Tulane Law alum Blessey receives prestigious Coast Guard award

Walter E. Blessey, Jr. (L'70), a pioneer of the modern inland marine transportation industry and a Tulane Law School alumnus, was awarded the U.S. Coast Guard Meritorious Public Service Award, one of the highest civilian honors presented by the service.  The award was presented to Blessey in early April in Washington, D.C., by Rear Admiral J.P. Nadeau, "for his outstanding contributions to the inland marine transportation industry, including navigation safety, environmental stewardship, and homeland security." 

Blessey is the founder and CEO of Blessey Marine Services, which operates the nation's largest fleet of tank barges and vessels ferrying energy and petro-chemical products throughout the country's inland waterways.  In a December 2018 story marking the company's 40th anniversary, the Waterways Journal Weekly described Blessey Marine Services as "a company known throughout the industry for its safety, service and excellence both on and off the water and loved by employees for placing its people ahead of profits."

In honoring Blessey, the Coast Guard cited his public-minded initiatives as "a staunch safety advocate and steadfast supporter of environmental best practices," including "spearheading one of the most aggressive double-hulled tank barge rebuilding programs on the Gulf Coast."

Blessey, a 1970 graduate of Tulane Law School, annually hosts a delegation of Tulane students at his company's Harahan, La., headquarters for an inside look at the complex legal and business issues involved in managing the company's sprawling maritime operations, which includes more than 85 towing vessels and 160 barges across the United States.

The Coast Guard Award is Blessey's most recent honor.  In 2017, Law Dean David Meyer presented Blessey with Tulane University's Lifetime Achievement Award on the occasion of the 50th reunion year of Blessey's undergraduate graduation.  In presenting that award, Meyer noted, "Walter’s phenomenal success reflects grit, ceaseless hard work, and a genius for business – and some quite impressive lawyering at crucial moments.  But it also reflects his values and deep sense of decency.  A key to his success has been a dedication to investing personally in his employees, hiring them, mentoring them, rewarding them, and building a culture where employees are treated as members of a family."