AAPA Installs 2019-20 Officers

Gary G. Nelson, executive director for the Port of Grays Harbor, Aberdeen, WA, was officially installed for a one year term as the 2019-20 chairman of the board for the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) on October 16.

Nelson succeeds William D. Friedman, president and chief executive officer for the Port of Cleveland, who began his one-year term in October 2018.

Chris Connor, AAPA’s president and CEO, said: “As AAPA’s chairman for the 2019-20 activity year, Gary Nelson brings a unique and valuable perspective to the role. Gary is a seasoned port leader with an excellent management background in the private sector and proven abilities in the international trade arena. I’m excited to work with Gary in this next chapter of the association as we demonstrate to the public and policymakers the enormous economic impact of the port industry throughout the Western Hemisphere.”

Nelson said: “Trade, transportation and infrastructure unite our industry and the communities we serve. I look forward to working with AAPA’s membership and staff to bring awareness to our vital industry and help advance the important issues we face today.”

All 2019-20 delegation officers and board of directors members have now taken office. As AAPA’s board chairman, Nelson also serves as the association’s U.S. delegation chair, whose other officers include: Vice Chairman Richard Hendrick, Port of Albany (NY), and Immediate Past Chair William Friedman, Port of Cleveland (OH).

The Canadian delegation officers are: Chairman Sean Hanrahan, St. John's Port Authority (NL), Chair Elect Carl Laberge, Saguenay Port Authority (QC) and Vice Chairman Jim Quinn, Saint John Port Authority (NB).

The Caribbean delegation officers are: Chairman Delton Jones, Turks and Caicos Islands Ports Authority, Chair Elect Jane Brome, Barbados Port, Inc. and Vice Chair Orlando Forbes, Freeport Harbour Company (Bahamas).

Officers of the Latin American delegation are: Chairman Francisco Javier González Silva, Empresa Portuaria San Antonio (Chile), Chair Elect Ángel Elias, Ente Administrador Puerto Rosario (ENAPRO; Argentina) and Vice Chairman Sra. Alicia Concepción Ricalde Magaña, Administración Portuaria Integral de Quintana Roo (Mexico).

The AAPA has also presented Port Professional Manager certificates to eight graduates of the program:

• Patrick Bohan, director of supply chain solutions for the Halifax Port Authority (Halifax, NS, Canada);

• Diahann C. Howard, interim executive director for the Port of Benton (Richland, WA);

• Carl Laberge, general manager and CEO of the Saguenay Port Authority (La Baie, QC, Canada);

• Sonya Lopez-Sosa, chief of program management, Port Corpus Christi (Corpus Christi, TX);

• David Morrison, director of financial planning and treasury for the Northwest Seaport Alliance (Tacoma, WA);

• Peter Simons, supervisory transport specialist in the Office of Port Infrastructure Development for the U.S. Maritime Administration (Washington, DC);

• Nicholas Vandenheiligenberg, senior trade analyst, business development for Port Everglades (Ft. Lauderdale, FL);

• Cathie Vick, chief public affairs officer for The Port of Virginia; and

• Frederick Wong, Jr., chief operating officer for the Jacksonville Port Authority, or JAXPORT (Jacksonville, FL).

Clean Truck Program

In other AAPA news, the Northwest Seaport Alliance (NWSA) received the AAPA 2019 Environmental Improvement Award for its Clean Truck Program. Targeted to reduce air pollution in the Puget Sound region, the program earned the Award of Distinction in the comprehensive environmental management category for successfully implementing a voluntary clean trucks initiative.

As of January 1, 2019, the Clean Truck Program requires all trucks serving the NWSA international container terminals to have a 2007 or newer engine or certified equivalent emissions control system. With newer engines emitting 90 percent less diesel particulate matter (DPM), the program has reduced the pollutant load on our neighboring communities by 33.4 tons of DPM per year. 

The NWSA Clean Truck Program was one of the initiatives developed through the groundbreaking Northwest Ports Clean Air Strategy (NWPCAS). In 2008, the ports of Seattle, Tacoma and Vancouver, British Columbia, collectively set a goal to implement clean truck standards by January 2018.

Acknowledging only 53 percent of trucks were compliant for the original January 1, 2018 deadline, the NWSA Managing Members voted to extend the deadline through December 2018 to give drivers more time to prepare. Throughout the year, the NWSA partnered with lawmakers and various agencies like the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington State Department of Ecology, African Chamber of Commerce of the Pacific Northwest, City of Seattle, and Washington Trucking Association to offer financial and training resources.

Since 1973, AAPA’s Environmental Improvement Awards has recognized activities that benefit the environment at its ports in four categories: environmental enhancement, mitigation, stakeholder awareness, education & involvement and comprehensive environmental management.

The awards competition evaluated the ports using six criteria: environmental benefits, port involvement, creativity, results, cost effectiveness and concept transferability.