Galveston Wharves Delivering On Goals in 2021 & Beyond

Galveston Wharves Delivering On Goals in 2021 & Beyond

January 23, 2021

Just as we set personal goals and resolutions in a new year, it’s a good practice for businesses too. The Galveston Wharves staff follows a business strategy that defines who we are, what we value, what are our long-term goals, and what are our priorities and opportunities for 2021.

This business strategy begins by defining the port’s purpose. As a self-sustaining city entity, we do all that we can to fulfill our mission to generate and reinvest revenue to create economic growth, jobs and other benefits for the Galveston region. This is our main message to our Galveston community and region.

Building Relationships

We’ll continue to reach out to local community groups, elected officials and business partners to raise awareness about the following:

• The port’s major state and regional economic impacts
• Our value to the local community in terms of economic growth, jobs, local spending and sales taxes
• Social and environmental responsibility programs, including Green Marine certification
• Our desire to be a good neighbor by keeping the community informed about construction and other port activities
• Our long history as the oldest port in Texas
• Our business structure as a self-supporting operation that receives no city property tax revenue
• How we are reinvesting revenues in infrastructure and capital projects to grow our business
• Our role in bringing back safe, sustainable cruising in 2021 and the community benefits

Promoting the Port

Nationally, we’ll continue to spread the word to elected officials and businesses that the Port of Galveston is the Port of Everything with cruise, cargo and commercial business development opportunities.

Located at the entrance to Galveston Bay and the Houston Ship Channel, our 840-acre, deep-water port is just 45 minutes from open seas and 10 minutes from a major interstate.

We want them to know that we deliver exceptional service to our customers, facilitate efficient transport and are open for business. We have undeveloped waterfront acreage available and are investing in infrastructure for long-term growth.

We’ll continue to tout the port’s pro-business attitude and opportunities through marketing and advertising this year.

We’ll also continue to strengthen relationships with regional and state entities, including Baytran, Houston-Galveston Area Council, the Texas Department of Transportation and the Texas Ports Association. The port staff also will continue to seek grants to help fund improvement projects.

Our Long-Term Goals

As I mentioned at the beginning of this column, we’ve set the following long-term goals. Approved by our board, these goals define our priorities and guide our decisions about how we spend our time and resources.

• Financial – Increase revenues and manage expenses to maintain and grow the business
• Infrastructure – Develop, optimize and efficiently manage the Port’s assets for economic prosperity
• Business Development – Develop existing and new business opportunities to maximize revenues and jobs
• Communications – Implement a communications strategy to strengthen relationships with stakeholders, build the port’s brand regionally and nationally, and support the port’s business goals and objectives
• People – Foster a culture of excellence in business operations, risk management, safety, environmental performance, career development and ethical standards

Here’s to a productive and prosperous year for us all.