Support for port reaps rewards
Commonwealth has a massive stake in the port’s success as new leadership takes the helm
The Virginia Port Authority recently unveiled CEO John Reinhart’s successor and within days John Milliken, the Board of Commissioners’ chairman, was out selling the decision on the far side of the state, well removed from the channels, eddies and shipping facilities that constitute the World’s Greatest Harbor.
Smart guy, Milliken. His role in getting this transition done right is to be celebrated and applauded. This is the single most important chore for VPA’s board and from all appearances it has been handled well.
Milliken knows what everyone should know: This is not just about Hampton Roads. Virginia has a massive stake in the port’s success and getting its leadership right is vitally important.
The new guy: Stephen Edwards, an experienced West Coast container terminal operator. He’ll take over in mid-January
He’ll receive a well-burnished baton; Reinhart racked up an admirable record. In 2019, when Reinhart was inducted into a major trade association’s international maritime hall of fame, the praise was unqualified.
“John has always been a trustworthy, reliable industry icon who has developed long-lasting friendships as he posted outstanding business results,” said Edward J. Kelly, executive director of the Maritime Association of the Port of New York and New Jersey.
That was the competition talking, you understand.
Reinhart took on the top job running Virginia’s ports six years ago. Prior to
arriving here, he spent 20 years with the shipping company Maersk, including several as CEO of Maersk Line, Limited.
Much in the mold of his predecessors — former port leader J. Robert “Bobby” Bray and Joe Dorto, the former CEO and president of Virginia International Terminals Inc. — Reinhart exemplified the value of shipping experience and management expertise.
So does Edwards.
Milliken himself draws from experience first gained during the challenging early years at Jamestown.
Well, not really, but Milliken has been at this for a while and it helps enormously
to have a seasoned pro to navigate the always shifting political scene, especially in regards to the increasingly dynamic and sometimes less-than-perfectly informed membership of the Virginia General Assembly.
The ports are “now a vital economic driver for the commonwealth and its growth is critical to the continued job growth across Virginia,” Milliken wrote for the land-locked Roanoke Times. Studies show that “the port is responsible for nearly one out of every 10 jobs in Virginia.”
Absolutely correct. And Southwest Virginia should pay heed. Because the jobs are out there, too.
No one should ever think of Virginia ports as a narrow or special interest. What we have here (water — “where the rivers ends”) — constitutes one of the greatest natural assets ever enjoyed by a region and we owe it to Virginia, not to mention ourselves, to make the most of it.
Tidal Hampton Roads is ice-free and surrounded by flat terrain. It’s meant for movement — the movement of goods, materials and people.
In turn, we build ships, shelter the Navy, manage cargo and keep people armed with the best available technology.
It’s an extraordinary legacy. Local 1624, of the International Longshoremen’s Union, includes first, second, third, fourth and even fifth generation employees.
Their pride is our pride.
With this Maritime history, stretching back centuries, what may we take for granted in the 21st century?
Exactly zero.
And everyone knows it. We have to stay competitive, plow ever-deeper channels for every-larger ships and win the daily race to and from the sea.
Pandemic or no, the future looks promising.
“Never before in the long history of the port,” declares the Hampton Roads Maritime Association (now celebrating its 100th anniversary), “has there been as much business, as many ports, as many new and expanded facilities and services, as many ships loading and unloading, or sailing to as many ports, as many people earning a living on maritime activities, nor a keener understanding of the value of the port to the community and the state.”
Mr. Edwards, welcome aboard.