4 JUNE 2018 • FOGHORN Successful Spring Events Heralds the Start of a Great Operating Season I want to start by commending the PVA staff for putting together another successful PVA Congressional Fly-in, Spring Board of Directors’ Meeting, and our Quality Partnership (QP) Meeting with Admiral Nadeau and senior U.S. Coast Guard leadership. For our Fly-in on May 8, PVA staffers Ed Welch and Jen Wilk did a fantastic job of putting together a full day’s worth of congressional visits that kept us hopping between the House and Senate offices of our elected officials. During our kick-off breakfast brief, guest speaker Chris Coakley, Vice President of Government Affairs for Saltchuk, explained to PVA member participants the mechanics and significance of maintaining relationships with government officials. In his remarks, Chris shared a quote from former Texas Governor John Connally: “You would be wise to invest at least 10 percent of your time in politics because I can assure you that politicians invest 100 percent of their time in your business.” These words seemed to resonate and energize the efforts of the event participants that morning and further drive home the im- portance of PVA’s continuous advocacy efforts. While on Capitol Hill, PVA’s advocacy focused on promoting safety on our waterways in three distinct ways: • Enacting H.R. 4468 by Congressman Peter King calling for a Coast Guard report regarding recreational vessel operator training; • Prioritizing Coast Guard enforcement of existing laws prohibiting uninspected vessels from carrying passen- gers for hire; and • Ensuring ample funding for the Coast Guard’s Marine Safety Mission. Other topics of discussion were continued funding for the small shipyard grant program, small vessel exemption from EPA’s Vessel General Permit, official logbooks, capital aid for ferries and expansion of the capital construction fund benefits. At both the Board Meeting and the QP Meeting, we had robust discussions on our continued efforts to promote safe waterways, particularly in areas experiencing over- crowded waterways as well as recreational boater safety training and outreach. Illegal charter activity as a matter of public safety will continue to be at the forefront for the association, and a large portion of the QP was dedicated to this important topic. All of this brings me around to this month’s FOGHORN focus, operations. As a small seasonal family operation I cannot imagine doing my job with out the assistance of the knowledge gained through our PVA membership. In regards to operations, it is difficult to identify an area that our PVA membership has not influenced the day-to-day operations of our company. We are in the midst of our spring/early season hiring and safety training. The new PVA online training portal has added pro- ficiency to our existing training program enabling us to educate new employees in a much more efficient manner. We have just completed our annual Coast Guard inspections. Through our participation in multiple PVAcommittees and our voluntary beta testing of Flagship, PVA’s safety management system, we have made great strides in reducing deficiencies noted by the Coast Guard during our annual inspections. We have seen positive improvements in self-identifying potential issues through more rigorous crew involvement in our processes and procedures. This is a direct impact of Flagship as we move to become fully implemented over the next couple of years. Thanks in large part to the work products of the PVA Safety and Security Committee we have a three-year history of no insurance claims. If you have not had an opportu- nity to review the many quality training and risk manage- ment products available on the member side of Safety and Security, I encourage you do so now. The plethora of infor- mation available for vessel operators was developed for our unique industry, and is easy to access and use. Lastly, we have built many valuable relationships over the years directly due to our PVA membership and we have found PVA members open to sharing ideas and best practices covering a range of topics from safety to sales and marketing. Some of the most valuable relationships I have formed have been with our PVAAssociate members. In early May, our operation experienced a problem with an electronic control on a Friday afternoon. Thanks to a long-term relationship with an Associate member, we received a new control the next morning and were able to complete our busy weekend with no changes to our operating schedule. The value of that experience speaks volumes in the importance of the relationships built through our membership in PVA. Of course, it’s a two-way street. We try to contrib- ute in many ways to reach out to other members. We know that our participation in PVA committees, region meetings, Coast Guard industry days and the PVAAnnual Convention at MariTrends events have been critical to our operation’s continued success. Even as you enter your busiest season, I urge you to stay connected to PVA. We’re always here for you. Gus Gaspardo President n LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT Gus Gaspardo