Presentation

A Luncheon Briefing by Gary L. Springer President, Gulf of Mexico States Partnership, Inc. Tuesday, June 28, 2005 12:00 Noon  (11:30 a.m. networking reception) Plimsoll Club, 30th Floor, WTC (Free validated parking in the WTC Garage)

In 2002, the Gulf of Mexico States Partnership, Inc., the business association counterpart to the official Gulf of Mexico States Accord (www.gomsa.org), was formed to build a business voice on Gulf of Mexico transportation and infrastructure, homeland security and environmental protection; to promote regional research; and to provide public policy advocacy. Gary L. Springer, who serves as President of the Partnership, has led the organization during its instrumental role in the formation of the Gulf of Mexico Congressional Caucus, and its launching of a “Gulf of Mexico Trade Corridor Transportation Study” this month with an initial earmark appropriation from the U.S. Congress.

In February 2000, Mr. Springer was appointed by then-Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris to organize the Gulf of Mexico States Accord Secretariat, and in August 2000 was elected Secretary-General of the Accord by its Executive Committee. The Accord is an international cooperative agreement between the six Mexican states (Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Tabasco, Yucatan, Campeche and Quintana Roo) and five U.S. border states (Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas) located on the Gulf of Mexico. In March 2005, Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco assumed the Presidency of the Accord.