Last week’s wacky weather pushed the Savannah Navy League’s first meeting of 2014 from Jan. 28 to last Tuesday evening, but it didn’t dampen the celebration.
Navy Leaguers recognized all the local businesses that contributed to the league’s first annual Thanksgiving dinner for U.S. Coast Guard and Marine families last November.
It started with several Navy League women brainstorming about what they could do for local Coast Guard units and Marines who work on the holidays. The decision was to share a Thanksgiving meal with them and their families.
“The rest is history,” said Pat Yovich, incoming league president and the first woman to lead the local league.
“We secured the Gunny Shack at the Coast Guard Air Station unit on Hunter, received the go-ahead from the Coast Guard and, within 3 weeks, planned, secured donations, cooked, decorated and had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day dinner with approximately 80 families, as well as delivering dinner and dessert to the crew at Tybee.”
Needless to say, plans are already in the works for this year’s Thanksgiving celebration.
One footnote: “The cash donations we received exceeded our expenditures and have been placed in a special account for our newly formed Family Services Programs to help our sea services and their families,” Yovich said.
Also at Tuesday’s meeting, Yovich and fellow Navy Leaguers surprised former president Tom Latham with a visit by eight crew members from the USS Alaska, based out of Kings Bay.
Latham was instrumental in helping the Savannah group “adopt” the nuclear sub and its crew five years ago.
“I would have to say having the USS Alaska crew here tonight was the best gift I’ve ever received in my life,” Latham said.
The Savannah Council of the Navy League supports the area sea services – the U.S. Navy, the Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Merchant Marine and sponsors a Sea Cadet unit for youngsters 10-17.
MLET interns get assignments
The Maritime Logistics Education Taskforce kicked off its 2014 internship program last month with an event at Savannah Technical College’s Crossroads Technology Campus where student interns from both Chatham and Effingham county public schools met for the first time with their assigned companies.
MLET worked with the school’s work-based coordinators in promoting the program and encouraging students to apply. Although competition for the internships was fierce, students didn’t necessarily have to have Straight As, said Dave “Fish” Mihuta, sales and customer service representative for Freightliner of Savannah and president of MLET.
“We’re looking for students with the passion and aptitude to work in a dynamic and exciting industry,” Mihuta said.
“By exposing students to new opportunities, we hope to inspire them to go on and do great things with their lives.”
For the latest program, 16 high school students have been paired with 14 companies and will begin working this month and next. Students will spend a maximum of 200 hours over the course of 10 weeks with logistics providers, learning hands-on processes to move and manage cargo.
Prior to the kick-off event, students took part in a series of soft-skills workshops on such topics as body language and eye contact, résumé and cover letter writing, online job searches and dressing for success. They also participated in mock interviews.
“This is an opportunity that many of us in the working world wish we had been exposed to when we were in high school,” said McLeod Rominger, sales representative for Colonial Group’s Enmark subsidiary and MLET vice president.
“This a cool program that we believe will give students a leg up on their peers and prepare them for entry into a competitive job market.”
MLET was formed in partnership with the Propeller Club-Port of Savannah, Savannah Traffic Club, Savannah Maritime Association, the Savannah chapter of the International Freight Forwarders and Customs Brokers Association, the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals and the Navy League Savannah Council.
Its mission is to reach, educate and grow the current and future workforce of the logistics and maritime industry in Savannah and surrounding coastal areas.
Senior business reporter Mary Carr Mayle covers the ports for the Savannah Morning News and savannahnow. She can be reached at 912-652-0324 or at mary.mayle@savannahnow.com.
SHIPPING SCHEDULE
Following are the ships expected to call on Georgia Ports Authority’s Garden City and Ocean terminals this week. Schedules are supplied by GPA and are subject to change.
TERMINAL VESSEL ETA
GCT KOBE EXPRESS Today
GCT ZIM HAIFA Today
GCT MOL MARVEL Today
GCT NYK RUMINA Today
GCT MSC INGRID Today
GCT MSC SOCOTRA Today
GCT ZIM TEXAS Today
GCT MSC MELISSA Today
GCT MAERSK DANANG Today
GCT MAERSK IOWA Today
GCT CSAV LARAQUETE Today
GCT CSAV BRASILIA Today
GCT VECCHIO BRIDGE Today
GCT MAERSK ROUBAIX Today
GCT ZIM SAVANNAH Today
GCT YM MILESTONE Today
GCT DUBAI EXPRESS Saturday
GCT PARTICI Saturday
GCT MSC RANIA Saturday
GCT ATLANTA EXPRESS Saturday
GCT HANJIN VALENCIA Saturday
OT ATLANTIC PENDANT Saturday
GCT WASHINGTON EXPRESS Sunday
GCT SEATTLE EXPRESS Sunday
GCT APL AGATE Sunday
GCT MUSTAFA DAYI Sunday
OT STAR LOEN Sunday
OT TITANIA Sunday
GCT CMA CGM BIANCA Monday
GCT NYK LAURA Monday
GCT MIRAMARIN Monday
GCT XIN TAI CANG Monday
GCT LONDON EXPRESS Monday
GCT MAERSK COLUMBUS Monday
GCT NYK ROMULUS Monday
GCT AL FARAHIDI Monday
OT CONTI OPAL Monday
GCT MOL ENCORE Tuesday
GCT ZIM TARRAGONA Tuesday
GCT EVER DIVINE Tuesday
GCT ZIM ONTARIO Wednesday
GCT MOL PARAMOUNT Wednesday
GCT ISLANDIA Wednesday
GCT BUXCOAST Wednesday
GCT SKIATHOS Wednesday
GCT JAMES RIVER BRIDGE Wednesday
GCT MSC CARMEN Thursday
GCT ZIM BEIJING Thursday
GCT MAERSK OHIO Thursday
GCT MSC TORONTO Thursday
GCT WARNOW ORCA Thursday
GCT ROTTERDAM EXPRESS Thursday
GCT MERKUR BAY Thursday
GCT STUTTGART EXPRESS Thursday
OT ANIARA Thursday