From the Captain's Chair: War of Will
MIASF’s Annual Dinner Meeting and Awards Ceremony held this month was a tremendous success and quite frankly, a lot of fun! Guests were attired in the true spirit of the event’s Derby theme and enjoyed a Preakness Stakes Viewing Party with Black-Eyed Susan signature cocktails and passed hors d’oeuvres before entering the ballroom for the dinner, program, and entertainment.
Congratulations to MIASF’s new Board of Directors and Executive Officers, who were announced by outgoing chairman, David Reed, who also introduced a special “Year in Review” video highlighting our year-long calendar of events and activities. We also released the 2018-2019 Annual Report, which is available in print form or online.
The annual awards ceremony is an important part of our end-of-year celebration and acknowledges the respect and gratitude we have for the many industry and community leaders who positively impact our industry and community. With five categories and 15 honorees, we thanked outstanding community partners, elected officials, new projects, and stalwarts of the South Florida marine industry.
I was proud to participate with several others in a special video tribute to Frank and Gertrude Denison, who, as pioneers of the South Florida marine industry through their ownership and stewardship of Broward Marine, helped influence the extensive concentration of marine businesses that exist in Broward County to this day.
Looking ahead, I am delighted that James Maitland has joined the MIASF team as vice president and will be supporting the association’s current initiatives and advancing its positive impact on the marine industry and the community. Please be sure to congratulate James when you see him.
With the imminent launch of JoBarto, the new job board designed to amplify marine industry jobs and career paths using Salty Jobs branding, we anticipate the start of a national central depository for marine-related employees and employers to utilize going forward. Increased awareness and scrutiny, as well as funding for a study by the Florida Department of Transportation, will help move the infrastructure dialogue to the next level as we continue to identify a solution to increased passenger rail on the FEC Railroad bridge across the New River. And, we can anticipate a new look for FLIBS as SYBASS moves to the Superyacht Village and Pier Sixty-Six South gets activated.
I hope everyone enjoyed family and friends over the long Memorial Day weekend and took a moment to reflect on those members of our military forces who lost their life in defense of our freedom and liberty.
Phil Purcell
CEO/President, Marine Industries Association of South Florida