Letter from the President, June 4, 2018

As my term as president is coming to a close in a couple of weeks, I wanted to thank you for your membership, and, thank our Corporate Members for your generosity and support.Our club has enjoyed many successes this year, and I’ll review a few in this message, so I can spend my time at Change of Command noting the contributions of our members. It’s going to be a special evening, and I hope you can join us on June 14 at River City Brewing Company. Tickets are on sale through the week.This year, the club completed funding of an endowed scholarship in transportation and logistics at the University of North Florida (UNF), 10 months ahead of schedule. The returns from those invested funds will generate a scholarship each year for students in the UNF Transportation and Logistics Flagship Program. This achievement is the result of five years of commitment by club leaders and our Corporate Members. In addition, our club has continued to invest this year in the annual scholarship – a separate program at UNF – and you’ll be able to meet one of our recent Propeller Club scholars at Change of Command.Our club is finalizing steps to initiate a new Student Port at Keiser University Jacksonville Campus. KU’s Transportation and Logistics program serves a unique niche with their port curriculum, partnership with USO Jax to serve the military, and APICS certifications. There are only about two dozen Student Ports around the world, and this new Student Port will be Jacksonville’s second. I’m aware of one other Propeller Club who sponsors two Student Ports, so our club in Jacksonville is joining an elite group with this new addition.This year our club’s Board of Governors passed three resolutions: one to support Jacksonville Harbor Deepening, one to support the Jones Act, and one to support the PORTS system of sensors in the St. Johns River. Adopting these formal statements shows the community where we stand on important maritime issues.This past year I helped forge a partnership between six organizations, including our Propeller Club and:

• Conference of Minority Transportation Officials, COMTO
• Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals, CSCMP 
• JAX Chamber Transportation & Logistics Council
• Transportation Club of Jacksonville, TCJAX  
• Women’s Transportation Seminar, WTS Northeast Florida Chapter 

Our working group, known as the Transportation and Logistics Network or TALON, held an event in April – a sold out business summit – and signed an historic Memorandum of Understanding. I’m looking forward to seeing this partnership grow in the years ahead with input from future club leaders.Lastly, we launched a campaign this spring to support the American Merchant Marine and the Jones Act, working in accordance with our club’s mission statement and building on the resolution that our Board had passed. The overall result was an increase in awareness of the U.S. Merchant Marine and the Jones Act, measured by an increase in website traffic during the campaign period, including visits to our new web page about the Jones Act, as well as increases in engagement with our campaign content on social media. This is the first time that our club has engaged in an integrated campaign, and we are making progress advancing the issues that are important to our maritime partners.It has been an honor to serve as club president. In the months and years ahead, you have a strong leadership team ready to work on your behalf, and I’m very excited about the club’s future.Sincerely,Jeff PricePresident, 2017-2018Propeller Club of Jacksonville

Natural Gas for High Horsepower Summit to address LNG in Jacksonville

Jacksonville has emerged as the epicenter of natural gas projects, and the High Horsepower (HHP) Summit - to be held in Jacksonville Nov. 6 - 9, 2017 - will bring together industry leaders from the marine, mining, rail, E&P and power gen sectors to discuss these energy projects and more.Early registration is now open - click here to save $400 by registering before Aug. 4, 2017. The agenda will be packed with end-user case studies, off-site tours, networking, and discussion including:

• TOTE Continues to Operate the World’s First LNG-Powered Container Ships: Two LNG-powered ships are in weekly service between Jacksonville and Puerto Rico.
• Pivotal LNG’s Innovative ISO Bunkering System for TOTE: Simplicity and sophistication on display here with this on-dock LNG bunkering strategy.
• JAX LNG Is Constructing North America’s First Small-Scale Coastal LNG Facility: This JV project between Pivotal LNG and NorthStar Midstream is expected in-service Q4 2017.
• TOTE Will Deploy North America’s First LNG Bunker Barge: The completed barge will be ready in 2017 and will be on display at the event.
• Crowley Is Deploying Its First LNG Vessels: The ConRo ships, scheduled for deployment in 2017, will also operate in a weekly service to Puerto Rico.
• Crowley On-Dock LNG Storage and Bunkering: Crowley’s ConRo ships will be fueled directly from an on-dock fuel storage an bunkering station.
• Eagle LNG Is Building Two LNG Production Plants: Opening in 2017 and 2019, these plants will serve local HHP markets and the export market respectively.
• Florida East Coast Railroad Is Converting to LNG: With DOT FRA approvals in place, LNG locomotive and tender car deployments are underway.
• UPS LNG Fleet and Refueling Station: Part of a national natural gas fleet, UPS one of the largest LNG fleets and fueling stations in the world in Jacksonville.

