COMMODORE DUSTY VICKERS
Sunny Days & Friendship Waves
story by JEANNE REYNOLDS
photos by SUSAN DELOACH and courtesy of BEAUFORT WATER FESTIVAL
If you think serving as Commodore of the Beaufort Water Festival is an honorary title that mostly involves making speeches and backslapping, you’re all wet — or deserve to be.
Dusty Vickers and the 69 past Commodores he’s following into the top job know it comes after years of long hours, backaches and more than a few headaches, and any slaps on the back are done with dirty hands. The Commodores also share a fierce dedication to making sure Beaufort’s longest-running festival is bigger and better every year. And “top job” is somewhat of a misnomer — it’s more of a calling.
“We call it ‘drinking the Kool-Aid,’” Dusty says with a laugh. “You start volunteering, you meet people and it turns into a family. Once you’re in, hook, line and sinker, you’re committed.”
DRAWN TO THE LOWCOUNTRY
Dusty’s professional career and personal passions positioned him ideally to join the Water Festival crew not long after moving to Beaufort in 2010 from Blythewood, South Carolina, a small town back then about 20 miles northeast of the state capital in Columbia. His first jobs were in construction and landscaping, including eight years with The Greenery, but he says the real draw to the Lowcountry and the Water Festival was the connection to the outdoors.
“I’ve always loved being outdoors,” Dusty says. “From a young age, hunting, fishing, gardening and growing up on a farm shaped who I am. I knew I wanted to make Beaufort home the first time I came down and got out on the water in a boat.”
Dusty’s active lifestyle also played a role in creating his young and growing family. He met his wife, Jessica, at a local CrossFit gym not long after she relocated to Beaufort from Pittsburgh. It wasn’t a random move: The owners of Upper Crust, friends of her parents back home, helped her find her first teaching job, and she’s now a teacher at Riverview Charter School. The couple has since added two children: 2-year-old son Wyatt and daughter Rylee, who’ll celebrate her 4th birthday during the festival.
Dusty’s career shifted directions when he left The Greenery for three years at Creative Interiors, before deciding to start his own business to “to be more hands on.” He opened D’s Home Improvements in 2022, specializing in kitchen and bath remodels.
“It’s going great,” Dusty says. “I just hired my first employee, and we’re booked through November.”
That’s no surprise to those who know and have worked with him. “He’s known for being absolutely meticulous that everything is done exactly right,” says Mike Yoakum, who served as the 43rd Commodore in 1998.
GETTING HIS FEET WET
Dusty’s eye for perfection has served him well on the Water Festival team. He first connected with the event while still working at The Greenery, which frequently drew duty pulling in trailers for festivals in the area. He already had volunteer stints with the Main Street Association and Port Royal’s Old Village Association under his (tool) belt when he officially joined the festival team in 2014. After a few years, he began taking on successively more responsible roles, moving from a staff position to director to coordinator, which requires volunteers to oversee a different key element of the festival every year, such as managing the stage, working with sponsors, handling ticket sales, and merchandising.
Not surprisingly, he says his favorite festival job was serving as water and air events coordinator, where he was responsible for the fishing tournament, ski show, air show, kids’ toad fishing tournament and even fireworks.
“It’s in line with my personality,” he says. “I love anything outdoors: hunting, fishing, boating.”
SEVENTY YEARS OF MUSIC, FOOD AND FUN
The Water Festival started in 1956 by a group of businessmen who wanted to entice more visitors to turn off the highway toward Beaufort, while also providing affordable entertainment for local families. They started by expanding an annual sailing regatta, then added parades, ski and air shows, and dances to the lineup. Fishing and golf tournaments, an arts and crafts market, sponsors’ and nonprofit expos, and lots of food and music soon followed. Now in its 70th year, the festival has grown well beyond its “official” 10 days in July into a nearly year-round event, including a holiday boat parade in December, 5K and 10K runs, pickleball and cornhole tournaments, and more.
And it continues to expand and evolve. Dusty contributed a new event this year based on one of his favorite hobbies: an archery tournament with three-dimensional targets.
“We’re always looking to see what’s going on, what’s hip right now, like pickleball and cornhole,” he says. “We had 50 entries for the archery tournament, which was pretty good for a new event.”
A REUNION OF REUNIONS
Dusty says it’s easy to see why the festival has continued to grow and thrive for 70 years.
“This festival has always been about connection — neighbors coming together, families making memories, and visitors discovering what makes our community so special. It’s 10 days in the summer when everyone comes together. You see people you don’t see throughout the year. It’s become more of a local thing, but we still draw tourists. People come in and say, ‘This is going to be my vacation for the summer.’ You’ll see people wearing the T-shirt and cars with the bumper sticker anywhere you go.”
He’s also quick to acknowledge the contributions of the festival’s sponsors and hundreds of volunteers and civic organizations.
“We simply couldn’t do it without the support of our sponsors — the businesses and individuals who believe in Beaufort and its people. Their partnership allows us to shine a spotlight on local talent, celebrate creativity and keep our traditions alive,” he says in a letter on the festival website. “A special thank-you also goes out to our volunteers and civic organizations. Their dedication, heart and hard work are the backbone of this festival. As the plaque at Waterfront Park reminds us, ‘There is nothing more caring, giving, and willing than the heart of a volunteer.’ I see that spirit in every one of them.”
“We can’t wait to celebrate everything that makes Beaufort shine. See you at the festival!”
MEET DUSTY VICKERS
Hometown: Blythewood, SC
Now lives in: Port Royal
Family: Wife, Jessica, a teacher at Riverview Charter School; daughter, Rylee, almost 4; son, Wyatt, 2; and black lab, Penny, 11
Paying job: Owner/operator of D’s Home Improvements
Favorite Water Festival event: The Opening Ceremony, because it means a year’s worth of work has come together, and the party has officially started
Greatest challenge as Commodore: Dressing up in red and white for the events instead of a T-shirt
Self-description: I’ll do anything for anybody
What’s next: A vacation!
