SEPTEMBER 2017 • FOGHORN 5 LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR John Groundwater is always room for growth as the industry evolves and new passenger vessel operators appear. The PVA Membership Committee and staff constantly work to communicate the benefits of PVA membership to prospective members. This activity has been extremely successful in attracting as many as 50 new companies to PVA membership each year. While this marketing activity is central to our continued growth, your help in directly communicating the benefits of PVA member- ship to non-member companies in your area is needed also. In fact, we have found over the years that PVA members are actually the best new member “Ambassadors.” Your positive comments about PVA and the benefits of member- ship have resulted in numerous new members each year. As a result, I heartily encourage you to speak with potential new members in your area and tell them about the benefits of becoming affiliated with your association. There truly is strength in numbers! PVA Committees PVA’s standing Committees have often been described as forming the backbone of our as- sociation. These working groups consist of the Legislative, Regulatory, Safety and Security and Membership Committees. They are tasked with developing policy and program recommendations to the PVA Board of Directors. Over the years, hundreds of PVA members have par- ticipated as members of one or more of the PVA commit- tees. I believe that the majority of these participants have come away with a sense of satisfaction in that they have contributed to their industry. If you think that you have to be an expert in the subject area of each of the committees to make a meaningful contribution to a committee, please think again. PVAstaff will assist you in getting up to speed on the issues. Your opinions, viewpoints and energy are needed. If you have not served on a PVAcommittee, I urge you to become involved. Please contact me if you would like suggestions or have questions about which committee is right for you. PVA Membership Is on the Rise PVA is extremely fortunate to have a wide array of very loyal and supportive member companies. And, the really good news is that new members are rising for both vessel members and associate members. This increase in membership numbers highlights PVA’s growing credibility as an organization and the good work that the association under- takes on behalf of its members. As you know, PVA works diligently to represent the interests of its members before Congress and the regulatory agencies; and often with state and local government entities. Over the years, PVA has also developed a wide array of programs and training tools that are intended to improve operations and enhance safety. S u c h p ro g r a m s could not have been created without the input and support of PVA members. These individu- als have selflessly p r o v i d e d t h e i r time, expertise, and knowledge to support the interests o f t h e i r f e l l o w members and their association. The recent rec- ognition by the Coast Guard of the PVA Flagship Safety Management Program is a perfect example of how PVA members have worked together to produce this excellent voluntary product that PVA members can use immediately. But, the program did not just appear out of thin air. A working group consisting of PVA member operators and PVA staff worked hand-in-hand with rep- resentatives from the Coast Guard for quite a few years before delivering a final product. It started out as a huge document, but was painstakingly re-written several times and refined to become a very effective and “scalable” program that PVA member operations of all sizes can effectively implement. Member–Get–A–Member Ensuring an ever increasing flow of new member companies into PVA is the top priority of the PVA leader- ship and staff. While PVA represents as members approxi- mately 95 percent of the passenger vessel industry, there LETTER FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CONTINUED ON PAGE 38 PVA Annual Convention at MariTrends 2018 January 28-31, 2018 Savannah, GA