Crowley Awards Four U.S. Merchant Marine Academy cadets Thomas B. Crowley Sr. Memorial Scholarships

Source: The Journal of Commerce Online

(NEWARK, N.J.: Dec. 8, 2009) Crowley's commitment to provide scholarship opportunities to deserving students continued on Monday as four U.S. Merchant Marine Academy cadets were presented Thomas B. Crowley Sr. Memorial Scholarships at the Containerization and Intermodal Institute's Connie Awards luncheon in Newark, N.J.

Cadets John Buehler, Patrick Delargy, Andrea Morrison and Kyle O'Connor were awarded with Thomas B. Crowley Sr. Memorial scholarships based on their exemplary academic records and financial need. Midshipmen Marie Ebers was also awarded the Containerization & Intermodal Institute's Richard A. Simpson Annual Scholarship.

Buehler, a marine engineering systems design major and electrical engineering minor, has a GPA of 3.6, plays rugby and serves the first company as an honor board chairman and training officer. During his sea year, he sailed on various ships traveling to Europe, South America, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. After graduation, the Orange, Calif. native, hopes to serve in the Naval Reserve as he works as a third engineer on a tugboat or on a Military Sealift Command Naval supply ship.

Delargy, a logistics senior, is a member of the O'Gara Academic Honor Society and maintains a GPA of 3.75, achieving a 4.0 twice so far, with 6 Gold Stars and 1 Silver, and has led his Computer Aided Operations Research Facility (CAORF) team to the rank of top watch of 2010. Delargy is also the Regimental Master of the Training Vessel Kings Pointer. The Lynbrook, N.Y. native is interested in a career with the towing sector and ultimately the Sandy Hook Harbor Pilots.

Since attending USMMA, Morrison has broken the School Record in discus while winning the first individual title in the Landmark Conference and is the Second Rotation Regimental Color Guard Commander. The Southern California native, who has interned with Crowley, will have an Unlimited Third Mates License and Qualified Member of the Engine Department (QMED) Certification when she graduates in June. During her sea year, Morrison sailed on the ATC tanker Alaskan Frontier, Crowley-operated Hapaq-Lloyd's Philadelphia Express and interned twice with Crowley. She has also had internships on Crowley's Tug Nanuq in Valdez, Alaska and at petroleum transportation operation in Long Beach, Calif., learning the chartering system and about the newest Articulated Tug Barges used on the West Coast.

O'Connor has spent the last three years at USMMA making lifelong friends, becoming captain of the men's varsity crew team and focusing on his studies in order to attain his Coast Guard license. A native of Wilmington, N.C. and longtime Jacksonville resident, he looks forward to graduating and beginning his career in the maritime field.

"We are pleased to provide these hard working and talented group of cadets Crowley scholarships. Crowley believes that it is important for us, as an industry, to continue to have well trained and highly educated Mariners in order to guarantee the longevity and strength of the U.S. Merchant Marine," said Rob Grune, senior vice president of Puerto Rico/Caribbean services. Grune is a USMMA alumnus and academy board member.

Since 1984, Crowley has played an important part in the lives of more than 200 students studying at maritime academies and other select institutions across the U.S., Alaska, Central America and the Caribbean. These students have received more than half-a-million dollars in Crowley scholarship funding.

The scholarship program began informally at first, but over the years has grown as Crowley Chairman, President and CEO, Tom Crowley Jr., has directed the company to present scholarship dollars to deserving students in the name of his father Thomas B. Crowley Sr., who guided the company to extraordinary heights before passing away in 1994. The company has also donated more than $2 million over the years to support other educational programs.

The CII's scholarship was renamed the Richard A. Simpson scholarship in 2008 following his passing. A longtime Crowley executive and a member of the CII board, he served as either chairman or president for over 20 years. Simpson founded the CII scholarship program in 1992.

Jacksonville-based Crowley Holdings Inc., a holding company of the 117-year-old Crowley Maritime Corporation, is a privately held family and employee-owned company. The company provides diversified transportation and logistics services in domestic and international markets by means of six operating lines of business: Puerto Rico/Caribbean Liner Services, Latin America Liner Services, Logistics Services, Petroleum Services, Marine Services and Technical Services. Offered within these operating lines of business are the following services: liner container shipping, logistics, contract towing and transportation; ship assist and escort; energy support; salvage and emergency response through its TITAN Salvage subsidiary; vessel management; vessel construction and naval architecture through its Jensen Maritime subsidiary; government services, and petroleum and chemical transportation, distribution and sales. Additional information about Crowley, its subsidiaries and business units may be found on the Internet at www.crowley.com.