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Best Practices, Partnering Highlighted at AAPA Convention

Maritime Activity Reports, Inc.

September 29, 2004

The American Association of Port Authorities' (AAPA) new SHARE initiative prevails in full force this week at AAPA's 93rd annual convention, where partnering and sharing of best practices are taking center stage at the Long Beach, California, event. Seaports of the Hemisphere Allied in Relationships for Excellence - better known as SHARE - professes knowledge sharing and collaborative approaches as the port industry's best formula for successfully meeting industry challenges. In the SHARE spirit, the second round of the Environmental Management System (EMS) Assistance Project was opened this week. Nine ports participating in the successful first round reported immediate benefits, from increased communication across all levels of their organizations to involvement and enthusiasm demonstrated by employees not traditionally associated with environmental matters. A joint project of AAPA, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Global Environment and Technology Foundations (GETF), EMS provides participants assistance through multi-day workshops, on-site visits, technical assistance calls, and sample EMS documentation and other written materials. Signifying a commitment to partnering for mutual benefit, the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) today marked the beginning of a new era of enhanced cooperation between AAPA and the Organization of American States (OAS). The leadership of the two organizations signed the document to strengthen the longstanding relationship between AAPA and OAS and provide a framework to pursue projects of mutual interest. This updated a letter of agreement originally signed in 1957. The spotlight also shone today on best industry practices as thirty ports throughout the Western Hemisphere were recognized for exemplary projects and initiatives at the annual Awards Luncheon. Winners were announced and honored in the association's international Communications, Information Technology, Environmental Improvement and Facilities Engineering Competitions. Honors and recognition were bestowed at the ceremony upon the Georgia Ports Authority, winner of this year's Information Technology Award; the Maryland Port Administration, Port Manatee, the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Portland, winners of the Environmental Improvement Awards; the Port of Long Beach and the Port of New Orleans, winners of the second annual Facilities Engineering Awards; and 26 ports winning in the 38th annual Communications Competition. The Port of Long Beach, which earned Awards of Excellence in the Advertising Series, Annual Report and Newsletter categories and Awards of Merit in Overall Campaign and Special Events, was bestowed the Communications Competition's top honor, the Dan Maynard Communications Award for Overall Excellence. The annual Award of Overall Excellence was renamed by AAPA's Public Relations Committee this year after Dan Maynard, the committee's former colleague and communications director for the Port of New York & New Jersey.

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