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International Shipmasters Association Names Alpena Resident, Capt. Lee Barnhill 2017 Grand President

The International Shipmasters Association named an Alpena resident the new President. Friday night the Shipmasters inducted their new board members for the year naming, Captain Lee Barnhill the new Grand President.

The Northeast Michigan Lodge 19 hosted the 127th annual convention at the Ramada Inn. Grand President Barnhill said the importance of the organization is to maintain safety throughout the Great Lakes.

“This society was started as the promotion of the safety of the mariner of the Great Lakes. That’s what we strive for with the coast guard industry, with legislators, anything safety related for the mariner on the Great Lakes. We have many, many members that are not boat captains. We have engineers, we have deck hands, and we have a large associate membership, so you do not have to be a licensed captain to be a member of this. It’s all for the betterment of the organization and the promotion of safety of the mariner on the lakes,” the new Grand President explained.

The International Shipmasters Association has over 680 members that cover all of the Great Lakes.

This is the first time the convention has been held in Alpena in 13 years. The convention started on Thursday and ended on Sunday.