Ron Spodofora from Manahawkin, NJ has worked in carpentry all of his life and brings to the Seaport years of wood working experience. After high school Ron entered the Army and served six years as a chief cook for the Tuckerton Branch of the Army National guard. Later Ron joined Carpenters Union Local 2018 but continued working in his family’s business, Pinecrest Millwork in Waretown. Here he honed his craft working on custom furniture pieces.
In 1974 Ron began working for Six Flags Great Adventure as a Journeyman Carpenter and spent the next thirty years working there until his retirement in 2004. Throughout his career with the company, he held the positions of shop steward and foreman for both the fiberglass/rubber shop and the carpenter shop.
Ron volunteered hundreds of hours working with Gus Heinrichs in the Perrine's Boat Works. After Gus’s passing, Ron joined the staff of the Seaport in 2009 and became the head of Perrine's Boat Works. In addition to building and restoring traditional South Jersey sneakboxes and garveys, Ron takes part in the Jersey Shore Folklife Center’s “Jersey Traditions” folk art outreach program.
