HOUSTON, Nov. 10, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- By a unanimous vote, the Harris County Commissioners Court has reappointed James W. Fonteno, Jr. to the Port of Houston Authority (PHA) Commission. He was initially appointed to the Port Commission in January 1999. PHA commissioners serve two-year terms without pay.
Fonteno is chair of the PHA's Pension Committee. He also is a member of the PHA's Cruise Task Force, Pilot Task Force, the board of Pilot Commissioners, and the board of the Port of Houston Authority International Corporation.
A Houston native, Fonteno is an attorney and investment banker with a broad professional and educational background in international affairs, infrastructure finance and environmental policy. He holds a B.A. from the University of Southern California, a master's degree from the London School of Economics, and a J.D. from Georgetown University where he focused on international and corporate law.
"I maintain a strong interest in the economic development, environmental, and international business initiatives of the Port Authority," Fonteno said. "It is gratifying to serve on the commission of the sixth largest port in the world and a pleasure to work with fellow commissioners to advance this port's global stature."
"We welcome Commissioner Fonteno's return," said Jim Edmonds, PHA chairman. "His leadership has been exemplary. We look forward to continuing our work with him."
Harris County Judge Robert Eckels said, "Jim Fonteno serves us well as Commissioner of the Port of Houston Authority. We are proud of his service and we appreciate his willingness to continue in that capacity."
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
To access the port's website photo gallery, please visit http://www.portofhouston.com/publicrelations/publicrelations.html and click the link for PHA Photo Gallery.
The Port of Houston Authority logo can be found at: http://media.primezone.com/prs/single/?pkgid=720