Chicago Propeller Club Rechartering
The Chicago Propeller Club is rechartering this month after a 15-year hiatus.
The club staged a sold-out event March 5 at the city’s University Club, with club leaders emphasizing Chicago’s role as the principal interior trade route to the Great Lakes, Atlantic, Mississippi River and Gulf of Mexico. The club is also hosting a membership drive, with a goal of encouraging more networking within the Chicago and Great Lakes maritime community, including inland marine, deep ocean and leisure marine sectors.
Club President-elect Chris Carr, managing partner of SBSB Eastham law firm, said Chicago needs to raise its profile nationally and internationally as a natural destination for maritime companies. He pointed out that the city is already home to some of the biggest shipping lines in the world, including CMA and MSC, as well as a large intermodal transport industry.
“Chicago has an awesome maritime heritage with many businesses based here, and we need to promote that better,” he said. “The Propeller Club can play a big role in this by bringing the Great Lakes and Midwest maritime community together from manufacturers to shipping lines and barge operators to professional services and government. We’re already seeing business being done, and more than 200 people have attended our three events since November.”
More than 70 guests gathered at the University Club of Chicago’s Gallery Room, including representatives from Spliethoff, BP Shipping, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation, American Equity Underwriters, QSL stevedores, Gallagher Insurance, Travellers and Tunley Environmental.
Speakers included Ryan McCoy from Ports of Indiana, Jeff Zuercher from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Grant Crowley, owner of Crowley Yacht Yard on behalf of seafarer charity Stella Maris. Sponsors were Armada Risk Partners 5R Enterprises, Polaris Media America LLC, SBSB Eastham and Sonihull Ultrasonic Antifouling.
Carr told the audience that the club has now opened a bank account, and members can sign up for a $150 membership via the club website at chicagopropellerclub.com.
“By the interest received over our three events, we are extremely confident that we can have an initial membership roll of close to 100, and we have already collected a number of sponsors, enabling us to host four very high-quality events in 2024,” Carr said.
Erik Varela, executive director of Illinois International Port District, Ian Hirt of Benchmark Marine and the Ports of Indiana, Ben Pinnington, managing partner of Polaris Media, and Tara Pappalardo of RLI Marine are serving on the volunteer board of officials.
The club plans to host receptions May 22 for Maritime Day and August 7 at the American Great Lakes Port Association conference, Pinnington, the club’s vice president-elect, said.
First established in 1933 as a chapter of the International Propeller Club of the United States, the Chicago Propeller Club had been dormant in recent years until fall 2023, when it hosted its first “kickstarter” events.
