MEDIA ADVISORY, Nov. 12, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) --
WHEN: Monday, November 15, 2004
3 p.m.
WHERE: PHA M/V Sam Houston Visitors Pavilion
7300 Clinton Drive
Directions: Leave East Loop 610 at Clinton Drive
(exit No. 28). Proceed west (right) on Clinton, pass McCarty
to Gate 8. Enter Gate 8 and stay to the right. Security
Guard and signs will direct you to the pavilion.
WHO: Chairman Jim Edmonds and the PHA commissioners, PHA
Executive Director Tom Kornegay, U.S. Congressman Gene
Green, Harris County Judge Robert Eckels, Harris County
Commissioner Sylvia Garcia, City of Houston Mayor Pro Tem
Carol Alvarado, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Colonel Steven
P. Haustein, Museum of Cultural Arts Houston Director
Reginald Adams, elected officials, PHA employees,
customers, tenants, and other port neighbors and partners.
WHY: With the push-button firing of a canon triggered at the
White House by President Woodrow Wilson, the Houston
Ship Channel was officially opened for commercial vessel
transit operations on November 10, 1914. Over a 90-year
period, the Houston Ship Channel has become one of the
nation's busiest waterways, providing a powerful regional
and national economic engine, exquisite environmental
resource, and vital trade link between the world and
Houston, the fourth largest city in the U.S. As the
start of a year-long celebration, this event salutes the
visionaries of the past and the leaders of today who have
charted and maintained the course for the economic,
environmental and commercial progress of this vast and
marvelous navigational waterway.
AUDIO/
VISUALS: -- Unveiling of public art project depicting the Houston
Ship Channel's 90-year history
-- Re-enactment of ceremonial canon-fire grand opening
-- Tours aboard the Spirit of Texas paddleboat
-- Interviews available upon request
-- TV live shot arrangements available -- minimum 24 hours
advance notice preferred
CONTACTS: Argentina James, PHA Public Affairs Director
Office: 713-670-2568 Cell: 713-306-6822
Felicia Griffin, PHA Communications Manager
Office: 713-670-2644 Cell: 713-594-5620
Due to heightened security requirements, media access will be strictly limited to the designated PHA location. All media personnel must present current photo identification upon entrance.
The Port of Houston Authority
The Port of Houston Authority owns and operates the public facilities located along the Port of Houston, the 25-mile long complex of diversified public and private facilities designed for handling general cargo, containers, grain and other dry bulk materials, project and heavy lift cargo, and other types of cargo. Each year, more than 6,600 vessels call at the port, which ranks first in the U.S. in foreign waterborne tonnage, second in overall total tonnage, and sixth largest in the world. The Port Authority plays a vital role in ensuring navigational safety along the Houston Ship Channel, which has been instrumental in Houston's development as a center of international trade. The Barbours Cut Container Terminal and Central Maintenance Facility are the first of any U.S. port facilities to develop and implement an innovative Environmental Management System that meets the rigorous standards of ISO 14001. Additionally, the port is an approved delivery point for Coffee "C" futures contracts traded on the New York Board of Trade's Coffee, Sugar & Cocoa Exchange. For more information, please visit www.portofhouston.com
The Port of Houston Authority logo can be found at: http://media.primezone.com/prs/single/?pkgid=720