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8 • MarineNews • March, 2005 News at welder/fitter, foreman, superintendent, Yard Manager, General Manager, V.P. of Operations and President. Most recently, Richard was President of Newpark Ship- building - Pelican Island which was part of First Wave Marine. He was with Bludworth Bond Shipyard and John Bludworth Marine for over 22 years before John Bludworth Marine was purchased by First Wave in 1998." "The addition of these two very experienced man- agers will complement our current management team, help the company execute our increasing backlog of more sophisticated projects, and enable the Company to take advantage of other market opportunities." AWO Names New Regional Vice Presidents The American Waterways Operators (AWO) has named two new vice presidents to its Southern and Pacific regions, Matthew Holzhalb and Jason A. Lewis, respectively. In these positions, they assume the prima- ry advocacy role on regional industry issues in those regions with state legislatures and federal agencies. Lewis' appointment became effective January 3, while Holzhalb assumed his position in September. Holzhalb was chosen from a field of over 125 candidates to replace Kenneth Wells, who left to take a position as President of the Offshore Marine Services Association. He is very familiar with the industry, having paid his way through college as a deckhand and tankerman aboard towboats. After receiving his undergraduate degree, Holzhalb worked for six years in a shipyard as its safety and environmental manager while earning his MBA at Southeastern Louisiana University. His consid- erable maritime knowledge provides a valuable back- ground for his work as the AWO Southern Region's lead industry advocate. The AWO Southern Region office is located in New Orleans. Holzhalb lives in Covington, La. with his wife, Sum- merlin, and his two young children, Andrew and Lucy. Lewis replaces Gerald McMahon, who is retiring. Lewis joins AWO from his position as legislative analyst and government affairs lobbyist for the Washington Retail Association. In that position, Lewis gained extensive experience analyzing proposed legislation and regula- tions and developing and implementing strategic action plans. He also performed grassroots lobbying and oversaw the association's political action committee. Lewis has experience with the legislative process, having worked as a staffer in the Washington State Senate. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Central Washington University. Lewis lives in Gig Harbor, Washington with his wife, Katrina, and their two chil- dren, Marissa and Michael. The AWO Pacific Region office is located in Seattle. Circle 208 on Reader Service Card Obituary: A.J. Rizzo By Larry Pearson A.J. Rizzo died Saturday, February 26, 2005, at home in Metairie, La. at 66 years old. A.J. was a colleague of mine. He was a marine writer par excellence who val- ued the written word and used it to great advantage for his clients. I first met A.J. in 1986 when I came to New Orleans as editor of Workboat. In 1984, A.J. established Anderson & Rizzo, an adver- tising and public relations firm that had Halter Marine Services as a major client. Before establishing his own firm, A.J. was director of communications for Halter. He was sort of a walking encyclopedia of all things marine. He was there when the oil industry was boom- ing and survived the mid-1980's downturn. His "reach" extended nationwide and even worldwide, as his major client Halter Marine, built thousands of boats for com- panies all over the world. He lived with heart problems for much of his last two decades. If you didn't know him well, you would not have known of his heath issues. Always of good spirit, A.J. kept email inboxes full of funny stories, both marine and otherwise. I could go on, but I kept this concise and to the point…A.J. would have liked it that way. MN MARCH05 1(1-8).qxd 3/4/2005 11:36 AM Page 8
