Organized by the North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA) and the North American Maritime Ministry Association (NAMMA), World Maritime Day Observance will be held in on October 23th at the Union League Club. This event will be the third World Maritime Day Observance held in the United States, which will be hosting the parallel World Maritime Day event in 2009. This year’s theme is “IMO: 60 years in the service of shipping”, which follows previous years’ focus on environmental issues. NAMEPA joins the North American Maritime Ministry Association in hosting the event which commences with a worship service at Church of our Saviour on , followed by a luncheon presentation of NAMMA’s annual Seafarer Salute and Joe Gerson Humanitarian Awards at the Union League Club.