Propeller Club honors Lynn Brown with Club Member of the Year award

At the Propeller Club's recent Change of Command ceremony, 2016-2017 President Tammy Emerson honored Lynn Brown, Associate Director of UNF's Transportation & Logistics Program, as Club Member of the Year.Our club is fortunate to have many active and talented members who are passionate about the maritime industry. Certainly one of the most outstanding of those is our Member of the Year, Lynn Brown. Lynn is the Associate Director of the University of North Florida (UNF) Coggin College of Business Transportation & Logistics Flagship Program. Lynn has been a member of the Propeller Club Port of Jacksonville for 18 years. She works tirelessly on behalf of our very active Propeller Club Student Port at the UNF.The Transportation & Logistics Program in the Coggin College of Business is one of the nation’s best business schools, as ranked by The Princeton Review in 2017, which was the 10th consecutive year the school has earned this recognition. It was selected by UNF as one of its Flagship Programs and this is a testament to the quality of the faculty and administrators like Lynn. She is herself a graduate of the UNF Transportation & Logistics Program and was a member and President of the UNF Propeller Club Student Port. Now, as the Associate Director of UNF’s Transportation & Logistics Program, she personally provides leadership in the role of Faculty Advisor to the UNF Propeller Club Student Port.A dynamic and enthusiastic advocate for her students, she knows them all by name, knows many of their families, their GPAs, ambitions and career goals. Lynn is a mentor to many of these students. Where their interests lead them toward a career in the maritime industry, she helps them to gain knowledge of marine transportation businesses, to develop relationships through her numerous associates in the industry, and find internship and employment opportunities. Our maritime community as well as her students benefit greatly from this fine educator and spokesperson.The UNF Propeller Club Student Port, because of Lynn’s dedication and with generous support from the Jacksonville Club and its member companies, enjoys a variety of events and experiences throughout the academic year. These include a networking event with students and club members and volunteer and networking opportunities at club events including CEO Spotlight event, State of the Port, US Coast Guard & Customs and Border Protection Appreciation, and Maritime Day. Over the past 15 years, the Propeller Club has decorated the Hubbard House Women’s Shelter in the spirit of the holiday season. This project had a modest beginning, but because of Lynn’s efforts and the UNF Student Port, it has grown dramatically, with the students making personal donations and raising donations throughout the school year of thousands of dollars in donations, through bake sales and a fun run.The premier Student Port event is our annual Port Tour for UNF Propeller Club students. Lynn has always called it “Big Sea Day” and now it is not known by any other name. Always on a Friday (not a big day for classes at college), it is the busiest day of the week for our port with the greatest amount of activity and number of ships completing their cargo operations in order to get underway before the weekend. In the midst of all this carefully choreographed activity, our maritime companies make time to give the Propeller Club students a close-up and personal look at the real world of marine transportation. We have been given the use of ocean going tugs and U.S. Coast Guard Cutters as our private transportation around the port, been served lunch aboard ship, watched cargo operations with the ship’s Captain from the wing of the bridge, stood on the Ro-Ro deck with hustlers charging all around us, witnessed the activity at the interchange gate, seen how the cargo stowage is planned, visited an auto processing facility and a fully automated container terminal. During the last two Big Sea Day events, our students have witnessed maritime history with a guided tour of the world’s first two LNG fueled container ships. Big Sea Day is a truly amazing experience and is never forgotten by the participants. Thank you, Lynn (and everyone in the Jacksonville maritime community) for inventing Big Sea Day.Lynn Brown is a great friend of the club and an inspiration. She recruits many of the best and brightest young people from the UNF T&L program to join our beloved maritime industry. Exemplifying what a fully engaged member can accomplish in support of the mission of the Propeller Club of the United States, Lynn Brown is a deserving recipient of recognition as the Propeller Club of the United States – Port of Jacksonville, Club Member of the Year 2016/2017.

