For a 21st consecutive year, the Manatee County Port Authority has been honored with the highest recognition for governmental accounting and financial reporting. Port Manatee’s governing body has again been awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada for its comprehensive annual financial report, known for short as CAFR. R.B. “Chips” Shore, Manatee County’s clerk of circuit court and comptroller since 1977, the primary preparer of the Manatee County Port Authority’s award-winning CAFR, received the honor on behalf of the port authority. The not-for-profit GFOA uses an impartial panel of judges to select those reports that meet the highest standards and demonstrate a constructive spirit of full disclosure in clearly communicating the entity’s financial story. “The fact that we have been recognized for more than two decades with this prestigious honor is a tribute to the longtime dedication to excellence of port management and staff and, in particular, Chips Shore,” said Carlos Buqueras, Port Manatee’s executive director. Located “Where Tampa Bay Meets the Gulf of Mexico,” Port Manatee is the closest U.S. deepwater seaport to the expanding Panama Canal, serving bulk, breakbulk, container, heavylift, project and general cargo customers. The port generates more than $2.3 billion in annual economic impact for the local community, while supporting more than 24,000 jobs regionally, without the benefit of ad-valorem taxes.