Maritime Conference Center Blog

​The Maritime Conference Center is currently looking for a Guest Services Representative for our front desk operation. This full time (40 hour week) opportunity offers competitive salary and excellent benefits including health, dental, and vison coverage for employee and qualified dependents with zero $ payroll deduction. We offer paid vacation, personal and sick time, and 13 paid holidays. We currently offer combined employer contributions of 15% to Pension and IRAP Plans plus a 401K employee contribution plan.  MCC sits on a beautiful campus-like setting with employee discounts on limited overnight stays when available, use of indoor pool and gym, free parking and one meal per scheduled shift! 

With revenue at the forefront, the daily tasks include, but are not limited to, the sale of 232 hotel guest rooms at the current or better rate, upselling additional services, entering and confirming reservations, guest check in/check out, answering and directing telephone calls and in person inquiries, retail sales in the onsite store, and other duties as outlined below. This position has a flex schedule geared to cover the business needs of a 24 hour hotel.
 
I. MAJOR DUTIES AND REPONSIBILITIES
     RESERVATIONS AND FRONT DESK OPERATIONS

• Pre-block guest rooms based on available floors.
• Utilize BEO’s and Group Resumes to gain group details and coordinate needs with other departments.
• Deliver VIP Welcome Amenities to guest rooms.
• Check guests in and out and assign proper credentials
• Check to make sure all financial data, customer information data, and proper forms of payment/posting information is correct.
• Ensure that all relevant information is blogged on the Front Desk Daily Shift Blog in MS Teams.
• Assist with health screenings, when applicable.
• Work with off-site hotels during oversell conditions.
• Make certain front desk and front office areas remain neat and tidy.
• Other duties as assigned

 
II.  DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• High School Diploma or equivalent.
• Two years previous experience in hotel front desk preferred.
• Comfortable with Microsoft Office, Hospitality systems and POS systems. 
• Ability to lift packages up to 50 pounds.  Ability to walk quickly, and for long distances due to size of facility. Assist with guest private functions as directed by OM.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills to be capable of providing quality service to hotel guests.
•  Personable and outgoing, pleasant phone demeanor.
• Excellent customer service skills and ability to connect with guests positively.
• Able to complete fire training and CPR courses.

 
 
For immediate consideration send your resume in confidence to jsibiski@mitags.org. This position will fill quickly! 

EOE AA 

Eric Friend, appointed by MATES Program trustees, to assume the Executive Director role effective January 17, 2022. 

Baltimore, MD – January 18, 2022 – On behalf of the MM&P MATES Program, The Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies (MITAGS) and Maritime Conference Center (MCC) announce the retirement of long-time Executive Director, Glen Paine.
Glen initially began his maritime career sailing for the International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots (MM&P) after graduating from the United States Merchant Marine Academy in 1978. Glen had been a MITAGS student for many years, before joining the staff as an instructor in 1986, teaching a variety of classes including Radar, ARPA, Electronic Navigation Systems (EINS), weather, hazardous materials, and occasionally LAP subjects. He also provided curriculum support for the shiphandling department, helping them to implement new BRM courses and custom simulation programs, eventually moving up the ranks to department head.

Glen went on to earn his master’s degree in general administration from the University of Maryland, University College (UMUC). A degree he states served him well when he became the Executive Director of the MATES Program in 1998.
“In 1998, we hit the deck running and tackled a multitude of pressing issues including improving academics, infrastructure replacement, and building a first-class conference operation,” said Glen. “What I’m truly most proud of, though, is the people working at MITAGS-MCC and the mission they continue to serve!”

“MITAGS was up and running when Glen took over from Captain Pillsbury in 1998, but Glen’s tireless work, vision and dedication transformed it from just another union training school, to one of the premier maritime training facilities in the world,” said Don Marcus, President of the International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots, AFL-CIO (MM&P). “MITAGS is recognized internationally as a leader, and has set the standards for maritime training in the USA, as well as the rest of the planet.”


