Seafarers International House held its 15th “Setting the Course” annual awards banquet last Monday evening, honoring Anthony Chiarello, President and CEO of Tote, Inc., and Stephen Knott, General Vice President, International Longshoremen’s Association, as its 2015 OUTSTANDING FRIENDS OF SEAFARERS. The banquet raised over $200,000 in support of Seafarers International House’s port mission for seafarers of all nationalities and all faiths.
Chiarello is a fourth generation maritime industry veteran with more than 34 years’ experience in transportation and logistics. He joined TOTE (formerly American Shipping Group), in August 2010.
Knott is a 48-year veteran of the ILA and was unanimously elected General Vice President of the International Longshoremen’s Association, AFL-CIO at its Quadrennial Convention in July 2011.
The banquet was held at the New York Athletic Club, and the guests enjoyed a hors d’oeuvres and cocktail reception, followed by the banquet and a stirring musical tribute by the United States Coast Guard Academy Glee Club under the direction of Dr. Robert J. Newton, before returning to the reception room for cordials and dessert.
Raymond J. Burke, Esq. (Senior Partner, Burke & Parsons) served as Master of Ceremonies and, assisted by Rev. Marsh Luther Drege, executive director of Seafarers International House, presented the crystal lighthouse awards to Messer. Chiarello and Knott. Additionally, special recognition was given to Sailors’ Snug Harbor, a testamentary trust created in 1806 by Captain Robert R. Randall to assist “aged, decrepit and worn-out” seafarers, and its generous support of Seafarers International House.
Seafarers International House is a Lutheran mission to seafarers and immigrants founded in 1843. It serves seafarers in the Ports of Baltimore, Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York, New Haven, New London and Providence. It also operates the last seafarer hotel in Manhattan, serving seafarers, persons granted asylum and other sojourners. The mission strives to nurture the human spirit and foster human dignity.