By Donna Venito, Independent Show Management Services

EXPO-SAY, New York Chapter, September/October 2003

Something very special happened one sunny morning for a group of NYIAEM members and guests. On May 20th, this group of industry professionals boarded an Academy bus at the Hotel Pennsylvania and ventured to Port Newark/Elizabeth for a private tour of how international shipments are processed through the port and the US Customs office. Board member Phil Hobson led this exclusive tour, made possible by Phoenix International Business Logistics and the NYIAEM Education Committee.

Upon arrival at the Port of Newark/Elizabeth, a knowledgeable and friendly Port Terminal Operator, who provided an up close and personal tour of sea freight containers as they were processed, greeted the group. Port management graciously granted special permission for the bus to pull alongside a vessel as PNCT dockworkers were unloading, and permitted attendees to leave the bus for a closer look and photo taking.

The tour continued with a private visit to the PNCT Command Center. Attendees witnessed first hand how operators monitor the receipt and release of over a thousand containers per day, through the use of a complex series of video monitors and computers. As the tour of the port ended, attendees realized they had absorbed a dictionary's worth of new acronyms and terms to describe the various activities in the process.

Then it was off to the next stop on the tour, a visit to the U.S. Customs Entry processing office, where Phil Hobson provided an explanation of how shipment entries are processed and cleared. The tour concluded with a delicious lunch and a tour of the Meadowlands Convention Center.

Special thanks are due to Academy Bus Lines, Meadowlands Convention Center, PNCT, Phoenix International Business Logistics, Inc., and the Hotel Pennsylvania, who helped make this special day possible.