brazos river harbor navigation district - Port Freeport

PORT FREEPORT NEWSPORT FREEPORT NEWSEmployee FocusCommunications AwardsU.S. Coast GuardNew EntranceJesse Hibbetts fills winning roleas port’s operations supervisorPort Freeport honored withcommunications awardsCapt. William Diehl assumesCoast Guard sector commandSecurity enhancements continuewith new access control systemIf it hadn’t been for chronic shoulderproblems, Jesse Lee Hibbetts, III, mightbe pitching in the Major Leagues. But,fortunately for Port Freeport, Hibbettshung up his spikes after four years on theBrazoswood High School baseball teamand a season at Lon Morris College inJacksonville, Texas.Hibbetts, 30, joined the Port Freeportteam as operations supervisor in March,bringing with him his experienceas area manager at the Wal-Martimport facility in Baytown plus a pairof bachelor’s degrees, in industrialdistribution and logistics, from theUniversity of Houston.“Each day here at Port Freeport is definitely something new, which makesit very fun, interesting and challenging,” said the Lake Jackson native, whograduated from Brazoswood High in 1995. He now lives in Angleton.Hibbetts also has a busy home life, with he and wife, Nealie, havingwelcomed a second son, Hudson, on July 20, joining big brother Hayden,2. That hasn’t left Hibbetts much time of late for his hobbies of golf,hunting and fishing.If Hibbetts’ name sounds familiar, it may be because his father, JesseLee Hibbetts, Jr., served 27 years on the Brazosport Independent SchoolDistrict board and worked 32 years at the Dow Chemical Co.’s Freeportfacility. His father currently is a vice president with the brokerage firm ofA.G. Edwards & Sons Inc.The younger Hibbetts’ immediate supervisor, Port Freeport Director ofOperations Al Durel, said of him, “He has all the right tools and the abilityto become very successful in the maritime industry. We’re expecting greatthings from him.”11 P O R T F R E E P O R T • BRAZOS RIVER HARBOR NAVIGATION DISTRICTDockside girls - Edna Hancock-Varner and Sarah RomeroDockside writer Paul Scott AbbottPort Freeport’s communications efforts continue to be recognized as amongthe industry’s best, with two awards from the American Association of PortAuthorities joined a pair of top honors from the Transportation Marketing& Communications Association (TMCA).On Sept. 13, at AAPA’s annual convention in New Orleans, Port Freeportreceived an award of merit for its Web site, as well as an honorable mentionin the periodicals competition for its quarterly Dockside Magazine. Judgesnoted that they were particularly impressed with the Port Freeport Web site’sutilization of color, graphics and photographs, plus its overall ease of use.AAPA, the Alexandria, Va.-based alliance of leading ports of the WesternHemisphere, in July announced the winners of its annual communicationsawards competition, which drew 184 entries from 40 ports.At the TMCA annual conference, May 23 in Keystone, Colo., PortFreeport accepted two awards of excellence — one for Dockside Magazineand one for a 2005 series of testimonial advertisements. TMCA’s CompassAwards, previously known as Tranny Awards, recognize North Americantransportation and logistics organizations for effective strategic marketingand communications programs. Minneapolis-based TMCA received 200entries from 72 organizations.In prior years, Port Freeport has been a frequent recipient of communicationsawards from both AAPA and TMCA.“We are delighted to once again be honored for our efforts,” said Port FreeportExecutive Director A.J. “Pete” Reixach, Jr. “Port Freeport is blessed with atop-flight marketing and communications team that does a highly successfuljob of making key audiences aware of our port’s unique attributes.”Capt. William J. Diehl has assumed command of the U.S Coast Guardsector with responsibility over an area that includes Port Freeport.Diehl, who most recently has served as Coast Guard liaison officer tothe Panama Canal Authority, succeeded Capt. Richard M. Kaser ascommander of Sector Houston-Galveston at a July 14 ceremony. Kaseris now chief of the prevention division at the Coast Guard Atlantic Areain Portsmouth, Va.Port Freeport Director of Operations Al Durel commented, “Capt. Kaser wasextremely instrumental in elevating maritime security and will be missed.At the same time, we welcome Capt. Diehl and will place behind him allour efforts to further enhance area security.”Sector Houston-Galveston serves as command and control for all CoastGuard missions in the Southeast Texas/Southwest Louisiana area ofresponsibility. The sector coordinates law enforcement, homeland security,search and rescue and marine safety missions for the area.Diehl’s multiple roles include federal maritime security coordinator (FMSC),captain of the port (COTP), federal on-scene coordinator (FOSC) and officerin charge of marine inspection (OCMI).Diehl said, “I am responsible for all Coast Guard activities in the SectorHouston-Galveston area, including Port Freeport, and look forward toworking with our partners in industry and government to keep all sectorports safe and secure.”Diehl is a 1982 civil engineering graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academyand also holds a master’s degree in naval architecture, marine engineeringand mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan.Port Freeport’s entrance gate is taking on a heightened level of security witha new, state-of-the-industry access control system, including traffic arms andhydraulic barriers.The $800,000 project, which has received funding through the federal securitygrant program, is part of Port Freeport’s ongoing efforts to enhance security.Brazos River Harbor Navigation District Commissioner F.J. Richers, whosefamiliarity with port security includes his work as a consultant for TRCCompanies Inc., noted, “At Port Freeport, we certainly have made somemonumental inroads from a port security standpoint.“We have significantly enhanced security and safety, while, at the same time, ensuringthat commerce continues to flow swiftly and efficiently,” Richers added.The access control system allows Port officials to adjust access controlrequirements to meet current U.S. Coast Guard maritime security levels and isengineered to interface with the Transportation Worker Identification Credential(TWIC) card system being implemented nationwide by the U.S. Departmentof Homeland Security.Port Freeport is issuing new access control badges to tenant employees andcontract personnel who work within the port.“This is a major effort that is made easier because everyone is cooperatingwith the project,” said Rick Benavidez, port security manager at Port Freeport.“Everyone recognizes the need, and the new gate controls are another stepforward in ensuring a safe and secure work environment.”He pointed out that an added benefit of the new system is its ability tomonitor who is within port property at any given time. That could proveparticularly helpful in the event of an evacuation situation due to a hurricaneor other circumstances.P O R T F R E E P O R T • BRAZOS RIVER HARBOR NAVIGATION DISTRICT 12