Port Director John Stone had a surprise for the Docks and Harbor’s board last night — he’s resigning to go on a sailing trip for two years with his wife.
Board chairman Jim Preston said this was addressed in closed session so the board could discuss the strategy for replacing Stone. Preston said there was no issue with Stone.
“All of the board members, we will all miss him,” Preston said. “It’s with reluctance we accept the resignation. We certainly wish him well.”
“Well, it’s been a lifelong dream to go out and do some sailing,” Stone said afterward. “We just figured it was the right time to do it and we weren’t getting any younger. Basically we’re just gonna leave during the summer and then head south. The ultimate sail plan is to head down to the Caribbean and northeast United States to visit family.”
Stone has worked for CBJ for 11 years, but has lived in Juneau since 1984.
He said they will come back to Juneau, as his wife’s family lives here. Stone said he isn’t retiring and when he comes back he will do something, but he doesn’t know what.
Stone said his biggest accomplishment with Docks and Harbors has yet to come — the Cruise Ship Docks project.
As for words of wisdom for the next port director:
“The big thing is you need to be willing to do a lot of night meetings for sure,” he said. “You need to be sort of a community person. Get down and listen to all the harbor patrons and work with the board and the Assembly. It’s a really challenging job, but it’s a great job too.”
Stone’s resignation goes into effect June 17.
Preston appointed a selection committee, which will include himself board members Mike Williams, Kevin Jardell and Tom Donek, along with harbor master Phil Benner.
“We’ll be doing a nationwide search for his replacement,” Preston said. “Hopefully we’ll have somebody on board before he leaves. We’ll very likely have somebody on board before he actually leaves.”
This was the second resignation to go before the board Thursday, as board member Bob Wostmann had submitted his immediate resignation to Preston. Preston said Wostmann had in the past not been able to do all the tasks necessary and had put effort into attending as many meetings as possible this year, however he was unable to maintain that.
• Contact reporter Sarah Day at 523-2279 or at sarah.day@juneauempire.com.
Comments (16)
Add commentNationwide Search?
I would sure hope the board looks local first for John's replacement....our community should learn its lesson with other out of state recruitment efforts (Parks and Rec, Centennial Hall, Ice rink, School district, etc)
You can spend a lot of time and money to hire the "outside expert" and then find out they don't bring their families with them to Juneau, they get vested and leave.
It would be worth while to try to consider applicants within the Harbor staff or other locals with managerial skills first...and if you totally strikeout, then look outside Juneau.
Juneau's marine environment
Juneau's marine environment is kind of unique. It would be good to have someone who at least knows about icing up, etc. Dont expand the search past statewide. Some one in California might know a lot about harbors, but very little about anything they will need here.
new blood
Get someone new for this position who does not already have preconceived ideas on how to do things around here. Usually, it's the good old boy system, which leads to more of the same. John did a fine job for us, now let's find someone who can expand our direction.
Time for a fresh face, not
Time for a fresh face, not more of the usual suspects. Too bad we can't clean house on the board as well.
"Nationwide Search"
Is this why we pay taxes? To give out of town people jobs? Let me guess, there is not anyone in Juneau that can run a harbor? Does the city feel that people here are so stupid we need someone from out of town? There are a lot of men and women that have worked at the harbor department for a long time. They live here, have families, and deserve promotions. Our harbor personnel have not worked hard all these years to have some out of tower their boss the next day.
What's wrong with hiring a local Native Alaskan, ya know, being that this is Alaska?
WTF Hank? Why would it have
WTF Hank? Why would it have to be a Native position? Do they have some special connection to the Earth that gives them special insight into harbors that others don't possess? Give it to a qualified Alaskan regardless of race, political party or affiliations. Actually base the hiring on skills and what they positives they bring into the job.
I think he means....
kpawsuh - I think he means someone already living here, or born here.
Nationwide search
Hank, you're funny. Just because somebody worked at CBJ Docks & Harbors doesn't make them a port director. I worked at a hospital once. Does that mean I should have been in the line of succession to be a doctor?
Guru, your funny. Why
Guru, your funny. Why wouldnt someone who has worked for years on our docks, knows the patrons, and knows all the issues affecting the ports be more qualified than someone who ran a bass fishing marina in Georgia?
I stand by my comment. Even
I stand by my comment. Even if its Native Alaskan not Alaska Native, who cares if you were born here? I've lived here for 20 yrs and I know more about the area than many who were born and raised here.
Thought
Maybe a fresh young face should step up since the old guard can't seem to act well, or as Jim pointed out, have challenges making meetings.
Cruise Ship Docks Project
Maybe I'm mistaken but wouldn't this project involve building a dock down by the Coast Guard parking lot? If so, this wouldn't seem like an accomplishment at all but a good way to allow tourists (and tourist dollars) to circumvent downtown businesses.
They should look at someone
They should look at someone like Dave Smith. Hes been here for ever, knows everyone, is a likeable dependable guy and works hard, knows the harbors. Wouldn't that be different? I am sure there are many other harbor employees that would be a great fit too. He's just the main one I know.
I guess it's settled, Dave
I guess it's settled, Dave Smith it is.
Congratulations to John Stone...
Congratulations to John Stone for making the decision to go cruising - it will be an experience of a lifetime to enjoy your beautiful boat and see the world at the same time.
As far as some of the comments about requiring a local hire requirement, I think this vacancy definitely needs to go to the best qualified to do the job, period. People in Juneau need to figure out that their 'local preference' thing really is just discrimination against others. The Harbor Director is in charge of designing, constructing, and managing a large modern port. No one in born and raised in Juneau has any experience doing that as it has never been done before in Juneau. At least, not until John Stone has done the work he has done here.
The Harbor Director position in Juneau will certainly draw applicants from all over the country, if not the world. Juneau should hire the most dynamic and experienced person willing to take on the position. It is not uncommon for people to move around the world to fill such positions. The world if full of major ports, which in themselves are awesome examples of infrastructure and engineering. Of course Juneau should take full advantage of the applicant pool, and hire the most dynamic and experienced person possible, and that person will not be from Juneau.
There is a comment about hiring someone local, as they are familiar with all the local people. I have two short comments about that.
One, the people who have to interact directly with the harbor patrons with the day to day operations in the port are the harbormaster and the staff on the docks. These people are local people and the do have local experience with the local patrons.
Two, many of the people who use the docks are not from Juneau. It may be said that a majority of the people who use the docks are not from Juneau. Many Juneau residents do not consider travelers from outside the area to be important; one of the first thing travelers notice about Juneau residents is they are 'cliquey' and do not even acknowledge 'outsiders' as people at all, and totally ignore them.
John Stone, who is about to go cruising, is just about to go out into the big world and experience new ports and harbors. He will be dealing with strangers and ports all the time in all kinds of places. He is hoping to meet new faces and meet interesting people. Frankly, I hope he makes lots of new life-long friends. I hope he doesn't run into a lot of small minded people who ignore him and his wife and treat them like crap because they live on a boat, which is exactly the problem with Juneau. Let's face it: there are simply a lot people in Juneau who have never gone out into the big world and looked anybody in the eye. There are a lot of people right here in Juneau who don't even know their neighbors, much less a 'stranger' who lives on a boat.