North Carolina Surfing Hall of Fame
The North Carolina Surfing Hall of Fame pays tribute to those individuals who have contributed an indelible mark on the sport and culture of surfing. Competitive amateur and professional super stars, who successfully ride some of the biggest waves on the planet and have served up some of the best performances to date.
We also recognize surf shops, surfboard builders and shapers who built a reputation by providing knowledge, experience, and the warmest customer service, to become indispensable to the sport of surfing.
We celebrate all 2021 inductees and recognize the benefits that an active surfing culture brings to the North Carolina state economy and tourism industry. Embracing and sharing legends from several eras.
2023 North Carolina
Surfing Hall of Fame Inductees
Ms. Kathrine Meier Cameron
1918 - 2019
Lived to 101 Years Old
As early as the 1930s surfer, pretty Miss Katherine Meier Cameron graced the waves at Wrightsville Beach on the surfboards her father made. She was a professional model for the State of North Carolina, who braved the frigid ocean water in February and March of each year. That way promoters and tourism professionals printed her pictures in magazines before spring.
In her own words a Wilmington News article dated January 10, 1939 states, “Miss Katherine Meier a Wrightsville Beach resident has been taking a daily dip in the surf during the unusually mild weather of the past weeks. I find the water is a trifle cool but a quick dip is delightful in this kind of weather.” She is inducted in the North Carolina Surfing Hall of Fame.
Captain Jeremy Owens
1978 - 2020
Wrightsville Beach Fire Department & Rescue
Captain Jeremy Owens was with the Wrightsville Beach Fire Department and Ocean Rescue for twenty years. Prior to that service, he lived and surfed in Hawaii for ten years. Owens was an actor and stuntman in the Wilmington, North Carolina film industry.
He was the headless Horseman in Sleepy Hollow 2013 – 2016, and Swamp Thing in 2019. Wrightsville Beach citizens have been deeply, deeply affected by the passing of Captain Owens. The North Carolina Surfing Hall of Fame honors Captain Owens with this induction. His parents are inaugural members of the 1996 Wrightsville Beach Originals Reunion on Figure Eight Island, North Carolina. He is inducted into the North Carolina Surfing Hall of Fame.
Don T. Bennett, Sr
1959 - 2021
Lived a Good Life
We concur with Matt Pruitt, that in 1963, Surfboards by Don built the earliest surfboards on the Outer Banks, NC. Don was born in New Bern, NC in 1959 and learned how to surf during summertime camping trips with his family. Over the next couple of years, the Surfboards by Don Sign drew attention and he began taking custom orders. Frequent trips to California provided work, inspiration, perspective and in 1976, he moved to the North Shore, Hawaii.
He spent almost twenty years shaping surfboards for well know labels. Still, the wanderlust did not subside and in 1993 he moved to Indonesia, purchased Yacht Moggy Bali. By 2019, Don Bennett, Sr. was not feeling well, but he had his US Benefits. He passed away at age 61, at FHN Memorial Hospital, Freeport, Illinois. His Celebration of Life was September 2021 Creek, Sugar Grove, Illinois. He is inducted in the North Carolina Surfing Hall of Fame.
Donald James 'Jim' Fisher
1949 - 2014
Inaugural Member of the Wrightsville Beach Originals.
Jim Fisher was part of the first group of surfers and skateboarders in North Carolina and a 1996 Inaugural Member of the Wrightsville Beach Originals. He served in the US Navy during the Vietnam War and was assigned to U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He is memorialized at the Fisher Memorial Garden, UNC Wilmington Campus, a source of honor & serenity. He is inducted into the North Carolina Surfing Hall of Fame.
