” a love story about surfing’s cultural adventure. Their film is for all cultures and every generation and is a pilot film for a multitude of other projects and new episodes.

Eddy also serves as the Exec.V.P. of Business Development at Beond.tv; a video platform that is everything traditional TV isn’t…and everything you want it to be.

Robert C. Mardian – Board Member

Robert C. Mardian, Board Member, former President and Founding Partner, is a graduate of Stanford University and earned his M.B.A. at Pepperdine University. Mr. Mardian operates restaurants in California, Hawaii, and Texas and has surfed the coasts of all three states. He has finished in the top 30% of the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii. He served on the Finance Committee for the 1988 U.S. Olympic Committee. Bob is a lifelong surfer and member of the San Onofre Surfing Club since 1954. Like his father before him and his son and daughters now, he continues to surf at San Onofre and on occasion, all three generations are in the water at the same time.

Paul Strauch – Board Member

Paul K Strauch Jr., Board member, Former Executive Director, was born and raised in Hawaii and began surfing at 4 in Waikiki. Following Punahou High School and the University of Hawaii majoring in business management, he spent 20 years as a 3rd-generation real estate broker in Hawaii, and is a former member of the Waikiki Surf Club, Outrigger Canoe Club, Liliuokalani Trust Child Welfare Department advisory board, Governor’s Advisory Committee to Waikiki Beach Improvement, and Honolulu Mayor’s Water Safety Committee. Past president of the Hawaii Amateur Surfing Association, he is a founding member of the Duke Kahanamoku Surf Club, often traveling with Duke. His event titles include the ’63 & ‘68 Peruvian International Championships, Hawaii State Surfing Champion, ‘65 & ‘66, ‘69 Makaha International Senior Men’s Champion, ‘82 Hawaii Modern Longboard Men’s Champion, and ‘84 Hawaii Nose-riding Men’s Champion. He is the only person to have a surfing maneuver, the Paul Strauch Cheater Five, named after him. Currently an active member of the Hawaiian Surf Club of San Onofre.

Candice Woodward – Board Member

In 2004, Candice Woodward first discovered the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center. A lifelong surfer, it piqued her interest. She began going to exhibit openings and other special events before signing up as a member. Today, she sits on the Board of Directors and is helping take SHACC to new heights. Inducted into the Hermosa Beach Surfer’s Walk of Fame in 2018, Woodward has been pushing boundaries her entire career. One of the pioneers of the women’s movement that took hold of the sport in the 1970s, her first international contest was the 1977 WISA Malibu Hang Ten International Pro, where she finished 3rd behind Lynne Boyer and Margo Oberg, who placed 1st and 2nd, respectively. After a number of contest victories and some well-earned time in the spotlight, Woodward pursued a career as a physical therapist and board-certified professional ergonomics (BCPE, CIE). She is also the owner of two companies: Woodward Ergonomics Consulting, Inc. and Wedge-Ease, which designs, fabricates and sells ergonomic support products for microscope users and bench workers in the electronics industry. “Surfing has always been my life’s passion,” says Woodward. “I love the SHACC mission to preserve, promote and present surfing’s heritage and cultural impact. Our world has opened up in so many ways that I couldn’t have imagined and to so many people and different cultures. I’m honored to be a part of this exciting, evolving journey. I’m also thrilled to be part of this dynamic team of like-minded individuals!”

Denny Michael – Board Member

Denny Michael was born in Dana Point, California and grew up on the beaches of Southern California. Mr. Michael is a technology industry marketing professional and is currently the Chief Marketing Officer for Pelicancorp, an Australian based software company specializing in digital transformation. For the past 25 years he has held a variety of executive positions for both private and public companies building global brands and teams. Denny received his B.A in Communications from California State University, Fullerton. He has served as a board member for the Doheny Longboard Surfing Association and was one of the first Docents at the Surfing Heritage. Mr. Michael is married with two children. His wife and children share his passion and love of the ocean.  

Steve Pezman – Board Member Emeritus

Steve Pezman, Board Member and Founding Partner, began surfing in 1957 in Orange County, CA. Surfed the 1962-’63 winter season on the North Shore, then returned to California to lifeguard, sail in the merchant marine, build surfboards and co-own Creative Design Surfboards, a Huntington Beach surf shop through the late 1960s. In 1967, Steve began freelance writing for surf magazines, in 1969 becoming associate editor at Petersen’s International Surfing magazine. Moved to Surfer magazine as Assoc. Editor in 1970, later that year becoming Publisher and serving in that capacity through 1991. Currently Co-founder and publisher of The Surfer’s Journal, various surfing books, and executive producer of The Surfer’s Journal on Outdoor Life Network. Steve has helped found various surfing organs, currently serves on the advisory boards of the Surfrider Foundation and the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association.

Jay “Sparky” Longley – Board Member Emeritus

Jay “Sparky” Longley, Board Member Emeritus and Founding Partner, is a surfer, hang glider, skier, biker, and snowboarder. When he decided to overcome his fear of heights and surf the world, he bought a plane and learned how to fly. In 1975 Sparky located to San Clemente to officially set up shop, where Rainbow sandals are still hand made today. Now the former one-man, six-sandal-a-day garage production has had to expand overseas to keep up with the 5,000 pair-a-day demand. Once worn only by surfers, Sparky’s sandals now have a nationwide following.