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| CONTACT: | Mike D. Smith |
| (409) 835-5367 | |
| mds@portofbeaumont.com |
BEAUMONT, TX (5/22/08) – U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) Deputy Administrator Julie Nelson served as guest speaker for the Seafarers' Center of Beaumont's annual Maritime Day celebration at Beaumont's MCM Eleganté Hotel on May 22.
The center honored retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. Jim Oliver, the Sabine Pilots and the Port of Beaumont.
Oliver, a native of Orange, Texas, enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1935 and served with numerous honors for the next 32 years. After retiring in 1967, Oliver taught in Beaumont public schools and became assistant principal at Beaumont's Hebert High School until retiring again in 1982. Oliver continued teaching French on a volunteer basis at area schools until 2005, and now serves on the Seafarers' Center board of directors.
The Sabine Pilots Association consists of 29 branch pilots and 18 employees who guide vessels along the Sabine-Neches Waterway and 20 nautical miles into the Gulf of Mexico to and from the ports of Beaumont, Orange and Port Arthur. The association has been chartered since 1881.
President George W. Bush appointed Nelson as deputy administrator of MARAD in October 2006. Prior to that post, Nelson was general manager and maritime contracts attorney for Oceaneering International, Inc., an ocean engineering and development group based in Houston, Texas.
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Sabine Pilots
U.S. Maritime Administration
Executive Port Director David C. Fisher, right, receives a plaque
from Lester Smith, president of the Seafarers' Center of Beaumont.
The port was one of the honorees at the center's 6th annual
Maritime Day Celebration May 22 at the Elegante' Hotel.
Jim Oliver, left, receives a plaque from Beaumont Seafarers'
Center board member Ken Hilsten. Oliver, who has served on
the board of the Seafarers' Center since 1973, was honored
for his long tenure and community service.
Port of Beaumont Executive Director David C. Fisher presents
mementoes to Julie Nelson, deputy administrator, U.S. Maritime
Administration, after her keynote speech at the 6th annual
Beaumont Maritime Day Celebration May 22.
Beaumont Seafarers' Center President Lester Smith presents a
plaque to Capt. Charles Tweedel, chairman of the Sabine Pilots
Association. The Sabine Pilots were guests of honor at the
annual Maritime Day Celebration.