WTDC Newsletter – October 1, 2020 – President’s Corner – #CroquetaDay and #LiveLikeBella -CDC extends Cruise Ship No Sail Order through October 31st -WTDC President and CEO Sean Gazitua featured in Foreign Trade Zone article -WTDC Health and Wellness program  President’s Corner Today I’m enjoying Croqueta Day with a ham croqueta – and dash of lime – from my favorite Cuban restaurant Sergio’s. My cousin Carlos Gazitua is CEO of Sergio’s Restaurants and it brings me pride to see people across the country celebrating with croquetas today. If you don’t have a Sergio’s ventanita near you, you can now order online nationwide! A couple weeks ago I had lunch at Sergio’s with Live Like Bella Chairman of the Board Raymond Rodriguez. Mr. Rodriguez shared that each day 43 families receive the devastating news that their child has cancer. Live Like Bella is now using the number 43 in their childhood cancer awareness campaigns. My cousin Carlos passed by our table to say hello and a few minutes later an amazing cross-promotion was hatched to sell 43 limited edition Sergio’s wagyu burgers topped with croquetas for $43 dollars on October 1st. Reservations for the promotion quickly sold out and $2020 in proceeds went to Live Like Bella! Last weekend WTDC participated as a silver sponsor in Live Like Bella’s Get Active for Kids with Cancer event. Our WTDC team ‘got active’ at the workplace and we had a little fun making a video for the Live Like Bella event, see the last article in today’s newsletter for more.  CDC extends Cruise Ship No Sail Order through October 31 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced yesterday that the No Sail Order expiring on September 30th would be extended through October 31st. From the CDC Media Statement: “The continued spread of the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide, risk of resurgence in countries that have suppressed transmission, ongoing concerns related to restarting of cruising internationally, and need for additional time to assess industry measures to control potential SARS-CoV-2 transmission on board cruise ships with passengers without burdening public health, support continuation of the No Sail Order at this time.” CDC: Cruise Ship No Sail Order Extended Through October 31, 2020 Sean Gazitua featured in article on Foreign Trade Zones Supply Chain Dive reached out to WTDC President & CEO Sean Gazitua for his comments on renewed interest in Foreign Trade Zones throughout the U.S.: Interest in these locations has grown as a result of the trade war, which increased tariffs by as much as 25% on some items imported from China. Shippers have also become more interested in FTZs during the pandemic as a way to cut costs, said Sean P. Gazitúa, the president and CEO of Miami-based WTDC, a logistics company, FTZ operator and consultant. “It’s been a busy year,” Gazitúa said. “A lot of people have been trying to cut costs or hold on to their cash as long as possible.” Click the article below for additional comments from Mr. Gazitua on how WTDC is assisting companies as a FTZ Consultant to create their own Foreign Trade Zones and how companies are using FTZs to defer duties as a cash savings strategy during these uncertain times. Supply Chain Dive: FedEx opens Foreign Trade Zone in El Paso, Texas, as trade war and pandemic increase shipper interest WTDC Health & Wellness In the first article of today’s newsletter, we mentioned a video taken at WTDC for the Live Like Bella Get Active for Kids event, linked in the photo above. WTDC recently upgraded the workout equipment available to its employees and tenants in the WTDC fitness center. Since its creation we’ve been able to offer daily yoga and stretching sessions, healthy lunch options to our staff, health insurance options for all full time employees, massages from a licensed masseuse, flu shots, annual participation in the Live Like Bella 5k, a quiet room for meditation, COVID-19 testing and deep cleanings of the facility to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Programming has included Zumba, Tai Chi, Ballet, and cross training. WTDC’s Health and Wellness program was born out of an idea to make our workplace a welcoming and healthy environment for our tenants and employees. We continue to learn from the best practices of like-minded companies and our findings mirror those discussed by our payroll and HR service company ADP in the article below: a healthier workforce is a more productive and engaged one. ADP: Employee Health and Wellness: What the Healthiest Employers Do Differently |
