Professional Porters come to Port Everglades
From David Volz
Professional porters who are members of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) Local 1526 are participating in a hospitality training program designed to augment Port Everglades’ world-class service.
Porters’ primary role is to greet cruise guests, confirm stateroom numbers and stow guests’ luggage for embarkation. They also assist guests with their luggage upon their return.
“Porters are integral to the port’s success as they are often the first and last personal contact for our cruise guests,” said Port Everglades CEO and Port Director Jonathan Daniels. “I applaud the ILA for taking the initiative to offer customer-service training that enhances the experience for the nearly 4 million cruise guests we anticipate will travel through our port this cruise season.”
Approximately 250 porters are expected to participate in the two-hour training workshops that will be held at various dates in January.
“The interactive workshops are specifically designed to equip port porters with the best ways to deliver a well-received guest experience during the brief — and often rushed — time that they have with cruise guests,” said the training facilitator Pam Evans, Principal at The Evans Group of South Florida.
Fort Lauderdale Commission discusses city infrastructure
From David Volz
During a recent meeting the Fort Lauderdale Commission received information on the city’s infrastructure needs
The City Commission heard a presentation regarding general fund infrastructure needs and a potential funding strategy to address needs through a general obligation bond or bonds. Renew Lauderdale is an initiative to create a safer and stronger future by investing in infrastructure and resilience programs and projects. In recent years, significant strides have been made to improve stormwater and wastewater infrastructure, efforts that are ongoing. Those efforts are now being expanded to include infrastructure such as roads, sidewalks, bridges, waterfront areas, and transportation mobility. The Commission indicated a preference to identify funding sources other than general obligation bonds to address these vital needs, and Commissioners will discuss the types of improvements they would like to prioritize during the upcoming goal-setting workshop, happening later this month.
Infrastructure has been a priority for the six years that I have been in office,” said Commissioner Steve Glassman. “I am very proud of the significant gains that we have made in this regard.”
The Commission was updated about recent steps taken to address homelessness in the city along with planned efforts moving forward. Homelessness is one of the top priorities of the Commission, with a focus on addressing the congregation at intersections, coordinating services to access mental/physical health and substance abuse resources, and improving safety for our neighbors. Currently, roughly 48% of Broward County’s unsheltered homeless population is within the City of Fort Lauderdale. In 2023, the Police Department and Fire Rescue combined responded to more than 11,200 calls related to homelessness. The City provides a wide range of services for the homeless population, including the Housing Navigation Program, which achieved a 65% success rate for a group of 43 chronically homeless individuals. Nearly $3 million in funding to address homelessness has been approved or is pending approval, and efforts to coordinate and learn from the county and state are ongoing.
“I want to thank city staff, our first responders, and our newly created Homeless Advisory Committee for all the work involved in tackling this very difficult issue. Our City spends about $14 million a year all in on this effort,” said Glassman.
