United States Merchant Marine Academy - Midships Yearbook (Kings Point, NY)

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THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20590 May 16, 1997 MESSAGE TO THE MERCHANT MARINE ACADEMY CLASS OF 1997 My heartiest congratulations to each of you on your graduation from the United States Merchant Marine Academy. Your degree represents four years of discipline and hard work in a rigorous program. As graduates of the Merchant Marine Academy's Class of 1997, the spirit and enthusiasm you possess today will prepare you to lead the nation with vision and vigilance into the next century. Under President Clinton's leadership, this Administration has committed to the rebirth of a great American industry. The President's successful shipbuilding and Maritime Security programs will assure a vital U.S.- flag merchant marine in the 21st century. As the President has said, The American flag must always sail in the sea lanes of the world, and his maritime recovery program has set the course to make it so. I am delighted that many of you have elected to move directly into leadership positions in the Armed Forces, while others will serve the maritime industry, both shipboard and shore side, and an increasing number of others will take up careers in intermodal transportation. The Academy has prepared you well. Your parents and loved ones have cheered you on. I am proud of you, and I bid you fair winds and following seas. Rodney E. Slater

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Administrator US. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration 400 Seventh Street. S.W Washington, D C. 20590 Message to the Merchant Marine Academy Class of 1997 It is my great pleasure to congratulate the 1997 graduating class of the Merchant Marine Academy. As an alumnus of Kings Point, I know the elation you now feel after completing four years of rigorous marine study and finally achieving your scholastic goal. Many diverse and elusive challenges await you in the twenty-first century. Your energy and enthusiasm will truly meet their mettle in the upcoming decades. You will demonstrate your excellence of character by how continuously you enhance your knowledge and skills, how readily you earn the trust and esteem of your colleagues, and how well you care for those you lead. As a graduate of this institution, you are the standard bearer of its values and ideals. As you set out on your life’s journey, you embody the enduring legacy of a proud profession whose need by our nation has never been greater. Your graduation marks the beginning of the greatest adventure of your life. Many sea changes have windswept the world you now enter. Our nation will call on your creativity and look to your leadership to answer the complex demands of tomorrow’s realities. I am confident that the education, the ethics and the passion for excellence, instilled in you at Kings Point, will be the wellspring you draw on lifelong in your service to our nation. May you know fair winds and following seas. May the future be as exciting and as challenging as you could possibly imagine. And may you make America a better place for us all as you set sail for the twenty-first century. Maritime Administrator 21 ©Recycled Recyclable