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Billed as 'The Port Meets The Street!', our June 17th meeting at the Embassy Suites new 'Terra Room' saw a great turnout to hear Port Everglades Director Phil Allen update us on the latest Port Master Plan develoments as well as discuss the cruise, cargo and petroleum operations at the port. Of special interest and appreciation to everyone on 17th Street was his disclosure that the security gate is going to be moved back away from the Convention Center...soon! Thanks again, to our 'neighbors' at the Port. They've been greatly supportive of us and are willing to work with us again in the fall on a new and expanded 'Crew Appreciation Week' when the new 'Allure of the Seas' arrives in port. For those of you not aware of it, 'Allure of the Seas' is the sister-ship to the 'Oasis of the Seas'...meaning we'll have the two largest cruise ships in the world homeporting right here next season...and along with the new 'Queen Elizabeth'... that means business for 17th Street!
The theme of the June 17th meeting was 'partnering' and featured a number of guests from several important organizations around the city, including the City of Fort Lauderdale, as represented by Vice Mayor Romney Rogers, a lifelong Rio Vista resident who 'grew up' on and around 17th Street. As such, he noted that the city was well-aware of the situation with pedestrian traffic on 17th Street, primarily from the cruise ships on weekends and that it was an issue that needs to be addressed. He also noted a solution agreeable to all of the parties involved seems to have been reached on the 17th Street/Cordova Rd. turning lane redesign issue and would be passing along details as soon as finalized.
Following Vice Mayor Rogers, Bob Swindell, new President & CEO of the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward Alliance spoke about the many initiatives they are working on to help bring economic development and new business to the area. And they've made a priority of reaching out to us and other organizations as partners in developing new business opportunities that can benefit us all.
Other invited guests speaking briefly about partnering and working together with our 17th Street Causeway Alliance were Mark Budwig and Cindi Hutchinson from Riverwalk Trust, Mr. Jean Fitzgerald from the Port Everglades Association and Mark Gatley of the Broward County Convention Center.
And finally...our special 'Thanks!' go out to Allie Parkman and Julie Russell from Embassy Suites for co-sponsoring and hosting the event in their beautiful Terra Room and outdoor pool patio! It was a great venue for our social hour and the meeting...if you haven't been lately,
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and check it out!
Here's a sampling of the comments we received after the meeting:
"Great speakers, great location, great networking...yes, I would say the organization is coming together very nicely!" - Frank Herhold, Executive Director, MIASF
"I enjoyed every moment of the evening, met some new friends, and got an initial insight into your work. Your new organization has taken on tasks that were long overdue." - Jean Fitzgerald, President (and Founder), Port Everglades Association.
"I enjoyed attending your meeting last night. Great attendance and it was great to see so many long-time friends. I’m looking forward to working with you as we build prosperity for Fort Lauderdale." - Bob Swindell, President & CEO, Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward Alliance.
"George...wonderful meeting last night and wow! what a great attendance! Do you always get that much participation? Congratulations and I'm looking forward to working with you! - Cindi Hutchinson, Executive Director, Riverwalk Trust.
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For those of you with a business or doing business on 17th Street who haven't yet joined our 17th Street Causeway Alliance...isn't it about time you did? Come on aboard! We welcome your participation!
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