His experience in his current role and earlier as the senior director of cruise and port operations at Port Canaveral make him ideally suited, according to Jean L. Enright, chair of the Port of Palm Beach District Board of Commissioners, which finalized Meekins' three-year employment agreement today.
Knowledge, creativity, proven leadership
'He brings the knowledge, creativity and proven leadership skills and abilities needed to lead Florida’s fourth busiest container port,' Enright added.
The appointment comes just one month after the board unanimously selected Meekins as the top candidate to fill the executive director position.
He succeeds Manuel Almira, who is retiring after leading the Port of Palm Beach since 2008.
Joined early in the pandemic
Meekins joined the Palm Beach facility in April 2020 and hit the ground running, despite starting at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. He played a pivotal role in projects such as the successful launch and rebranding of the cruise line now known as Margaritaville at Sea and the development of a one-of-a-kind cement storage facility operated by a construction materials company. In 2021, Meekins was tapped to manage the port’s operations department.
'What I have enjoyed most during my time at the port are the relationships I’ve built with port staff, our port commissioners, the tenants and our community partners,' Meekins said. Serving as the executive director will allow me to continue to grow those connections.'
Top goals
Meekins' top three goals are to work with the board to boost the port’s revenue, strengthen community relations and ensure port staff have the tools they need to succeed.
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