Under Glen’s direction and leadership, MITAGS-MCC has become a world-class institution and conference center, winning numerous awards over the years for its Navigation Skills Assessment Program (NSAP)®, Workboat Academy Program, and advancements in simulation technology and research for the maritime and offshore wind industries. MCC has also previously been named “Best Venue for Conferences” by Unique Venues.

“Glen has personally dedicated his years on and off the job to maritime training and to the U.S. flag Merchant Marine and MM&P. He is an expert in his field and has contributed more than his full measure of blood, sweat and tears in protecting and advancing our great institution,” continued Don Marcus.

Glen’s successor, as selected by the MATES Program trustees, is Director of MITAGS, Eric Friend.

“The trustees’ decision to select Eric as the next Executive Director has made the transition much easier.  Eric has been running the Academic Division for several years, and involved in most major decisions,” said Glen.  “Eric is smart, dedicated, and respected by the trustees, students, and industry.  He has all the attributes to take the school to the next level.”

“It’s been a true honor serving under Glen and witnessing firsthand the trust and respect he has earned around the industry,” said Eric Friend. “His perseverance, tenacity and leadership constantly drove us forward, allowing MITAGS to forge its own path, leaving a trail and a huge legacy for the entire industry to follow. I would never be able to fill Glen’s shoes, but intend to stand on his shoulders and reach farther advancing his legacy.”

Diane Ford, Glen’s executive assistant, has also retired. Diane started her career at MITAGS in 1974 as a receptionist for several years, leaving briefly and returning in 2001 as MITAGS’ registrar. She then became an academic coordinator in 2003, before becoming Glen’s assistant in 2010.

“Diane has been a tremendous executive assistant.  She was heavily involved in a wide range of areas that were crucial to the MATES Program including the trustees, admissions, academic operations/audits, student services, legal, etc.,” said Glen. “If I was involved, she was as well.  Her talents and willingness to tackle almost anything, allowed me to successfully deal with the myriad of issues that comes with the Executive Director position.  Additionally, she is just a wonderful person.  She is constantly thinking of others.  I literally could not have done my job without her, and I am deeply grateful that she decided to stay on until I retired.  She is truly one of the unsung “heroes” of the MATES Program.”

“Diane has always had a way of keeping what matters most at the forefront of her responsibilities, putting our mariners and MM&P members first,” said Eric. “Her steadfastness and desire to take care of everyone around her will truly be missed!”

​Due to the on-going pandemic, a private reception was held for Glen at MITAGS-MCC earlier this month. An October Glory Maple Tree and park bench will be dedicated to Glen on the MITAGS campus sometime this spring.

The entire staff at MITAGS-MCC wish both Glen and Diane smooth sailing in their retirements and look forward to new leadership under Eric Friend.

As most are aware, the COVID-19 Pandemic greatly impacted our hospitality community.  Maritime Conference Center (MCC), on the campus of MITAGS, produces revenue for the 501c3 non-profit school by hosting conferences, meetings and other training events.  This revenue stream quickly came to a halt and the campus closed for a couple of months in March 2020.  Like most organizations, we quickly migrated to remote and hybrid solutions to keep our business moving and, by the end of May 2020, we safely reopened the campus to host maritime training students.

​As Chris Fertig explains in an article he wrote regarding Operation DGAR, “By the spring of 2020, COVID-19 restrictions on travel had stranded hundreds of mariners on 13 commercial and U.S. government-owned ships based on and around the remote island of Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.  The pandemic had shut down the normal military flights between Bahrain, Singapore and Diego Garcia, leaving the mariners and the island’s land-based personnel with no way on or of the atoll.”  MITAGS-Maritime Conference Center learned that the team with Maersk Line, Limited was attempting to create a solution to solve the crew relief challenge, and that they were utilizing a hotel in Virginia to provide a 14-day quarantine.  They were testing the mariners, transporting them to a private air terminal and then providing a private aircraft to Diego Garcia, then to their ship for job assignment.  The team at MITAGS-MCC knew it could assist and provide everything needed to make the operation a success for as long as necessary.  

