Florida Times-Union Saturday Lead Letter: JaxPort thanks its many partners in Puerto Rico aid effort
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- Florida Times-Union Saturday Lead Letter: JaxPort thanks its many partners in Puerto Rico aid effort
January 13, 2018
Thank you for the recent acknowledgement of the JaxPort partnership that organized, funded and delivered more than 500,000 pounds of donated relief items so desperately needed by the people of Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria.
It is important to note that the food, water, batteries, hygiene products and related supplies were donated by local residents and others dedicated to helping our neighbors on the island and were in addition to FEMA aid.
While JaxPort’s equipment, facilities, personnel and Puerto Rican shippers were critical to the overall effort — and the significant transportation costs were covered by monetary contributions from our generous business community — many organizations were crucial to the success of the initiative and deserve our appreciation.
The list of organizations and individuals who assisted during the darkest days following Maria — and who continue to assist to this day — is far too long to thank everyone by name here.
However, I would like to commend Aqua Gulf — a shipping industry transportation provider — for stepping up immediately after the storm; it organized a massive donation drive, stored and sorted items in donated space at its North Jacksonville facility and ultimately filled 13 full-sized cargo containers with basic necessities of life.
In addition, Todos por Puerto Rico, a relief initiative organized locally, also coordinated donations. It then provided invaluable information on the best way to deliver goods to various locations after the cargo arrived in San Juan. This intelligence was key to the operation’s success because so many of Puerto Rico’s roads continued to be impassable.
To these partners and many others throughout the port community and elsewhere who helped with donations, time, energy and know-how, thank you from all of us at JaxPort.
Roy Schleicher,
Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer
JAXPORT
Jacksonville
