•  At Waterways Council’s Annual Meeting held October 1 in Houston, the Board of Directors elected the following officers and Executive Committee members for 2007-2008:  Dan Mecklenborg, Senior Vice President, HR & Chief Legal Officer, Ingram Barge Company, Chairman; R. Barry Palmer, WCI, President and CEO; Steve Little, President and CEO, Crounse Corporation, General Counsel; Peter Stephaich, Chairman, Campbell Transportation Co., Secretary; Cherrie Felder, Vice President, Channel Shipyard, Treasurer. 
   
• In December 2006, Waterways Council, after several critically important meetings, successfully merged the Midwest Area River Coalition (MARC 2000) into WCI.  This merger brings to WCI approximately 110 new members, two new Board members, and an important initiative in nationalizing the issues integral to our strategic vision.
   
• Waterways Council, Inc. remains the leader in securing optimum funding for Inland Waterway Trust Fund financed projects on America's navigable waterways.  In FY 2006, WCI secured $379 million for Trust Fund-financed projects.  The Work Plan for the US Army Corps of Engineers' lock and dam construction  program for FY 2007 is $414 million.  The President's FY 2008 Budget for Trust Fund-financed projects on America's inland navigation system is $418 million.
   

• WCI expressed its gratitude for the aggressive work of the House and Senate to override the President’s veto of H.R. 1495, the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2007.  WRDA, delayed for more than seven years, is now law.  It authorizes critically important projects on the inland waterways including the modernization of seven locks along the Upper Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway, and projects on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway at Bayou Sorrel, Matagorda Bay and High Island to the Brazos River.  The vote was taken on November 5 when the House of Representatives voted 361 to 54 to override the veto, and on November 8 when the Senate voted 79 to 14 to override.
   

• In February 2007, during our Spring Board meeting and “fly-in,” we scheduled and executed more than 75 meetings with Congressional members and staff in their offices on Capitol Hill.   
   

• Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-WV) received the Sixth Annual Waterways Council, Inc. Leadership Service Award on February 28, 2007 in front of a packed ballroom in Washington, DC.  Senator Byrd was honored for his steadfast commitment to the improvement of the Nation’s ports and commercial inland waterways system over his many years in Congress. Senator Byrd is Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
   

• A successful, timely, and thoughtful WCI-sponsored Fall 2007 waterways symposium was held on October 2-3 in Houston and gathered a record number of participants from industry, the Corps of Engineers, and the economist community to discuss critical waterways issues that affect our Nation and our world.

These are just a few of the very positive developments that Waterways Council, Inc. has undertaken on behalf of industry, and with your support and involvement, we could accomplish much more.  We invite you to peruse the membership materials located here on the web site, and if you have questions or wish to schedule a visit from WCI leaders in your region, call me directly at 812/ 288-0211 or e-mail james.adams@acbl.net.

There is strength in numbers and with your help, we can improve our Nation’s greatest natural resource, our inland waterways system.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Jim Adams
Vice President - Governmental Policy
American Commercial Lines