Captain's Corner
Captain Bill Diehl, USCG (Ret.), President, GHPB
The Cat Was Right
Alice asked the Cat: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here? The Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to. Alice: I don't much care where. The Cat: Then it doesn't much matter which way you go. Alice: …so long as I get somewhere. The Cat: Oh, you're sure to do that, if only you walk long enough. The Cat was right; either you know where you are going or it doesn’t really matter what you are doing. A very high priority of our Port Bureau Executive Board this year is to establish their goals for the year early. The Port Bureau is more than a nonprofit organization of 120 companies that provides information, communications and services to members at membership rates. It is a maritime business club that works for prosperity. The Executive Board wants the whole membership engaged on the discussion of priorities and the plan to achieve them. Participation by our members is key to developing our plan and executing it once it is in place. The staff here at the Port Bureau can provide you with vessel traffic information, maritime advice, and networking opportunities, but the members together can bond to shape the future of the port. If you think of our membership clout as an engine, then the gas for the engine is the members’ enthusiasm and participation. The Executive Board is aiming to harness this participation for the larger issues of port business development. Recently, the Port Bureau was approached by the Greater Houston Partnership (GHP) and asked to head up the Port Task Force for the 10-County Region the GHP covers. This is a great platform for us to expand our vision beyond the horizon of the next few years. It will force us to articulate to the larger community what needs to be done next to keep our regional Ports world-class places to do business. International trade accounts for more than 30% of the United States economy. 95% of international goods that enter this country come through one of our nation’s maritime ports. There are enormous economic consequences if we take Alice’s approach of just drifting towards our future. Instead, we need to work together to step out boldly and influence the future to our benefit. The Executive Board is considering several important issues to discuss: dredging, intermodal transportation, and environmental challenges (all subjects that we are discussing at our monthly Commerce Club Luncheon). Please drop me a line at bdiehl@txgulf.org or call (713) 678-4300 if you have some Cat-like advice for the Executive Board or the GHP Port Task Force. Best, Bill
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