GENE SEROKA RECEIVES TOP SHIPPING,
MARITIME INDUSTRY AWARD
More Than 400 Stakeholders Gather at Containerization & Intermodal Institute Event to Honor Port of Los Angeles Executive Director’s Leadership, Achievements
SAN PEDRO, Calif. – Dec. 9, 2021– Leaders from across the maritime and logistics industry gathered in New Jersey this week as the Containerization & Intermodal Institute (CII) awarded its top honor — the Connie Award — to Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka. The award honors outstanding leadership and achievements as well as advancing the industry and its priorities.
“Gene is a world-renowned supply chain expert and a seasoned industry leader,” Los Angeles Harbor Commission President Jaime Lee said as she introduced Seroka for the honor. “He is unrelenting in his passion for the maritime industry, in his ethics, integrity and transparency … and in his desire to bolster supply chain resiliency, workforce training, student scholarships, new technology and cargo throughput.
“Everyone at the Port of Los Angeles is so grateful to work with you,” she told Seroka. “The global shipping industry is lucky to have you among its most esteemed leaders, and this Connie Award from CII is very just in honoring you today.”
After a standing ovation from the record-setting crowd, Seroka took the opportunity to thank and acknowledge his industry colleagues, City of Los Angeles leaders and the nearly 900 employees at the Los Angeles Harbor Department.
“It is on their behalf that this award is humbly accepted,” said Seroka. “Today is more than just about one individual. Today is about how our industry supports the United States of America and beyond. How we serve this country has never been more apparent in this consequential moment in time … countless American families rely on the global trade that we facilitate.”
In Seroka’s name, CII awarded a $1,500 student scholarship to EXP, a nonprofit organization that works closely with the Port of Los Angeles on maritime-related educational and employment opportunities. Seroka also took the opportunity to announce his own personal $1,500 donation to Juneteenth 400, a San Pedro-based nonprofit organization that commemorates the Juneteenth holiday and end of slavery with an annual event. This year it was held at the Port of Los Angeles for the first time.
Founded in 1960, CII’s mission is to promote and support the business of international trade and the intermodal container transportation community. As a non-profit organization, CII promotes industry awareness, preserves the history of intermodalism, and engages scholarly interest in the field by organizing educational conferences and seminars, arranging internships and facilitating scholarships, among other activities.
North America’s leading seaport by container volume and cargo value, the Port of Los Angeles facilitated $259 billion in trade during 2020. San Pedro Bay port complex operations and commerce facilitate one in nine jobs across the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura. The Port of Los Angeles has remained open with all terminals operational throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
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