HOUSTON, Aug. 3, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- More than 100 Houston area business and community leaders on Wednesday (August 2) attended the community forum and luncheon highlighting Houston's emerging stature and opportunities in the cruise industry. The event at the Hilton-Americas Hotel was presented by the International Council of Cruise Lines (ICCL), the Port of Houston Authority (PHA), and the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Photos accompanying this release are available at http://media.primezone.com/poha/pages/community.html
ICCL President Michael Crye, PHA Managing Director Wade Battles, and Texas Senator Mike Jackson highlighted the exciting future business opportunities and economic impacts of Houston's cruise industry as the PHA prepares for the Spring 2007 opening of the first of up to three modern cruise terminals at Bayport, which is positioned to be one of the premier cruise home ports in the U.S. According to Business Research & Economic Advisors, the cruise industry spends more than $700 million in the state of Texas, supporting nearly 14,000 jobs that pay over $500 million in wages and salaries.
As a goodwill gesture of community outreach, Carnival Corporation Vice President of Public Affairs Tom Dow, who also serves on the board of the Cruise Industry Charitable Foundation (CICF), presented a $10,000 donation to William Jeter, CEO of Boys and Girls Harbor, a long-term care facility for abused, abandoned and neglected children. A non-profit organization, Boys and Girls Harbor is located in Morgan's Point, Texas, near the PHA's Barbours Cut Container Terminal.
CAPTIONS (all persons listed left to right):
Photo 01: PHA Managing Director Wade Battles and ICCL President Michael Crye highlight the exciting future business opportunities and economic impacts of Houston's cruise industry.
Photo 02: The ICCL forum attracted a diverse cross-section of Houston's influential political, business, and community leaders.
Photo 03: ICCL President Michael Crye, PHA Commissioner Steve Phelps, PHA Commissioner Elyse Lanier, Boys & Girls Harbor CEO William Jeter, PHA Managing Director Wade Battles, and Carnival Corporation Vice President of Public Affairs Tom Dow.
Photo 04: Texas Senator Mike Jackson receives a commemorative model ship from PHA Executive Director Tom Kornegay.
Photo 05: Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau Chairman Doug Horn.
Photos courtesy the Port of Houston Authority (photos by David Bray).
About 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 10th 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.
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About the International Council of Cruise Lines
The mission of the International Council of Cruise Lines (ICCL) is to participate in the regulatory and policy development process and promote all measures that foster a safe, secure and healthy cruise ship environment. Under the direction of the chief executives of its member lines, ICCL advocates industry positions to key domestic and international regulatory organizations, policymakers and other industry partners. The ICCL actively monitors international shipping policy and develops recommendations to its membership on a wide variety of issues.
