News Release
FOR RELEASE - November 5, 2014
Contact: Aaron Ellis, Public Affairs Director, aellis@aapa-ports.org
(703) 684-5700
American Association of Port Authorities
Phone: (202) 792-4033
www.aapa-ports.org
U.S. Vice President Joseph (“Joe”) R. Biden, Jr. will deliver the keynote address on Wed., Nov. 12, at the American Association of Port Authority’s (AAPA) 103rd Annual Convention and Expo in Houston, hosted by the Port of Houston Authority.
Vice President Biden is a strong proponent of America’s ports, as evidenced by recent visits to ports in Philadelphia, Norfolk, Savannah, Charleston, Granite City, Ill. (America’s Central Port), Baltimore, and, within the past year, Houston. During his return visit to Houston to address AAPA’s annual convention, he will discuss the need for continued infrastructure investments in ports and his remarks will be live-streamed to www.whitehouse.gov.
Additionally, AAPA’s convention will feature speakers from major shipping lines such as Hapag-Lloyd and Maersk, as well as beneficial cargo owners from companies like International Paper and Dollar General.
Convention attendees will also be treated to a host of stimulating sessions on cutting-edge industry issues such as port productivity and energy projects. In one session, for example, industry experts will address strategic methods that ports are employing to increase efficiency and productivity at both container and non-container terminals. In another session, speakers from ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and Jefferson Energy Companies will discuss how new energy sources, along with demands for different types of energy, are creating cargo opportunities for ports, affecting fuel choices, and significantly altering the way ports do business.
During the convention's Nov. 12 luncheon, participants in the association’s Professional Port Management (PPM®) program will receive their graduation certificates, bringing to 100 the total number of graduates since the program began in 1995. This will be the first class to graduate under new, more rigorous PPM® admittance and completion requirements implemented in 2010. The PPM® program was conceived as a way to further the association’s goals to enhance port management professionalism by assisting port authorities, maritime organization and agencies in hiring and promoting qualified professionals.
More information about AAPA’s 103rd Annual Convention and Expo, including its business program agenda, exhibitors and sponsors, is available at http://www.aapahouston.com.
| WHO: |
American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) and the Port of Houston Authority |
| WHAT: | AAPA’s 103rd Annual Convention and Expo, featuring keynote address by U.S. Vice President Joe Biden |
| WHEN: |
Nov. 9-13, with Vice President Biden speaking on Wed., Nov. 12, at 11:45 a.m.* (click here for complete program agenda) |
| WHERE: |
Hyatt Regency Houston, 1200 Louisiana Street, Houston, TX 77002 |
| MEDIA: | Professional journalists representing bona-fide media outlets may register for complimentary access to open business sessions (Nov. 11-13) by clicking here and registering as Media under “Registration Type.” A business card will be requested at registration for verification. *Additional logistical details for media interested in covering the Vice President’s remarks are forthcoming. |
About the Port of Houston Authority
For nearly 100 years, the Port of Houston Authority has owned/operated the public cargo-handling facilities of the Port of Houston – the nation’s largest port in terms of foreign waterborne tonnage. The port has historically been an economic engine for the Houston region, the state of Texas and the nation. The port contributes to the creation of more than 1 million statewide and more than 2.1 million nationwide jobs and the generation of more than $178.5 billion of statewide and $499 billion of nationwide economic activity.
Port Name: American Association of Port Authorities
