The Chicago Propeller Club is reconstituting this month after a 15 year hiatus vowing to ramp up awareness of Chicago’s ‘underestimated’ maritime status.
The club staged its first sold out event of 2024 at the city’s University Club with club leaders emphasizing Chicago’s maritime pedigee as the principle interior trade route to the Great Lakes, Atlantic, Mississippi River, and Gulf of Mexico.
The club said it wants to encourage more networking within Chicago’s diverse maritime community of inland marine, deep ocean and leisure marine sectors. Club President elect Chris Carr, managing partner of SBSB Eastham law firm said Chicago needed to raise its profile nationally and internationally as a natural destination for maritime companies already being a home to many of the biggest shipping lines in the world including CMA and MSC as well as a massive intermodal transport industry.
“Chicago has an awesome maritime heritage with many businesses based here and we need to promote that better,” he said. “The Propeller Club can play a big role in this by bringing the maritime community together from manufacturers to shipping lines and barge operators to professional services and Government. We’re already seeing business being done and more than 200 people have attended our three events since November.”
GUESTS
More than 70 guest gathered at the University Club of Chicago’s Gallery Room including Spliethoff BP Shipping, U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation The American Equity Underwriters, Inc. QSL stevedores, Gallagher Insurance, Travellers and Tunley Environmental.
SPEAKERSSpeakers at the event included Ryan McCoy from Ports of Indiana Jeff Zuercher, PE, PMP from the US Army Corps of Engineers and Grant Crowley on behalf of Stella Maris Org
MEMBERSHIP BENEFITS PAY ONLINE HERE $150 FOR YEAR
Mr Carr told the audience that the club has now opened a bank account and members can sign up for $150: https://lnkd.in/gBk6TmPG
“We are pleased to have made significant progress towards being an officially re-chartered Port with the International Propeller Club. We have filed the necessary paperwork with the federal and state governments and established a bank account through the assistance of Curt Hansen at Wintrust Bank Chicago.
Our next steps will be to get individual membership and corporate sponsor membership funding to submit along with bylaws and an initial slate of officers to the International for consideration and approval at their next Board of Directors meeting on March 26, 2024.
By the interest received over our three events, we are extremely confident that we can have an initial membership roll of close to 100 and sponsorships to provide seed funding necessary for hosting four very high-quality events in 2024.”
BOARD MEMBERS ELECT NAMED
Mr Carr said a board of volunteer officials has been established featuring Erik Varela executive director of Illinois International Port District, Ian Hirt of Benchmark Marine and the Ports of Indiana, Ben Pinnington managing partner of Polaris Media and Tara Pappalardo of RLI Marine.
DATES FOR THE DIARY
Club vice president elect Ben Pinnington said the club is aiming to add value to members staging receptions on May 22 Maritime Day and August 7 at the American Great Lakes Ports Association conference. He also pointed to events being staged by the International Propeller Club including its Salute to Congress in June and the Annual Convention in October.
SPONSORS
The event was sponsored by Armada Risk Partners 5R Enterprises, Polaris MediaLLC Schouest,Bamdas, Soshea, BenMaier & Eastham PLLC Sonihull Ultrasonic Antifouling |
