Alabama Man Tabbed For Waterway Leadership Post

PRESS RELEASE

Stepan

Columbus, MS The Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Authority has hired J. Craig Stepan of Fairhope, Alabama as its administrator. He succeeds Bruce Windham who resigned last year due to illness. Stepan will also serve as president of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Council, the authority’s sister waterway trade association.

“The members of the authority are pleased to have someone with Craig Stepan’s extensive background and experience in marine transportation to lead our efforts to promote the development of the waterway and grow its benefits to our region,” said Brian Roy, vice-chairman of the waterway compact. Before joining the waterway agency, Stepan was President/Owner of Superior Shipping and Consulting Services LLC, specializing in multi-modal transportation matters. He has over thirty eight years of experience dedicated to the marketing, development, and operation of marine transportation, including terminal facilities in the U.S. and abroad. He had earlier held executive management positions with U.S. Steel, including general manager and president of its Warrior and Gulf Navigation Company and Mobile River Terminal Company. At that time these business enterprises generated about $85 million in annual revenues and were responsible for barge shipments of 10 million tons annually. “In addition to having many years of involvement in all the major modes of transportation, Craig also understands the respective roles of the Corps of Engineers, the Coast Guard, and that of waterway stakeholder groups like the Council to make the waterway an efficient and dependable mode of transportation”, said Lucian Lott, chairman of the Tenn-Tom Waterway Council. “He will provide needed leadership and direction for our group”, added Lott.

The waterway authority is a four-state interstate compact, ratified by the U.S. Congress, to promote the development of the Tenn-Tom Waterway and its economic potential to the region and the nation. Its member states are Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee. Chairmanship of the compact rotates annually among the four governors with Governor Steve Beshear of Kentucky currently serving as its chairman. The Waterway Council has nearly 200 members from 13 states and serves as a forum for a multitude of public and private interests in the waterway and its benefits, including commerce and trade, recreation and tourism, and economic development. Both organizations are headquartered in Columbus, MS.