Joseph S. Gregorio Sr., CEO and Chairman of Pacific Crane Maintenance Corporation, LLC (PCMC), has been named recipient of the 2022 Connie Award, which will be presented by the Containerization and Intermodal Institute on September 14. The industry-wide dinner to honor Joe Gregorio will be held at the Renaissance Hotel in Long Beach, CA. In addition, Captain Lynn Korwatch will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award recognizing her 45-year maritime career.

The 2022 awardees were chosen following an industry-wide poll and were announced by CII President Steven Blust. “The enthusiastic vote for Joe Gregorio recognizes his significant role in promoting and providing important support services that makes world trade operate. The industry relies on this level of innovation,” said Blust.

From left: Joseph S. Gregorio, Sr., CEO and Chairman of Pacific Crane Maintenance Corporation, LLC (PCMC) and Captain Lynn Korwatch, Executive Director of Marine Exchange of the San Francisco Bay Region
From left: Joseph S. Gregorio, Sr., CEO and Chairman of Pacific Crane Maintenance Corporation, LLC (PCMC) and Captain Lynn Korwatch, Executive Director of Marine Exchange of the San Francisco Bay Region

Joe Gregorio is a 40-year veteran of the cargo transportation maintenance industry and co-founded PCMC in 1990. Headquartered in Long Beach, PCMC was founded to provide quality repairs and reliable solutions to the 10 largest shipping lines in the world. Over the years, Gregorio worked tirelessly to grow PCMC to the largest maintenance and repair maritime industry provider and the largest employer of ILWU mechanics on the West Coast, employing more than 950 steady mechanics. In recent years, PCMC’s subsidiary Pacific Terminal Services Company, LLC (PTSC) has become a new stevedore on the West Coast. Most notably, the company provided a much-needed solution to recent port congestion by opening container storage yards in all major ports on the West Coast.

In conjunction with working to expand PCMC’s operations, Gregorio has demanded that safety be paramount and monitored closely. As a result, PCMC, including PTSC and its other subsidiaries, has received several Safety Awards in recognition of outstanding performance, including the Signal Mutual Indemnity Association’s Gerald H. Halpin – Safety Excellence Award for the 2019-2020 year. In addition to dedicating his time to PCMC, he also supports many charitable causes and serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Pacific Maritime Association.

Captain Korwatch was one of the first women to graduate from California Maritime Academy, one of the first to earn a Master’s license, and the first female captain of a U.S. merchant vessel. She worked for Matson in various ship officer positions and as a shoreside executive. At Matson, she is acknowledged for vessel operation improvements and launching environmental initiatives, including the industry’s first “zero garbage discharge program” for oceangoing ships and rules to regulate ballast water off the coast of California.

Captain Korwatch is presently the first female executive of the Marine Exchange of the San Francisco Bay Region. Established in 1849, the Exchange supervises vessel tracking, communications, and tug escorts for the more than 3,500 vessels a year that transit the bay.