2024 Annual Meeting Agenda
annual meeting, &
Continuing Legal Education (CLE) seminar
Hyatt Regency
900 Bellevue Way NE
Bellevue, WA 98004
877.803.7534
Tuesday, DECEMBER 10
CLE SEMINAR from 1:00 - 5:00 pm - Cedar A Ballroom
The CLE event is a separate cost from the Annual Meeting. You can register by clicking on the “registration” tab at the bottom of this page.
Wednesday, DECEMBER 11
WPPA Registration Desk is open 7:00 AM – 4:00 Pm in the Grand Foyer on the second floor
8:30 - 11:45 am - COMMITTEE MEETINGS
All Committee meetings are located on the second floor
8:30 – 11:30 am Legal - Grand E
8:45 – 10:15 am Trade and Transportation - Grand F
9:00 – 10:30 am Marina - Cedar A
10:00 – 11:30 am Environmental - Grand G
10:30 – 11:45 am Aviation - Cedar B
10:30 – 11:30 am Communications - Cedar A
10:30 – 11:45 am Economic Development - Grand F
Annual Meeting officially begins with luncheon at 12:00 pm in the Regency Ballroom, second floor
Keynote Speaker: Allison Camden, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multimodal Freight Infrastructure and Policy
General Session from 2:00 - 4:00 pm in the Grand ABCD Ballroom
2:00 pm - State of the Industry Update: Boat Building & Repair in Washington State
Bailey Shewchuk- President, Mavrik Marine
Mike Nelson- CEO, Dakota Creek
3:00 pm - Opportunities in Regional Air Mobility
Yolanka Wulff, Community Air Mobility InitiativeAnn Richart, WSDOT
Suzanne Bremski – Harbour Air
Brandon Rakes, Airport Director, Chehalis Centralia Airport
ASSOCIATE MEMBER RECEPTION FROM 4:00 - 6:00 PM in the Grand IJK Ballroom
All attendees and spouses are invited to enjoy some appetizers while networking with our Associate Members. You can use this opportunity to ask for some free advice or simply to get to know our Associate Members. Here’s a list of members who have reserved a table so far:
Evening: Dinner on your own
Thursday, DECEMBER 12
RISE-N-SHINE WALK!
OPTIONAL WALK AT 6:15 AM WITH your executive director eric ffitch! Meet in the main hotel lobby.
WPPA Registration Desk is open from 7:30 am - 4:30 pm in the Grand Foyer on the 2nd floor
PORTS ONLY BREAKFAST FROM 8:00 TO 9:00 AM in the Regency Ballroom
This breakfast is for registered Port Commissioners, Executive Directors, Port staff, and life members only
Legislative Report from 9:00 - 10:00 am in the Grand ABCD Room
Mark Wilson, Port of Kalama Executive Director & Legislative Committee Chair
WPPA Legislative Staff
General Session from 10:15 am - 12:00 pm in the Grand ABCD Room
Port of Seattle Cyber Attack: Lessons Learned and Best Practices
Steve Metruck, Executive Director, Port of Seattle
Ralph Johnson, Chief Information Security Officer, Washington State (WaTech)Overview of Hydropower in the Pacific Northwest
Austin Rohr, Deputy Executive Director, Northwest River Partners
Luncheon at 12:00 pm in the Regency Ballroom
KEYNOTE SPEAKER Panel: Lori Otto-Punke, Executive Director, Washington Council on International Trade
John Hannah, President, Pacific Valley Foods
Alex Perkins, Principal, Mehlman Consulting CONFIRMED
Trade Policy in Two Washingtons: Partner Update from the Washington Council on International TradE
Port Reports 2:00 - 3:30 pm in the Grand ABCD Room
Port of Wahkiakum No. 1 - Todd Souvenir
Port of Everett - Lisa Lefeber
Port of Ridgefield - Randy Mueller
Roundtable Discussions 2.0 from 3:30 to 4:30 pm in the Grand EFGIJK Rooms
You asked, we heard you! We made a few changes to our roundtables at the last meeting and it was well received. There are 6 topics to choose from and you will have an opportunity to pick 2 topics and engage with each of those tables for 30 minutes. We hope you choose to participate!
First Amendment Auditors - Grand E Room
Frank Chmelik & Tim Schermetzler, CSD Attorneys at Law
State Clean Building Initiatives - Grand F Room
Dillon Ackerman, Clean Buildings Unit, Washington Department of Commerce
Promoting Small and Micro Businesses through Partnership - Grand G Room
Lisa Smith, Washington State Microenterprise Association (WSMA)
2025 Industrial Stormwater General Permit (ISGP) - Grand I Room
Ross Dunning, Kennedy Jenks, Mindi Kellar, Northwest Seaport Alliance, Brad Doll, Foster Garvey,
& Carly Michiels, WPPASupply Chains – Resilient and Green - Grand J Room
Bruce Agnew and Tom Lange, PNWER Regional Infrastructure AcceleratorCommercial Fishing, State of the Industry - Grand K Room
Lori Steele, Executive Director, West Coast Seafood Processors Association
PRESIDENT’S RECEPTION AT 6:00 PM in the Regency Ballroom
Please join us as we celebrate our 2024 Association President, JC Baldwin. This is a great time to network with your peers while enjoying appetizers, dinner, and drinks.
Spouses are invited and encouraged to attend this event!
Friday, December 13
Reminder: Hotel checkout is 12:00 pm, please plan accordingly!
AWARDS BREAKFAST AT 8:00 AM in the Regency Ballroom
Please join us for breakfast and our Annual Meeting awards ceremony
WPPA Winter Scholarship
Lifetime Members
Port of the Year