News Release
FOR RELEASE - September 18, 2019
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
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More than 30 port authorities winning awards this year in communications, environmental improvement and information technology, as well as graduates in the Port Professional Management (PPM®) program, will be recognized and honored on Oct. 16 during the 108th Annual Convention and Expo of the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) … the unified and recognized voice of seaports in the Americas.
AAPA’s Information Technology Awards program, which began in 2002, highlights port technology accomplishments in the areas of Port Operations and Management Systems and in Improvements in Intermodal Freight Transportation. This year’s IT Awards program winner in the Port Operations and Management Systems category goes to the Halifax Port Authority for its submission, Vessel Forecast Summary Application.
Since 1973, AAPA’s Environmental Improvement Awards program has recognized activities which benefit the environment at its member ports. This year’s awards program had winners in all four project entry categories: 1) Environmental Enhancement; 2) Mitigation; 3) Comprehensive Environmental Management; and 4) Stakeholder Education, Awareness and Involvement.
This year, AAPA’s Environment Committee agreed to modify the Environmental Improvement Awards program to provide more recognition opportunities. The changes have been adopted and this year AAPA is recognizing six ports with a total of nine awards for outstanding achievement.
The 2019 Environmental Improvement Awards’ Environmental Enhancement category winner is the Port of Seattle, receiving an Award of Excellence for its entry, Innovative Stormwater Operations and Treatment Techniques.
This year’s Mitigation category winners are: Port Houston, winning an Award of Excellence for its successful project, Bayport Berm: A Living Wall Connects Unlikely Neighbors; the Port of Seattle, championing an Award of Distinction for its project, Formation of PORTfolio Line of Business; and the Port of San Diego, earning an Award of Merit for its project, Mitigation of GHG Emissions and Criteria Pollutants while Increasing Operations at Tenth Avenue Marine Terminal.
The Port of Virginia receives an Award of Excellence in the Comprehensive Environmental Program category for its entry, Environmental Management System 14001: 2015, while The Northwest Seaport Alliance takes home an Award of Distinction in the same category for its NWSA Clean Truck Program entry, and the Port of San Diego gets an Award of Merit for its Environmental Innovation through Blue Economy Incubator Program entry.
In the Stakeholder Education, Awareness and Involvement category, the Port of San Diego wins an Award of Excellence for its entry, #ThatsMyBay Pollution Prevention Campaign, while the Maryland Port Administration earns an Award of Distinction for its Masonville Cove: A Decade of Dedication entry.
The three recipients of AAPA’s 2019 Overall Award of Communications Excellence trophies - the top awards in AAPA's 53-year-old Communications Awards Program – are: California’s Port of San Diego (Category 3); Louisiana’s Port of New Orleans (Category 2); and Wisconsin’s Port of Milwaukee (Category 1). Each of the three awardees represent a different category of port, based on the size of its public relations/advertising/marketing budget. In addition to the three trophy winners, another 30 ports will be recognized in a narrated PowerPoint presentation on Oct. 16 for earning awards of Excellence, Distinction and/or Merit in AAPA’s communications competition.
Immediately following the annual awards ceremony, graduates in AAPA’s PPM® Class of 2019 will receive their program certifications. This program enables candidates to earn an unparalleled industry credential designed to shape the future of port leadership and enhance port management professionalism.
“We appreciate every entrant and congratulate every winner in this year’s AAPA awards programs—Environmental Improvement, Information Technology, and Communications – for investing the time to prepare their entries, get peer review from the judges, share their work, and highlight best practices and lessons learned in their respective competitions,” said Kurt Nagle, AAPA president and CEO. “When port authorities work with their many stakeholders, including their communities, business leaders and policymakers, to develop projects like the ones entered into these competitions, they’re better able to demonstrate their tremendous value as drivers of economic development, environmental enhancement and job creation.”
He also congratulated the Class of 2019 AAPA/PPM® program graduates for the rigorous and meaningful work they undertook to earn their credential. “This unique certification,” he said, “offers candidates the opportunity to build an essential industry peer network, gain practical experience and strengthen their professional skills and abilities, while it offers ports an efficient and effective approach to educate and develop professionals on the intricacies of port management.”
More information about AAPA’s 108th Annual Convention and Expo, including its business program agenda, exhibitors and sponsors, is available at on the convention website.
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WHO: |
Hosted by The Port of Virginia for the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) |
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WHAT: |
AAPA’s 108th Annual Convention and Expo on Oct. 16 will feature a special awards program focusing on honoring winners in three of AAPA’s port industry awards competitions, as well as the PPM® Class of 2019 graduates. |
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WHEN: |
The convention runs Oct. 13-16, with open business sessions all day Oct. 15 and 16. The Québec Port Authority reception is slated from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 15. |
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WHERE: |
Hilton Norfolk The Main, 100 East Main Street, Norfolk, VA 23510 |
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MEDIA: |
Professional journalists representing bona-fide media outlets may request a code by emailing Aaron Ellis at aellis@aapa-ports.org or Joe Harris at jharris@portofvirginia.com to register online for complimentary access to the opening day harbor tour, the open business sessions (Oct. 15-16), the exhibition hall, and the closing reception beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 16. Journalists registering online should select the “Media” registration option after receiving their code. |
About The Port of Virginia
The Port of Virginia, headquartered in Norfolk, is comprised of four marine terminals, two intermodal container transfer facilities and a barge terminal. It has on-dock, double-stack rail served by two Class One rail lines, Norfolk Southern and CSX. The Port of Virginia is located within one day’s drive of two-thirds of the nation’s population and regularly serves vessels in excess of 14,000 TEUs. The port is mid-way through a $695 million expansion project that will increase annual container capacity by 40 percent by 2020. It has 50’ deep channels and recently received approval to deepen its channels to 55’ and widen to 1,300’.
About AAPA
Founded in 1912 and recognized as the unified voice of seaports in the Americas, AAPA today represents 130 of the leading seaport authorities in the United States, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean and more than 200 sustaining and associate members, firms and individuals with an interest in seaports. According to IHS Markit’s World Trade Service, combined international sea trade moving through Western Hemisphere ports in 2017 totaled 4.303 billion metric tons in volume and US$2.675 trillion in value. Of that total, ports in Central and South America handled 1.741 billion metric tons of cargo valued at US$1.024 trillion, while North American ports handled 1.90 billion metric tons of goods, valued at US$2.305 trillion. To meet the growing demand for trade, the AAPA and its members are committed to keeping seaports navigable, secure and sustainable. For more information, visit www.aapa-ports.org. On Twitter: http://twitter.com/AAPA_Seaports
