WTDC News – August 1st, 2024
President’s Corner
WTDC’s Internship Program is an excellent opportunity to share our knowledge and principles with undergraduate students. I am thrilled to highlight recent accomplishments of Brianna Page, Fernando Menendez, and Ramon Peon.
WTDC Operations Assistant Brianna Page has spent the past 4 summers working with BLUE Missions. This summer, she led three groups of high school students where they created bathrooms for a total of 28 families in the Dominican Republic.
During Brianna’s tenure with BLUE Missions, she has brought water to 3 different communities and connected almost 100 families with new bathrooms. BLUE Missions aims to aid families in Latin America by creating accessible clean water sources through service trips, education programs, and local services while inspiring young people to connect with the community they are serving.
WTDC Account Specialist Fernando Menendez recently attended the Frank J. Ruck Leadership Institute in Richmond, Virginia. He spent 4 days honing his professional skills and left with a better understanding of his leadership style to use within his fraternity chapter and his daily life.
The Ruck Leadership Institute is the landmark leadership program of Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity, of which Fernando is a member through FIU’s chapter. The program allows SigEp’s Alumni to mentor current undergraduates from across the country in personal leadership skills.
WTDC Sales and Marketing Intern Ramon Peon is responsible for taking part in creating Students for Life at FIU, a pro-life group at the university he attends. This year, Students for Life at FIU provided mothers with over 11,000 diapers, along with various other essentials. Students for Life at FIU received the Standing with You Group of the Year award in Washington, DC, where they competed against other school organizations including those from UCLA, ASU, and others.
WTDC is incredibly proud of the initiative and drive our interns have inside and outside of the workplace. They are a wonderful example of WTDC’s focus on education and community.
Stay healthy,
Sean Gazitua, President & CEO
School Supplies Drive for Lotus House
On Friday July 26th, Magaya donated a generous amount towards WTDC’s School Supplies Drive for Lotus House Women’s Shelter.
We are still collecting school supplies until the end of this week. Thank you to our corporate partners ASCI, Magaya Corporation, MVC Transportation, and Palmetto Transportation for your generous donations.
Lotus House provides shelter, resources, and services to women, youth, and children. They provide shelter for over 1,550 displaced women and youth annually and are recognized as the largest women’s homeless shelter in the country.
Thank you Magaya for your contribution!
USDA Approves certain Chilean Exports to ship to U.S. without fumigation
On July 18th, the USDA announced it will allow exporters from certain Chilean cities to send fruit to the United States with an inspection-based alternative rather than methyl-bromide fumigation.
Growers that meet certain requirements from Atacama, Coquimbo, and part of Valparaíso will benefit from using inspections instead of fumigation for exporting goods, as fruit quality will increase.
Claudia Serrer, ProChile Miami Trade Commissioner commented to WTDC: “The USDA’s approval for Chilean table grapes from pest-free areas from Atacama, Coquimbo, and Valparaíso to be exported without methyl bromide fumigation, not only boosts our off-season exports but also benefits American importers by ensuring stable high-quality fruit all year round. This development underscores the positive growth in our trade relationship and represents a significant step forward for both the quality and competitiveness of our products.”
MIA’s new Cargo Facility: VICC
On July 16th, Miami-Dade County officials approved a minimum of $400 million in private investment to construct a four-story cargo facility at Miami International Airport.
The Vertically Integrated Cargo Community (VICC) will be the first of its kind in the western hemisphere and will increase the airport’s total cargo by at least 50% or 2 million tons annually. The VICC will be 800,000 square feet and operate on 11 acres of MIA.
The project is scheduled to be finished by 2029.
MIA and PortMiami to create new processing facility for incoming goods
PortMiami and Miami International Airport will be partnering to create an innovative new facility to sanitize and refrigerate incoming goods. The goal is to increase trade and products that arrive through South Florida.
The processing facility will be located at the airport which satisfies the grant requirement it must be within a 10-mile radius of the seaport.
Commodities that will most-likely be processed at the facility will be perishables such as fruits, vegetables, and flowers.
The facility will also be looking into fumigation alternatives, such as irradiation. Currently, there are only 2 irradiation facilities in the United States, which leads to new opportunities for South Florida if they were to implement it.
Miami Today – Miami International Airport, PortMiami plan cutting-edge trade amenity
Carnival Cruises to add 3 new LNG megaships to their fleet
Carnival Corporation plans to add three large ships to their fleet anticipating the growth of the already popular cruising industry.
The new ships will each have over 3,000 guest staterooms and the ability to carry almost 8,000 guests. This will make the ships the largest in the company’s fleet. The new vessels will also be powered by liquefied natural gas which is considered a cleaner alternative to oil or coal.
The three ships are scheduled for delivery in 2029, 2031, and 2033.
Miami Herald – Carnival is adding 3 new mega-ships. Take a look at what’s coming for cruise travel
Cruise Blog – Carnival orders three new massive LNG cruise ships
