Supporting Communities and Celebrating Innovation: MTS's Response to Hurricanes and a Busy Month of Events
We are saddened by the incredible impact of hurricanes Helene and Milton on communities along the Gulf of Mexico and in the Southeastern United States this month. MTS has hundreds of members, partners, and staff members in the region – including our SeaMATE Store fulfillment center in eastern Tennessee. Many in our community have been severely impacted by these storms -- they are all at the forefront of our thoughts. To help translate our sympathy and concern into action, MTS has donated to the Hurricanes Milton and Helene fund at American Red Cross. There are dozens of exceptional organizations providing much-needed support to impacted communities from Tennessee, through the Carolinas, and across Florida. Please consider how you can represent the compassion and generosity of our community by assisting those who need our help.
October is traditionally an active month for the MTS community, and I had the good fortune this month to spend time with members across our community for a handful of in-person events – and our HQ team extended that reach even more!
Our Ocean Enterprise team kicked off October with a Biodiversity Techsurge in Baltimore. This two-day workshop focused on technologies to address the challenge of ocean biodiversity loss and the market drivers to aggregate demand for solutions.
The Dynamic Positioning Committee assembled in Houston for their annual Workshop and Conference. I was honored to join committee and conference leads Suman Muddusetti and Chuck Centore as a workshop participant and was reminded of the incredible impact and importance of the work our DP Committee does to ensure safe, predictable, and incident-free execution of DP operations throughout the entire offshore industry.
For the 32nd year, MTS and Oceaneering partnered for the annual Technology Forum and Symposium (aka the Crab Feast!). Our DC Section hosted a lively panel discussion, for the 600+ attendees, with representatives from NOAA, the US Navy, Proteus Ocean Group, and the Defense Innovation Unit on the topic of Innovation in the Maritime Domain.
Hundreds of members and partners joined our Houston Section for their annual BBQ and fundraiser. A stable of the Houston MTS calendar, the event served up incredible food, a rich technology exhibit, and a silent auction that raised $39,600 for student scholarships in the region.
As we close out the month, I’m happy to be in Fort Lauderdale, Florida with a few MTS board members to participate in the annual Ocean Exchange event. Each year delegates from around the world gather to hear pitches from and select award winners for 3x $100,000 in non-dilutive cash prizes to help accelerate the adoptions of solutions for a healthy ocean and sustainable blue economy. The event also includes 2x $10,000 collegiate awards for earlier state start-ups – this year MTS is proud to partner with Ocean Exchange to help support and catalyze innovation within our early career ocean professional (ECOP) community.
Early state companies, and innovators and entrepreneurs with new ideas for solutions and technologies, are the core of our shared marine technology innovation ecosystem. From our section and committee thought leadership, through partnerships with groups like the Ocean Exchange, and including our leading role in the $100 million NOAA Accelerator program, the MTS community continues to be at the leading edge of ocean and marine technology innovation, advancement, and adoptions.
Thank you for being a part of what makes our community the best in the business.
