This has been an interesting first two days of the week. On Monday, June 21st, I attended the graduation of a cousin of mine from the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, NY.
Kings Point cranks out experienced young people with more sea time than any other Maritime academy including Annapolis. It was my first time to KP. What an impressive place. With a motto of "Acta non Verba" (Action, Not Words), The USMMA trains young people who are ready for the operational end of our industry.
The graduating class of 2009 was composed of only about 150 graduates. However among them were an impressive number of young women. In fact the valedictorian of the class as well as the class president were both female, one of which was matriculating with a degree in intermodal logistics. It's not unusual to find that the senior management of shipping companies, terminal operators and related firms all have Kings Point grads at or near the top.
My cousin will go directly to a destroyer based in Yokosuka, Japan for active duty with the Navy. Given the crazies in North Korea, I worry our young man will be in Harms Way, sooner rather than later.
Kings Point is a small school, but they usually draw important visitors. The kids graduating Monday received commissions from the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Coast Guard. In almost every case, there was a flag or general officer present to commission the new ensigns and lieutenants. The graduation keynote speaker was US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. LaHood is a career politician and Obama appointee new to his job. As a result his comments were brief. However, he did report that the 2010 federal budget would contain approximately 12 million dollars for KP to maintain and renovate facilities. With that being the extent of his salient comments, I'm not sure what that means for our transportation department!
Flying back to Atlanta from New York wasn't without tribulation. Having spent 20 minutes in a holding pattern over Greenville SC, the rocket scientists at Air Traffic Control diverted our Delta MD-88 to Birmingham for fuel. We sat there for an hour, before being vectored back to the ATL. Total flight time from NY to ATL: 8 Hours. That one made me wish our Secretary of Transportation could be aboard. No such luck. Guys at his level fly in private jets!
Eyefortransport 3PL Summit, Atlanta Georgia
On Tuesday, I attended the Eyefortransport 3PL Summit here in Atlanta. I'm on the board of the American Society of Transportation & Logistics, so I was asked if I would attend if given a free ticket. I've attended various eyefortransport events over the years including events in Hong Kong and Amsterdam. They are usually well attended by important folks on both the 3PL and customer sides of the fence. Not so much this year. Only about 145 people attended. I suppose this is a result of the tight travel and entertainment budgets most firms have in place today. Nobody has the extra cash to attend a business conference. That would have been the case with me, but I live in Atlanta and the ticket was free!
On the whole the conference was valuable, with keynote speakers from Maersk Logistics (soon to be Damco), MeadWestVaco and other firms, subjects like compliance and risk management were discussed and presented. These conferences are about people however. It takes a quorum of industry professionals sharing their knowledge that keeps these things interesting and valuable. In this regard I think EFT missed the mark this year. For the most part I think that's not their fault. In case you haven't noticed...the economy sucks.
In Obamaland All You Need Is The Willing Suspension Of Disbelief
Some people are just pathologically honest. Check out the blog article written by my friend Mike Regan of Tranzact Technologies. Mike calls em like he sees em. I typically agree with his positions. Check out his excellent article today at Logistics Managements web site. Mike is a Chicagoan and highly familiar with the ways of our President. Given that our SecTrans is also a Illinois career politician, some comments apply to Ray LaHood as well.
Eric
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