FORT PIERCE FOLKS
The NATURE PACESETTER
BY JERRY SHAW
For Bill McNeely there’s a connection
50
between the splendor of the
Missouri River near Omaha and
the beautiful waterways of Florida.
The Nebraska native, who has lived
in Fort Pierce since the 1970s, focuses his
attention on environmental awareness “to
show people the environment is so precious
for us.”
Whether working with the River
Warriors group to help save the Indian
River Lagoon or turning his home into a
solar- and wind-powered haven, McNeely
includes his knowledge of environmental
science, metaphysics and electronic music
as part of his passion for nature and life.
McNeely came to Fort Pierce from
Nebraska and became a familiar face to
beach-goers for 22 years as head lifeguard.
He spent his last three years with
the county’s Recreation Department as
superintendent of safety and aquatics before
retiring in 1999 and earning a place in
the St. Lucie County Sports Hall of Fame.
He continued to promote swimming and
water safety as an adjunct teacher at Indian
River State College with the arts and
sciences department and giving private
water safety lessons.
When McNeely was younger he practiced
transcendental meditation, and after
deciding to pick up where he had left
off, he became a Reiki master. Reiki is a
Japanese method of reducing stress and
enhancing relaxation through meditative
techniques that improve one’s life force
energy. He has given lectures on metaphysics,
offering metaphysical discussion
groups at his home and speaking at New
Age conferences.
Now he is moving into another phase,
“mainly music and environmental projects.”
A collector of synthesizers, he writes
and performs his own music with his
synthesizer-based creations.
McNeely was a musician with rock
bands when he was younger, but took a
more serious turn with his music between
2000 and 2010. He combined his spiritual
and creative talents with his group, Tran-
Zen, often performing at New Age gatherings
for his Crystal Center of Illumination
and other local events. He also provided
music for a recent presentation on space
for the Hallstrom Planetarium at IRSC.
>>
PHOTOS BY Ed Drondoski
Bill McNeely’s
1986 Corvette
could get hundreds
of miles on a
charge and also
provide power for
his home.