2nd Annual Coffee Symposium Spotlights Economic
Development Opportunities From World's Second-Most-Traded Commodity
For Registration and Sponsorship Opportunities:
www.javahouston.com or 832-864-4021
HOUSTON, Oct. 12, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Opportunities are still available to register for the Second Annual Houston Port Region Coffee Symposium, to be held Thursday, October 19 through Friday, October 20, at the Hilton Americas-Houston Hotel, 1600 Lamar Street in Houston, Texas. Under the theme "Java and Jobs: Creating Economic Stimulus in the Region," the powerful two-day symposium will highlight the Houston region's rising stature in the global coffee trade and provide strategies to help businesses identify and leverage the growth opportunities throughout the coffee supply chain -- including distribution, transportation, warehousing, logistics, banking, trading, importing, insurance, roasting, packaging and food services.
Among the symposium's featured speakers, noted economist Michael Gallis will tackle the economic impact of the coffee industry and economic development strategies for this region. Other high-caliber guests, speakers and panelists on the symposium's roster include:
-- U.S. Representative Gene Green, D-TX, District 29 -- Chairman Jim Edmonds, Port of Houston Authority -- Drayton McLane, McLane Group, LP -- Carlos de Aldecoa Bueno, Cadeco Industries, Inc. -- Valerie Colaizzo, New York Board of Trade -- Kay Holloway, Sara Lee Coffee & Tea -- Capt. Alistair Macnab, Greater Houston Port Bureau -- Don Pisano, American Coffee Corp. -- Steve Stewart, Gulf Winds International, Inc.
In addition to industry-leading keynote presentations and panel discussions, the symposium's agenda also features a guided bus tour of Houston's bustling coffee warehouse district, a preview of the Port of Houston Authority's new Bayport Container Terminal, informal networking opportunities, and business-to-business forums. The event will culminate with the Business Excellence Awards dinner honoring several Houston area business leaders.
"To increase coffee trade and stimulate the region's economy by providing opportunities for the private sector, the Port Authority successfully applied for the New York Board of Trade's designation as a green coffee exchange port," said Port of Houston Authority Chairman Jim Edmonds. "The Port Authority's support of the Coffee Symposium is a way to promote the industry in this region."
PHA Commissioner Jimmy Burke, who also serves as chairman of the Economic Alliance Port Region, stated, "With more than 50 countries exporting coffee and 10 countries for which coffee is more than 50 percent of their foreign trade, the industry offers great opportunities for economic growth in the port region."
According to Greater Houston Coffee Association President Carlos de Aldecoa Bueno, "It is clear that Houston is brewing with opportunities that have poised the entire region for tremendous economic growth. The symposium will help develop and implement strategies for our area's businesses to become key players in the global coffee trade."
The registration fee for the symposium is $350 per person and includes attendance at all sessions as well as participation in the coffee warehouse district bus tour and admission to the social receptions, luncheons, dinner excursion aboard the PHA's tour vessel the M/V Sam Houston, and admission to the culminating Business Excellence Awards dinner. Proceeds from the symposium will help support the Economic Alliance Houston Port Region and the Greater Houston Coffee Association, non-profit organizations that are committed to promoting the Houston port region as a dynamic business community and the Port of Houston as the nation's premier coffee port. For more information about symposium registration and sponsorship opportunities, please visit www.javahouston.com or call 832-864-4021.
The symposium is sponsored by the Port of Houston Authority, the Economic Alliance Houston Port Region, and the Greater Houston Coffee Association, Cadeco Industries, Inc., CenterPoint Energy, Gulf Winds International, Inc., Amegy Bank, Houston Pilots, Richway Warehouse Management & Port Services and the West Gulf Maritime Association.
The Port of Houston Authority
The Port of Houston Authority owns and operates the public facilities located along the Port of Houston, the 25-mile long complex of diversified public and private facilities designed for handling general cargo, containers, grain and other dry bulk materials, project and heavy lift cargo, and other types of cargo. Each year, more than 6,600 vessels call at the port, which ranks first in the U.S. in foreign waterborne tonnage, second in overall total tonnage, and tenth largest in the world. The PHA plays a vital role in ensuring navigational safety along the Houston Ship Channel, which has been instrumental in Houston's development as a center of international trade. The Barbours Cut Container Terminal and Central Maintenance Facility are the first of any U.S. port facilities to develop and implement an innovative Environmental Management System that meets the rigorous standards of ISO 14001. For more information, please visit www.portofhouston.com
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