Facebook Twitter Twitter    Archive | www.aapa-ports.org April 1, 2014
   

Stellar Topics, Presenters Make 2014 Spring Conference Big Hit

Print Print this Article | Send to Colleague

Generating raucous cheers from the audience on the second day of its March 24-25 Spring Conference event in Washington, D.C., AAPA’s joint "Port Person of the Year" award recipients – U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA) – spoke enthusiastically about their bipartisan effort to champion a water resources bill through each of their respective chambers of Congress this fiscal year. However, both declined to accept their award until the bill is finally approved in conference ... an event which they anticipated to be "soon."


U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster, R-PA


U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-CA

Also of keen interest to the international audience of about 190 attendees were remarks on Monday by U.S. Department of Transportation Acting Deputy Sec. Victor Mendez focusing on MAP-21 reauthorization, and political advisers and strategists Ed Goeas (The Tarrance Group) and Celinda Lake (Lake Research Partners) about issues driving the upcoming 2014 elections. Tuesday’s keynote address by Canada’s Minister of Transport Lisa Raitt focused on Canadian transportation policy, while Major Gen. John Peabody did a deep dive into the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers civil works projects, including navigation channel dredging. Also on Tuesday, luncheon speaker Fred Hochberg, chairman and president of the U.S. Export-Import Bank, drove home the importance of increasing America’s exports.


The Spring Conference was attended by representatives of ports in Canada, the Caribbean, Latin America and the United States.

In addition to these and a host of other engaging presenters, the Spring Conference registrants also discussed cruise, container and non-container trade issues; the challenges of managing cybersecurity and alternative energy cargoes, fuels and facilities at their ports; and factors affecting logistics strategies and port selection by port customers in a presentation by Expeditors’ Global Ocean Services Vice President Scott Kelly.

"Overall, we received highly favorable feedback from our members regarding both the range of hot-button topics discussed during the business sessions, as well as the roundtable forums during the members-only portion of the conference," said AAPA President Kurt Nagle. "We were pleased to have strong Canadian and Latin American participation at the conference, which reflects our efforts to provide a varied mix of programming for our diverse, hemispheric membership."

 

Share Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn