Our Crew Has Over 269 Cumulative Years of Houseboat Vacation Experience!
Rich Howe
General Manager
Jones Valley Resort
Rich Howe is General Manager of Jones Valley Resort, where he is responsible for supervising all operations. He first joined the Company in 2000 to manage Sugarloaf Resort, then transferred to Jones Valley in 2006.
Rich previously worked for Seven Crown Resorts, advancing through several positions to become assistant general manager of Seven Crown’s Bridge Bay Resort and Digger Bay Marina. Rich was also employed by Jones Valley Resort (under prior ownership); he started on the service crew and eventually was promoted to marine mechanic.
Rich graduated from Central Valley High School in Shasta Lake City.
Rich is married to Karen. They have three children. His personal interests include outdoor activities and watching professional sports.
Yvonne Cantrell
Controller
Yvonne Cantrell is Vice President and Controller for Water Resorts Inc., houseboats.com marina management company located in Lodi, California. She has worked in the marina industry since 1979. She was Regional Manager of Northern California for Westrec Marinas and General Manager of Tower Park Marina in Lodi from 1992 through 1996. Cantrell has been a director on the Board of the Marina Recreation Association since 1992, serving as Treasurer and President during her tenure. She is Past-President of California Delta Chambers and Visitors Bureau. For her involvement in the marina industry, Cantrell was honored in 1995 with the “Woman of Distinction” Award from the International Women in Boating Association.
She obtained her MBA from University of the Pacific in Stockton, California, and her BSBA from California State University, Stanislaus. She is a Certified Management Accountant. In her position with Water Resorts Inc/houseboats.com, Cantrell does both accounting and marketing tasks and enjoys them both for different reasons. “The marketing side lets me use my creativity, and for the accounting side I get to do my numbers crunching and analysis. I really like the diversity, plus the fringe benefit of houseboat vacations!”, says Cantrell.
Yvonne resides in Sacramento, California and enjoys boating on the Sacramento River and nearby lakes.
Kip Fatout
General Service Manager
Shasta Lake Resorts
Kip Fatout is General Service Manager of Shasta Lake Resorts LP. He is responsible for supervising the service departments for all of our locations on Shasta Lake. He joined the Company in 1991 as Service Manager for Jones Valley Resort.
Kip relocated to the Shasta Lake area in 1991 from San Diego where he was service manager for Sea Ray Boats.
He has two grown daughters and four grandchildren. Kip enjoys rock hounding, prospecting and stargazing.
“I like working at Shasta because of the diversity, challenges and friendly people.”
Janelle McPhetridge
Central Reservations
Janelle McPhetridge is head of the Company’s Central Reservations Dept. She joined the Company’s Housekeeping Dept. in 1994 and was soon transferred to Reservations due to her people skills and knowledge of the houseboat rental industry.Janelle relocated from Tulare County in the San Joaquin Valley in 1994 with her family. She is married to Gary, has three grown children and seven grandchildren.
Janelle enjoys spending time with her family, including Maxx, her teacup Chihuahua, and cheering for her grandchildren at their sports events.
“The challenges that come along with being a part of this growing business and the family-like camaraderie of the crew, is what makes working here great. And you can’t beat the view from the office!”
Corinne Matson
Risk Manager
Corinne Matson, Risk Manager, joined the Company in 2006. She is responsible for employee safety training, employee wellness program, OSHA compliance and Workers Compensation for all properties.
Coree grew up in Turlock California. She has extensive experience in graphic design in the corporate marketing arena and in financial planning for small businesses working for Northwestern Mutual Financial Network.
Coree moved to the north state in 1999. She was employed by Silverthorn Resort on Shasta for nearly 4 years, responsible for the small boat fleet, service dock, winter refurbishment crew and safety program.
Coree earned her bachelor’s degree in Industrial Technology from CSU Fresno and played on their women’s basketball team. She was also a volunteer for the National Ski Patrol at Dodge Ridge.
Coree resides in a rustic log home in the mountains near Lassen Park. She shares her love of the area with Annarae and enjoys all forms of outdoor recreation, team sports and spending time with her five grandkids.
Rick Villanueva
Rental Supervisor
Shasta Lake Resorts
Rick Villanueva is the Rental Supervisor for Jones Valley Resort. He has been with the Company since 1993. Rick started out as a dock hand at Jones Valley Resort, moved up to houseboat orientator and then was promoted to Rental Supervisor in 1998.
Rick grew up in the central valley of California. He spent 12 years serving in the U.S. Army experiencing various world-wide deployments. Rick moved to Shasta County in the early 90′s.
Rick is married to Lita, has one daughter and four grandchildren. He enjoys hiking and weight-lifting.
“It’s the people and the scenery that keeps me here.”
Smokey Riggert
New Melones
General Manager
Smokey Riggert is General Manager of New Melones Lake Marina, is responsible for overseeing all operations.
Smokey has a background in manufacturing and distribution and brings 20 years management experience to New Melones Lake Marina. Well versed in vessel construction, he personally built two houseboats from the pontoons up. He has extensive experience in customer service and crew supervision.
His philosophy: “Tell them what you do, and do what you tell them”. Residing in Northern California for over four decades, Smokey is also a long time boater and watersport enthusiast. He currently lives in Cameron Park with his wife and two sons.
Wayne McMillen
New Melones
Service Manager
Wayne McMillen is the New Melones Lake Service Manager, overseeing boat repair operations on New Melones and has worked with the Company since 2001.
Upon graduating from Merced High School, Wayne enlisted in the US Navy where he became a 2nd Class Aviation Ordinanceman specializing in electrical and mechanical maintenance of naval aircraft related to conventional and nuclear weapons. Upon his honorable discharge from the Navy, he went to work for Red Top Co-Generation as manager and oversaw the electrical, mechanical, and pneumatic repairs and maintenance of the power plant in Red Top, CA.
After that, he moved to Merced where he became lead mechanic at Merced Power Sports, in charge of the maintenance of motorcycles, ATV’s, personal watercraft and power equipment. He was promoted to Service Manager at Merced Power Sports where he managed the service department, and was closely involved in customer relations. He also owned a family-business during the 90’s, Sierra Snow and Ice Cream Company.
His hobbies include creating wood and wicker furniture, painting, and adventure.
Ben Jackson
Sales Director
As the Sales Director at houseboats.com , Ben Jackson has earned a reputation for leading great customer service teams through consistent, diligent efforts to help our valuable clients have stress-free vacations that they can share with those they love. Ben is also known as ‘The Captain” for his popular blog, CaptainJackson, where he tells unique stories about each lake, how to make the most out of a houseboat vacation and adds his own brand of humor to the way our unique business works. Check out his latest post here:
When ‘The Captain” isn’t working with our team or on the web, he is on the road at boat shows, trade shows or along the west coast to encourage people to get on a houseboat. An avid fitness enthusiast, you may see Ben running along the shoreline or working out somewhere in Redding.
Ben joined us early in 2010 after having worked in the fitness and recreation for the majority of his career. He even went on to own two fitness centers in the Bay Area for a number of years. As husband and father, Ben spends time at Redding’s local parks playing any and all sports.
His desire for houseboats.com is to continue to expose people to the joy of houseboating as a vehicle for family togetherness, bonding experiences between friends, and the growth of our youth programs.
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