Seaway administrator optimistic about Great Lakes region

Humility is not a bad thing, but it's been overdone in the Midwest-Great Lakes region, believes Betty Sutton, the St. Lawrence Seaway Development Corp. (SLSDC) administrator. From a maritime shipping standpoint, she wishes residents would be more vocal about the virtues of transporting cargo through the Great Lakes and the Seaway.

"We have to talk about our successes- the importance of maritime commerce," she said Sept. 1 while visiting the Twin Ports for SLSDC's quarterly meeting. The Ohio native is not just seeking attention for publicity's sake. Her goal as administrator, a position she began two years ago, is to better inform Congressional decision makers about the need to politically and financially support Seaway System infrastructure.

"If we were a country, the eight Great Lakes states, together with the two Canadian maritime provinces, would be the third largest economy in the world. That's important because it attracts more potential (Seaway) users," she said. "In this region, we have one half of the Fortune 500 companies. We are the backbone- the industrial and agricultural heartland of America."

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