Propeller Club names Jim McLaughlin as Robert J. "Bobby" Coppedge Maritime Person of the Year

The Propeller Club of the United States - Port of Jacksonville has selected Jim McLaughlin as its Robert J. “Bobby” Coppedge Maritime Person of the Year for 2016/2017. The club announced the award at its recent Maritime Day event. Jim's leadership as both Executive Director of the Jacksonville Marine Transportation Exchange (JMTX) and Executive Director of Jacksonville Spillage Control, as well as his tireless service to the maritime community, has made impactful, positive and lasting contributions to Jacksonville's port.JMTX brings industry stakeholders together and provides a stable coordinating structure for port-wide planning, coordination and infrastructure recommendations. JMTX serves as an information clearinghouse for port critical information, provides a forum for harbor issues and serves as an advocate to local, regional and national agencies. In addition, JMTX has played a major role in coordinating security issues including assessments, intelligence sharing and compliance with security requirements.When Hurricane Matthew threatened Northeast Florida in Fall 2016, JMTX kept port stakeholders informed, disseminating MSIBs from US Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville via the JMTX email list. Jim worked throughout the incident to keep the port community informed of the storm's impacts to port business.Under his leadership, JMTX secured funding and launched a new information system called PORTS, short for Physical Oceanographic Real-Time System (PORTS). This system provides real-time information on water levels, currents, meteorological conditions, and under-bridge clearance, giving users critical information when traveling through the river.From 2010 to 2015, Jim served as NOAA's Northern Atlantic Right Whale Industry Liaison for its Southeast Implementation Team (SEIT). With as a few as 400 Right Whales remaining, NOAA Fisheries is dedicated to the conservation and recovery of the species. With the roll-out of NOAA's speed rule, Jim served as the conduit to vessel operators and ship crews here in the Southeast, providing valuable recovery effort information to mariners and crew feedback to NOAA. During Jim's tenure, compliance to the 10 knot speed rule and use of mandatory shipping lanes reached 90 percent.With the advent of LNG as a marine fuel in Jacksonville’s port, Jim recognized a glaring need for the training of emergency responders to any possible LNG incident. He spearheaded an effort and partnered with the Fire Academy at the Florida State College of Jacksonville to build a program and facility to provide that essential training here in the Port, as well as to the many Fire Departments throughout the Southeast.The Jacksonville Spillage Control is an oil spill cooperative, formed in 1973 to respond to incidents in Jacksonville's harbor. Recently Jim has spearheaded efforts to modernize the equipment of the JSC, so the co-op can respond can clean spills comprehensively and efficiently.Jim has also served on the Board of the Propeller Club, where he contributes his operational insight to help the club find solutions to challenging issues. In addition, in his role as Treasurer during 2016/2017, Jim examined club operations, drafted a forward-looking budget for the club's new fiscal year 2017-2018, and worked with our Executive Secretary to ensure the club's sound fiscal standing, now and in the years ahead.Jim is a 21-year-veteran of the United States Coast Guard, retiring in 2010 as Commander. He graduated from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in 1987, and has served all over the globe, including Africa, Europe, Australia, and the Middle East.The Propeller Club of Jacksonville is honored to award Jim McLaughlin as its Robert J. “Bobby” Coppedge Maritime Person of the Year for 2016/2017.

Join us at Change of Command on June 15

At this year’s event, we’ll welcome incoming President Jeff Price, Jacksonville Port Authority (JAXPORT), and honor outgoing President Tammy Emerson, W&O Supply. Enjoy networking, awards presentations honoring the 2017 Club Member of the Year and Student Port Member of the Year, as well as dinner and dessert served alongside an amazing view of downtown at River City Brewing Company.Click here to reserve your tickets today!