Maritime Conference Center’s team quickly began working through logistical planning, to include securing clean transportation services, ensuring a chartered aircraft would be able to depart from BWI Airport to the island, creating relationships with a testing company, etc.  In conjunction with Patriot Contracting Services, Maersk Line, Limited and others, we developed an ongoing ROM (Restriction of Movement) event for mariners for “Operation DGAR” and began housing mariners at the end of September 2020.  The ROM event included accommodations, COVID-19 testing, meals, and clean transportation to/from BWI Airport to meet their chartered aircraft.  We also housed returning mariners needing accommodations before catching their flights home.  In addition, there were times that MITAGS was able to provide mariner training during the mariners’ time in quarantine.

MCC also created an orientation video, provided welcome and departure briefings, and created a “ROM Manager” position to provide operational oversight of the reservations process, on-site event, and billing.   The landing page for the ROM event and video can be found here:  https://www.mccbwi.org/rom.html

According to Chris Fertig of Maersk Line, Limited, “Between May 2020 and July 31, 2021, Operation DGAR completed eight airlift missions from the U.S. East Coast to Diego Garcia, moving 1,849 commercial and civilian mariners, regulatory personnel, contractors, and active-duty military personnel from the U.S. Navy, Army, Air Force and Space Force.  Additionally, those flights carried over 10,000 pounds of critical spare parts and supplies needed to sustain more than 13 different ships supporting government operations in the Indian Ocean region.”  Operation DGAR continues today, and a new group of mariners arrived for ROM/Quarantine mid-September 2021.  
The full article written by Chris Fertig can be read here:  https://gcaptain.com/operation-dgar-a-collective-effort-to-repatriate-stranded-mariners-during-a-global-pandemic/

Once we developed the ROM/Quarantine capabilities, MITAGS-Maritime Conference Center worked to spread the word to other shipping companies, military organizations, and anyone else that might be able to utilize the service.  In November 2020 the U.S. Air force began working with us on a need to quarantine as well, but since it conflicted with the mariner ROM we worked with one of our off-site partner hotels, Holiday Inn Express & Suites Baltimore-BWI Airport North (a Baywood property) to assist them in landing the much needed business.  Roxanne Rivera, General Manager, stated that the group was with them December 2020 through May 2021 and brought in approximately $276K in revenue.  This business was helpful in maintaining employment for many staff members.  

In conclusion, Maritime Conference Center worked with multiple maritime organizations and vendor partners to ensure safe quarantine of hundreds of mariners throughout the pandemic.  These efforts also generated much needed revenue to ensure employment for MCC’s front desk, dining room and housekeeping staff during the exceptionally difficult pandemic time period.  It also allowed MCC to bring some staff members back from furlough to support the mission.  As part of the mission we also moved the charter flight to fly through BWI Airport instead of Virginia and provided Superior Tours out of Baltimore, MD with approximately $24,000 in revenue through end of July 2021.  While Covid-19 testing kits and lab processing was initially handled through Future Care and our own staff administrators, we ultimately switched to local Maryland vendor Avalon Lab Solutions and provided approximately $44,000 in revenue to that vendor so far.  And in our efforts to spread the word about safe quarantine/ROM capabilities, we were also able to assist a partner property with landing much-needed business during the pandemic. ​

Last month, MCC Director of Sales, Jill Porter, spoke at the 2021 Unique Venues Virtual Conference. The panel session was titled, Doing the “Pandemic Pivot” – Making the Best of Challenging Circumstances.

