New Orleans is known worldwide as a culturally rich mecca for food, music and joie de vivre. In fact, Travel + Leisure magazine recently ranked the Crescent City as the No. 2 city to visit in the United States and No. 7 in the world, describing it as “A city that has been marinating in its own traditions for centuries.”
While tourists love visiting New Orleans – and we enjoy playing host – the Port of New Orleans also works hard to remain atop the world’s greatest seaports.
I want to welcome all of our visitors from throughout the hemisphere as the Port hosts for the seventh time the American Association of Port Authorities Annual Conference. I always enjoy meeting new industry professionals and seeing colleagues we have worked closely with through the years.
During the Conference we tackle today’s top challenges regarding international trade, environmental policy and the shifting political landscape. I also hope everyone pledges to remain involved in the AAPA because our voice rings clearer and louder when we work together as an industry.
At the Port of New Orleans we are diligently planning for the future as we are in the midst of preparing a new long-term strategic master plan. This document will guide investment and smart development, while shaping the Port’s future. While the Port continues to grow in all aspects of its business portfolio, we understand global markets, shipping alliances and customer demands are ever changing, and we must remain ahead of the curve.
We look forward to sharing our vision with the maritime community and all of our stakeholders early in 2017.
For now, I want to thank all of our friends for attending the 2016 AAPA Annual Conference and hope everyone takes a little of our joie de vivre back home.
Best,
Gary P. LaGrange, PPM
President and CEO
