WTC Savannah announces 2018 Board of Directors

SAVANNAH, Ga. – January 31, 2018, World Trade Center Savannah’s Board of Directors announces the appointment of its 2018 executive committee. Scott Center, owner of National Office Systems, will serve another term as chairman. John Petrino, Director of Business Development for the Georgia Ports Authority, has been appointed Vice Chairman and Laura Moore, President of BankSouth, has been appointed Secretary/Treasurer.

In addition, the board announced newly appointed board members: David Paddison, President, Sterling Seacrest Partners; John Coleman, Vice President, Bonitz of Georgia; Yvonne Long, Director of International Logistics and Trade Compliance, Hugo Boss; Daren Pietsch, President, PaR Marine and Nina Gompels, President, NTG Enterprises.

Reappointed board members include: Steve Croy, Principal, Croy Group;
Bill Hill, McIntosh County; Loretta Cockrum, Chairman and CEO, Foram Group; Ken Bianco, Vice-President of Commercial Operations, JCB Inc. and Michael Foran, consultant.

The new and reappointed board members join current board members: Dr. Cheryl Dozier, President, Savannah State University; Mayor Eddie De Loach, Mayor, City of Savannah; Representative Ann Purcell, board member, Georgia Department of Transportation; Dwight Evans, formerly of Southern Company; Eric Johnson, President, Hussey, Gay, Bell; Willie Seymore, Executive Vice President, South Atlantic and Gulf Coast, International Longshoreman’s Association; Ted Dennard, Founder and President, Savannah Bee Company and Edna Jackson, former Mayor, City of Savannah.

“World Trade Center Savannah’s regional board of directors is committed to growing the organization and supporting economic development throughout the Coastal Georgia region,” said Scott Center, WTCSav Board Chairman. “We do that by helping to identify and facilitate foreign direct investment in the region and by helping established regional companies do business internationally. If you have or know a company here in the area already doing business internationally or that wants to get started, World Trade Center Savannah can help.”

World Trade Center Savannah, licensed in 2011, is a proactive international business and trade development organization that exists to create jobs and attract investment by identifying foreign direct investment opportunities and helping regional businesses do business internationally.
In addition to announcing the WTCSav Board of Directors, the organization highlighted some of the achievements of 2017:

1. Provided services and value to support economic development authority partners in 15 counties as well as the City of Savannah as our Founding Partner.
2. Tapped by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Purdue to coordinate a visit in Savannah with his counterparts, Lawrence MacAulay of Canada and José Eduardo Calzada Rovirosa of Mexico. The three-day summit titled, Partners for Agriculture in North America, included a luncheon and panel discussion with the dignitaries.
3. Managed 33 trade service projects for partners, prospects and other World Trade Centers to advance business interests and promote growth in the Savannah region.
4. Led a delegation of nine regional economic development authority partners to Germany, a WTCSav target country, for a business development and trade mission.
5. Partnered with Georgia Power to host the Savannah Gateway Regional Showcase, a business and economic development event, that included regional partners and a delegation from Ireland.
6. Hosted 15 inbound delegations with 120 delegates.
7. Facilitated 60 business matchmaking meetings regionally.
8. Offered 12 Global Education Programs with 258 participants.
9. Selected as a panel participant at World Trade Center Winnipeg’s “What’s In It For The U.S., eh?” conference which was focused on Canada’s trade and investment relationship with the United States.
10. Supported the Savannah Mayor’s International Luncheon through participation with the Greater Savannah International Alliance (GSIA).

WTCSav is a member of the World Trade Centers Association (WTCA), an association of more than 300 World Trade Centers across the globe in nearly 100 countries. The WTCA network serves as an international ecosystem of global connections and integrated business development and trade services.