As described by Unique Venues:

"When the industry came to a screeching halt in March of 2020, we all thought it would only last a few months. As we approached the summer months and it became obvious that the restrictions and closures would extend much longer than anticipated, some venues began exploring alternatives to hosting traditional in-person meetings and events. Could events be transitioned to a virtual environment? Could they continue in-person within stringent social distancing and health guidelines? Could they package and sell their expertise to clients, instead of just their space? Did the venue have experiential elements that could be provided to groups that were meeting virtually? Was it possible to make many of these things available on-demand?

The venues that were able to identify opportunities, work through challenges, and pivot their business model quickly were able to find new ways to engage both existing and new clients, keep staff employed, generate revenue for their operations, and open their venue up to new business verticals for the long term."

This panel discussion included various venues that successfully made a “Pandemic Pivot." Jill specifically discussed MCC's ever-changing COVID-19 protocols to keep up with local restrictions and clients' needs, supporting hybrid meetings and events at MCC's facility, and quarantining mariners as they prepared to travel around the country and overseas.

Other panelists included:

• Britta Brackney, Venue Rental Manager, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum
• Cassie Johnson – Director of Sales, University of Georgia Center for Continuing Education & Hotel

The session was moderated by: Alyson Salem, Director of Marketing, Unique Venues

Last week, Jill Porter, Director of Sales at Maritime Conference Center, shared her insights as part of the Unique Venues webinar: The Roadmap to Recovery Series Pt. 5: Hitting the Road and Adjusting Course. The panel, hosted by Chuck Salem and Joel Hauff of Unique Venues,  discussed the constantly changing landscape of holding meetings and events across the country as the hospitality industry begins to recover, as well as what it feels like to hit the ground running with meetings and events, adjusting along the way, in a post-pandemic world.

COVID-19 unfortunately continues to dictate the meeting and event planning process, often making it difficult for all to navigate and make decisions. Jill emphasized the need to continuously change policies and protocols, as recently as just a week ago with rise of the Delta variant. She also discussed how MCC developed a COVID-19 Resource Center on our website to keep meeting planners, staff and other guests up to date on the latest information. This, coupled with one-on-one calls and meetings with our planners to address areas of concerns, has allowed MCC to maintain strong partnerships with our clients and assist them to the best of our abilities to ensure their events are safe and successful.

Looking ahead, each of the panelists had varying predications as far as when the industry will truly see stability and full recovery. Jill's thoughts being that professional business activities will ramp-up throughout the year next year (2022), but that the industry won't reach pre-COVID levels of meeting and event business until approximately mid-2023. The panel also discussed what is being seen on the social side of events, as that seems to be rebounding quicker with individuals yearning to gather and celebrate life milestones (i.e. weddings, baby showers, etc.).

Additional webinar panelists included:

• Natalie Thomas, U.S. National Arboretum & D.C. Association of Realtor's 1615 at Dupont Office Space
• Suzanne Shaw, Yale University Conferences & Events
• Diana Frick, The Ranch Events Complex

Click here to watch the full recording of the webinar.

Maritime Conference Center is currently booking safe in-person and hybrid meetings.  Physically distanced meeting room capacities (meeting current state and local restrictions) can be found here. 

Our new "Hybrid Ready Room" was completed earlier this year and is the perfect space to host up to 15 attendees in-person and connect them to a group of virtual attendees.  The room is equipped with two cameras, one that automatically tracks the speaker and another focused on participants.  Balanced audio allows participants and instructor to be heard clearly, with versatility to adjust audio levels as needed.  Bring your own laptop or rent one from us, and use your favorite platform! 

Our talented IT Department is excited to work with customers to ensure successful hybrid events or more technical programs.  In addition to our "Hybrid Ready Room", view our current AV equipment offerings and price list to assist you with planning a successful upcoming meeting in other meeting spaces.  Our wired and seamless Wi-Fi service is capable of supporting virtual training needs and is available in all of our guestrooms and throughout the property.  

