Thank you Todd Pacific Shipyards of Seattle, for hosting a tour for the West Coast branch of WISTA.
Last week I toured Todd Shipyards in Seattle with the West Coast branch of the Women's International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA). The yard doesn't usually give tours to the public, but they went out of their way for us and we sure appreciated it. We were able to see their dry docks at work and a few of the ships they have in the yard as well as some of the different shops where repair work is done. Our tour guide was Nathan Ford Jr., Manager of Labor Relations who knew the yard like the back of his hand. He began working at Todd Shipyards in the 60s. He followed in his father's footsteps who worked there from about 1941 to 1981. He gave us a great education on how shipbuilding changed in the Puget Sound from the first World War to now, and I know all of the women on the tour appreciated it. I hope to work the yard's unique story into the pages of MarineNews soon.
The northern region group of WISTA West Coast has had a number of tours for our members and prospective members and we've all really enjoyed the opportunity to learn about the different aspects of the industry in the region. If your company is within striking distance of the Seattle area and you might like to invite the WISTA group over for a tour, let me know.