Port People: Nanaimo, Philadelphia

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Jeet Manhas and Richard Ringma were recently elected chair and vice chair, respectively, of the board of directors of the Nanaimo Port Authority. The Philadelphia Regional Port Authority dedicated an executive conference room in honor of retired Director of Governmental & Public Affairs William B. McLaughlin III.

Nanaimo Port Authority Board Elects Chair, Vice Chair for 2014-16

Jeet Manhas and Richard Ringma were recently elected to two-year terms as chair and vice chair, respectively, of the board of directors of the Nanaimo Port Authority.

Mr. Manhas, a Nanaimo businessman and former Nanaimo city councilor, has served as the British Colombia provincial appointee to the port authority board since 2010. He also a former director of the Regional District of Nanaimo, a past president of the Oceanside Rotary Club, and sits on the board of the Vancouver Island University Foundation. As chair, he succeeds Bob Bennie.

Mr. Ringma, who represents the Domestic Coastal User Group on the port authority board, is president of Ringma Resource Management Ltd. and a former director of marketing and distribution for Island Timberlands.

The seven-member board includes one representative each of the federal, provincial and municipal governments and four representing port users. Members serve three-year terms and are eligible for reappointment to no more than two consecutive terms.

  
Chairman Jeet Manhas (left) and Richard Ringma of the Nanaimo Port Authority.
Photo/Nanaimo Port Authority

Philadelphia Regional Port Authority Honors Bill Mclaughlin

Employees of the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority had the opportunity to say hello to an old friend not long ago, when former Director of Governmental & Public Affairs William B. McLaughlin III emerged from retirement to visit the port’s headquarters for the dedication of an executive conference room in his honor.

"The McLaughlin Room," as it came to be known in the months prior to its official dedication on Tuesday, July 8, is located near the offices of the executive director and senior deputy executive director, and is frequently used by those individuals, as well as other port staff, for meetings and conference calls.

"To differentiate that room from our other conference rooms, I started calling it the McLaughlin Room soon after it was constructed, in deference to our old friend Bill McLaughlin, who retired in 2011 and is still missed," said PRPA Senior Deputy Executive Director Robert C. Blackburn. "Happily, the name caught on, so we decided to make it official."

Though Bill McLaughlin has kept in contact with his former colleagues since retiring, he had previously shied away from the limelight and declined any official recognition of his years of service, so it was a happy surprise when Bill agreed to take part in the dedication of his conference room on July 8.

The ceremony was presided over by PRPA Executive Director James T. McDermott, Jr., and witnessed by about 25 members of PRPA’s administrative staff. PRPA Board Member and ILA 1291 President Boise Butler also attended, as did Bill’s wife, Katherine Sokoloff.

William B. McLaughlin III was born in Philadelphia and grew up in neighboring Delaware County. After earning a BA degree from St. Bernard College, he taught in the public school systems of Camden (NJ) and West Chester (PA). In 1971, he was appointed special assistant to Pennsylvania Governor Milton J. Shapp and in 1974 was named legislative secretary to the Governor, the youngest person to ever hold that position. In 1978, he was appointed senior budget analyst for the State Senate Appropriations Committee.

In 1981, he was named deputy city representative in the administration of Philadelphia Mayor William J. Green, in which capacity he represented the city at various public and civic events. In 1986, he was appointed Director of Corporate Communications for the Philadelphia Port Corporation and in 1989 was named director of communications, and public affairs for its successor agency, the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority. With a departmental re-organization in 2000, Mr. McLaughlin was totally focused on his career specialties as the agency’s director of governmental and public affairs. During his years with the port, he was an active participant in AAPA affairs.

Bill McLaughlin in front of the conference room dedicated to him.
Photo/Philadelphia Regional Port Authority