Cruise ship leaders urge CDC to end No Sail Order
| WTDC Newsletter – September 16, 2020 – PortMiami and Cruise leaders urge CDC not to extend No Sail Order – Live Like Bella and Childhood Cancer Awareness – ProChile Trade Commissioner visits WTDC – Welcome WTDC Intern Kristina Khudiadova – MIA receives accreditation for COVID-19 measures  President’s Corner It was an honor to host Raymond Rodriguez-Torres, Chairman of the Board for Live Like Bella Childhood Cancer Foundation, at WTDC this week. He is pictured above (center) with my father Ralph L. Gazitua, WTDC Chairman (left), and I (right). September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and WTDC presented a silver sponsorship to Mr. Rodriguez-Torres for Live Like Bella’s Get Active for Kids with Cancer virtual event on September 26th, 2020. We welcome you to learn more about Live Like Bella’s role to keep childhood cancer in the spotlight through advocacy, legislation, research, assistance to families affected by childhood cancer. In other news, WTDC continues to do its part to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by sanitizing our workplace, requiring social distancing and the wearing of masks, and encouraging our employees to live healthy lifestyles while minimizing their exposure. WTDC is a Florida Drug Free Workplace and I’m proud to share that our staff passed their random quarterly drug testing last week. WTDC’s C-TPAT Security Profile was approved last week in accordance with the new requirements and we welcome C-TPAT partners to link with us in the portal. If you have any questions about WTDC, or an idea for our newsletter, I welcome you to email me here. – Sean P. Gazitua, WTDC President & CEO   ProChile visits WTDC Last week Sean P. Gazitua, WTDC President & CEO (center right), and Ralph L. Gazitua, WTDC Chairman, welcomed Germán Rocca, Trade Commissioner at ProChile USA South East Office (center left), and Jaime Silva Jr., Trade Manager at ProChile (right), to a meeting at WTDC. ProChile assists small and medium-size enterprises in their trade expansion efforts by leveraging trade agreements, fostering public-private partnerships, and helping position Chile in the international marketplace. Stay tuned for updates to this meeting! And we can’t mention Chile this week without wishing our Chilean customers and colleagues a Feliz Fiestas Patrias, as they celebrate Chilean Independence Day on Friday, September 18th! Cruise and PortMiami leaders urge CDC not to exetend No Sail Order The September 10th meeting of the Miami-Dade County Tourism and the Ports Committee evolved into a joint push by cruise officials and Miami-Dade officials to request that the CDC not extend the No Sail Order that is in place until September 30th. Cruise leaders participating in the virtual meeting included Frank Del Rio, CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line, Arnold Donald, President and CEO of the Carnival Corporation, Michael Bayley, President and CEO of Royal Caribbean International, and Richard Sasso, Chairman of MSC Cruises in North America. “We’ve got to get to work,” Frank Del Rio, CEO of Norwegian Cruise Line said. “Enough is enough. It’s been more than six months. We’ve learned a lot.” Miami Herald: ‘Enough is enough’: Commissioners and cruise execs urge CDC to let cruising resume Cruise Hive: Cruise Line CEO Says “The Cruise Industry is Close to Devastation” in Miami-Dade Meeting  Welcoming our new social media Intern from FIU Welcome to the team Kristina! Kristina Khudiakova is a Florida International University (FIU) student and is an Intern for WTDC’s Sales and Marketing Department specializing in social media. Originally from Arkhangelsk, Russia, she is pursuing a major in International Business at FIU and is President of the International Business Honors Society (IBHS). MIA receives Airport Health Accreditation for its measures to prevent COVID-19 Miami International Airport (MIA) celebrated its 92nd anniversary this week and is also celebrating news that it received Airport Health Accreditation from Airports Council International (ACI) for its best practices and key measures taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19. MIA is the first airport in Florida and only the 3rd airport in North America to receive the accreditation. Click the story from MIA below for more information. MIA is first airport in Florida, second in U.S. to receive health accreditation from ACI World |