Posted on December 9, 2025
The AIWA Annual Meeting was a big success! After the federal government re-opened in early November, many of our agency partners were able to join us and we are grateful for their efforts to be with us. Within only a few short days between the government re-opening and the start of the annual meeting, their flexibility and desire to be with us made all the difference! Thanks to each and every one of you, and we especially want to thank our two keynote speakers, Lt. Col. Vanessa R. Bowman, Deputy Commander of the Savannah District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Commander Nathaniel Robinson, U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Savannah.
During our time together, attendees heard from staff of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers South Atlantic Division and Districts, and Kyle Ward from NOAA. The presentations from USACE included their State of the Waterway updates with successes from the previous year, ongoing dredging and maintenance efforts along the waterway, and a look to future efforts. Mr. Ward shared updates on mapping and charting for the National Ocean Service and how those efforts were being implemented along the waterway and associated ports.
We were also joined by Jamie McCurry, Chief Administrative Officer for the Georgia Ports Authority. As they address the needs of the Savannah and Brunswick ports today, it’s exciting to hear of their anticipated growth and expansion in the coming years.
Five experts representing various segments of the waterway stakeholder community led discussions on federal policy and appropriations. Julie Ufner from the National Waterways Conference, Brian Vahey from the American Waterways Operators and Justin LeBlanc from Desimone Consulting Group provided a comprehensive overview of current actions impacting our commercial and governmental users, while David Kennedy from BoatUS and Ben Murray from the National Marine Manufacturers Association represented our recreational and marine industry perspectives.
Additional stakeholder groups were represented in presentations and collaborative discussions including Devon Carlock from Cottrell Contracting Corporation for the dredging industry, and Lou Nash from Measutronics and Michael Carris from Trimble offering insights on marine technologies and GPS.
We continue to explore ways to support waterway maintenance through Beneficial Use of Dredged Material including overcoming hurdles to those efforts, and learned how local government efforts in North Carolina to partner with the Corps can improve navigation maintenance led by Ken Willson from Coastal Protection and Engineering.
All presentations are available on the annual meeting webpage. With numerous opportunities to engage with one another, we see the fruits of collaboration continuing with each annual meeting. Thanks to our sponsor partners who help to make the annual meeting possible!
Save the Date to join us in Atlantic Beach, Florida on November 17-19, 2026.
