OF NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY

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New York, New York 10038

212/349-9090 Fax: 212/349-8342 Website: www.seamenschurch.org

Media Contact: Debra Wagner, 207-353-7251, dwagner@seamenschurch.org

Photos available upon request.

Secretary of Labor visits SCI-Paducah

October 8, 2007. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao visited the Seamen's Church Institute's Paducah Center on Oct. 3, 2007. The tour included an opportunity to interact with a training class in session and participate in a hands-on demonstration of the Institute's simulator training programs.

The Rev. David Rider (SCI's Executive Director), Eric Larsson (SCI's Director of Maritime Education and Training) and Captain Greg Menke (Director of SCI's Paducah Training Facility) were on hand to provide answer to questions and talk about future plans.

"We were proud to show Secretary Chao why regularly trained mariners operate safer vessels and are more aware of our fragile waterways environment. She will return to Washington DC with a greater appreciation of the challenges and advantages of 24/7 waterborne commerce," said the Rev. David Rider, SCI's Executive Director.

Founded in 1834 and affiliated with the Episcopal Church, the Seamen's Church Institute of New York and New Jersey (SCI) is the largest, most comprehensive mariners' agency in North America. Annually, its chaplains visit 3,400 vessels in the Port of New York and New Jersey and along 2,200 miles of America's inland waterways. SCI's maritime education program provides navigational training to nearly 1,600 mariners each year at simulator-based facilities located in Houston, Texas and Paducah, Kentucky. SCI and its maritime attorneys are recognized as leading advocates for merchant mariners by the United States Government, including the Congress, the Department of Homeland Security, the US Coast Guard, as well as the United Nations, the International Maritime Organization, the International Labor Organization, and maritime trade associations.