Windsor Port Authority was recently honoured at the Awards Luncheon of the Annual Conference of the Association of American Port Authorities (AAPA) held in Long Beach, California. AAPA is an alliance representing more than 130 Port Authorities in Canada, the Caribbean, Latin America and the United States. The Award of Merit was granted to Windsor Port Authority within the Communications Category for its community initiative “Windsor Port Authority Outreach Campaign with Olde Sandwich Towne”.
Accepting the award on behalf of the Windsor Port Authority was George Sandala, Chair of the Board of Directors, who noted “this is a significant achievement for Windsor, considering we were judged alongside major ports such as New York, Vancouver and Long Beach. This award reflects the outstanding work by the Windsor Port Authority staff, who have consistently demonstrated the commitment to various initiatives for community enhancement within Olde Sandwich Towne. It’s nice to see their hard work and dedication so suitably rewarded.”
Windsor Port Authority’s Outreach Campaign with Olde Sandwich Towne consisted of a broad-based consultation program to determine the needs and objectives of various community organizations and the public in general within the Sandwich Towne Community. The goal of these discussions was to identify very specific environmental, community and sponsorship activities which would be appropriate for the Windsor Port Authority given its mandate and financial resources.
The activities undertaken to date include the following: creating over 1200 linear feet of new fish habitat in conjunction with two of its major tenants (Sterling Fuels Limited and LafargeHolcim); developing a derelict Port Authority dock into public space, including green space and fishing pier and significant fish habitat (Queen’s Dock); purchasing a large vacant lot adjacent to the Port Authority’s offices on Sandwich Street to be developed as an “outdoor museum” with green space, walking paths and story boards detailing the history of Olde Sandwich Towne and the Port; and making strategic donations to the community to support causes including the Brock/Tecumseh Statue, Hiram Walker Statue, Sandwich Towne Festival, Santa Claus Parade, St. John’s Church Foodbank and the Sandwich Teen Action Group and working with local youth groups on numerous clean-up projects on vacant properties.