Keeping everyone at MITAGS-MCC safe is our number one priority! 
Check out our COVID-19 resource center for our current protocols and frequently asked questions, or contact a sales professional today.  Thinking of including COVID-19 Testing as part of your upcoming program?  Allow us to assist through our existing vendor relationships.     

As we move into a season of warmer weather, consider an outdoor event, networking, recreational  activity, or meal with furniture and tenting options through our vendor Party Plus Tents and Events.  

MITAGS-MCC is excited to welcome back Lindsay Moran as our Director of Marketing. Lindsay was onboard with us as our Marketing Manager for nearly two years before COVID-19 struck. Unfortunately, she was one of several of our crew to be furloughed during this tough time for our organizations.

​In her absence from MITAGS-MCC, Lindsay continued to sharpen her marketing skills outside of the maritime industry, working for a commercial retail owner as their Director of Marketing. While her brief time was impactful at that firm, when she received the call to come home to MITAGS-MCC, she jumped at the chance.

Earlier this month, MITAGS-MCC welcomed Tara Ruocco from FLIK, as our new Senior Dining Director!

Tara originally hails from New Jersey (a New York Giants fan), but has lived in Maryland since graduating from Towson State University. She currently resides in Laurel with her son, Ethan, who is entering college next year.

Tara has over 20 years of food service management experience, spending the last 13 of those years as the Assistant Director of Operations at a major law firm in Washington D.C.

Tara is also an avid runner, running at least 100 miles every month! To date, she has completed four full marathons, numerous half marathons and other shorter distances, and one 50k ultramarathon.

Tara is excited to be at MITAGS-MCC and looks forward to meeting all of our students and conference guests! Please stop by and say hello when you have a moment.

The Maritime Conference Center is currently looking for a Guest Services Representative for our front desk operation. This full time (40 hour week) opportunity offers competitive salary and excellent benefits including health, dental, and vison coverage for employee and qualified dependents with zero $ payroll deduction. We offer paid vacation, personal and sick time, and 13 paid holidays. We currently offer combined employer contributions of 15% to Pension and IRAP Plans plus a 401K employee contribution plan.  MCC sits on a beautiful campus-like setting with employee discounts on limited overnight stays when available, use of indoor pool and gym, free parking and one meal per scheduled shift! 

With revenue at the forefront, the daily tasks include, but are not limited to, the sale of 232 hotel guest rooms at the current or better rate, upselling additional services, entering and confirming reservations, guest check in/check out, answering and directing telephone calls and in person inquiries, retail sales in the onsite store, and other duties as outlined below. This position has a flex schedule geared to cover the business needs of a 24 hour hotel.
 
I. MAJOR DUTIES AND REPONSIBILITIES
     RESERVATIONS AND FRONT DESK OPERATIONS

• Pre-block guest rooms based on available floors.
• Utilize BEO’s and Group Resumes to gain group details and coordinate needs with other departments.
• Deliver VIP Welcome Amenities to guest rooms.
• Check guests in and out and assign proper credentials
• Check to make sure all financial data, customer information data, and proper forms of payment/posting information is correct.
• Ensure that all relevant information is blogged on the Front Desk Daily Shift Blog in MS Teams.
• Assist with health screenings, when applicable.
• Work with off-site hotels during oversell conditions.
• Make certain front desk and front office areas remain neat and tidy.
• Other duties as assigned

 
II.  DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• High School Diploma or equivalent.
• Two years previous experience in hotel front desk preferred.
• Comfortable with Microsoft Office, Hospitality systems and POS systems. 
• Ability to lift packages up to 50 pounds.  Ability to walk quickly, and for long distances due to size of facility. Assist with guest private functions as directed by OM.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills to be capable of providing quality service to hotel guests.
•  Personable and outgoing, pleasant phone demeanor.
• Excellent customer service skills and ability to connect with guests positively.
• Able to complete fire training and CPR courses.

 
 
For immediate consideration send your resume in confidence to jsibiski@mitags.org. This position will fill quickly! 

EOE AA 
​