Harwich Names New Harbormaster Following Retirement Of Rendon

HARWICH – Following the retirement of John Rendon, the select board Monday affirmed the appointment of John Harker as the town’s new harbormaster effective March 31.

 Harker is a former commanding officer in the Coast Guard and served as an executive officer supervising aids to navigation at sector Woods Hole, where he led scheduling, maintenance and record keeping for floating and fixed aids to navigation from Cape Cod to Rhode island.

According to his resume, Hacker was a leader, supervisor and mentor during 15 years of his 22-year career in the Coast Guard. He referred to himself as a self-starter who is motivated, progressive and advanced into executive management roles and command positions. 

 Rendon spent 13 years running the harbor department after working in Chatham, where he served as deputy harbormaster after spending four years at the U. S. Coast Guard Academy and 21 years in the Coast Guard, retiring as a commander.

 Rendon said he had some interaction with Harker while in the Coast Guard, but got to know him better while the new harbormaster was serving at Coast Guard Sector Woods Hole when Rendon was serving as harbormaster.

“I think very highly of him and he’s got all the maritime experience you want. He’s smart, well-spoken and I think the harbor department is in good hands with him at the helm,” Rendon said of Harker this week from his residence in Horseshoe Bay, Texas.

Rendon had planned to retire in March, but moved the date up to January because he wanted to spend quality time with his parents, in-laws and family. He will be back on the Cape in May for the summer so the town has not completely lost him to his Texas roots. He said he will be around Saquatucket Harbor this summer, adding he still has a slip in the marina. 

“I loved every bit of my job,” Rendon said. “The staff is what made it so enjoyable. The work, being on the waterfront, helping boaters, and being in a readiness state when needed was enjoyable. It was a great place to work with the harbors, coves, rivers and beautiful waterways throughout the town making it enjoyable and challenging. It was a great second career for me and it fit well with my skill set.”

Rendon took on some major projects along the waterfront during his tenure. He worked to upgrade all of the harbors in town, including the reconstruction of the town pier in Wychmere Harbor; upgrading the parking facilities at Allen Harbor; a new ramp at Round Cove; and reconfiguring the Wixon Dock facilities on the Herring River. His biggest accomplishment was the $3.6 million waterfront and landside renovations to Saquatucket Harbor.

“The Harwich residents trusted me to get the job done and provided support in town meeting,” said Rendon. “I hope they thought the money was well spent and that we improved the waterfront. It was a wonderful town to work in and there was so much help from all of the various departments. So many things, facilities, and maritime assistance cases and it took a team.”

“The two Johns, 20 years in the Coast Guard, it’s deja vu, they’re cut from the same cloth,” Town Administrator Joseph Powers said of Rendon and Harker. 

Over the past 10 years, Harker has led design, development, and implementation of the Cape Cod Maritime Response System and partnered with Barnstable County dispatch, fire and police services, and regional harbormasters to unify efforts and increase operational effectiveness and safety, according to his resume.

Harker has a masters’s degree in homeland security with a concentration in emergency management and geographic information technology from Northeastern University. He has also served as an adjunct professor at Endicott College developing and teaching courses in business negotiations and management, homeland security, counter terrorism and emergency management and preparedness.      

 Harker’s appointment comes with a six-month probationary period. He must obtain his state harbormaster’s certification within two years. His starting salary is $101,617 and it will increase to $104,159 when he obtains the certification.