Containerization & Intermodal Institute to Present Connie Award to Vincent J. Marino, CEO, CMC-ITI-CCS and Lifetime Achievement Award to Emanuel L. Rouvelas, Partner, K&L Gates

Awards to be presented at industry-wide luncheon on December 11

at the Newark Liberty International Marriott Hotel

CRANFORD, NJ, September 26, 2023 – The Containerization & Intermodal Institute (CII) announced that Vincent J. Marino, CEO, CMC-ITI-CCS, will be honored with the 2023 Connie Award. In addition, Emanuel L. Rouvelas, Partner at K&L Gates, will receive CII’s Lifetime Achievement Award. The prestigious awards will be presented at an industry-wide luncheon to be held on December 11 at the Newark Liberty International Marriott Hotel. This is a new venue for the event.

"With a distinguished career spanning five decades in the intermodalism, Vince has been an influential figure in shaping the industry," said CII President Steven Blust. “In fact, his contributions continue to be focused on ensuring intermodal equipment integrity, safety, and reliability. We are proud to honor his achievements and continued support at this year’s Connie Award luncheon.”

Additionally, CII will present the Lifetime Achievement Award to Emanuel L. Rouvelas, a recognized authority in public policy and marine law and a partner at K&L Gates law firm, for his long-standing contributions to legal and governmental relations excellence serving the industry.

For more than 50 years, CII has been honoring industry leaders with the prestigious Connie Award to industry professionals who have made major contributions to the advancement of containerization and intermodalism via the spirit of innovation, entrepreneurship, and influential leadership. The Lifetime Achievement Award is given to organizations or individuals who have played a long-standing, substantial, and supportive role in the industry and/or CII.

Connie Award Recipient — Vincent J. Marino

The 2023 Connie recipient Vincent J. Marino has established himself as a visionary leader throughout his extensive career in the intermodal industry.

Mr. Marino recently merged The Marino Group, a business started by his parents more than 50 years ago, with ITI Intermodal, which also has a 50+-year heritage, and The Columbia Group, also with 50 years--to form CMC-ITI-CCS. With a combined history of more than 150 years, CMC-ITI-CCS is committed to providing best-in-class services and solutions, offering a full range of intermodal equipment M&R, storage, drayage and over-the-road service to support supply chain fluidity. CMC-ITI-CCS operates in 15 states throughout the Midwest, Southwest, Mid-Atlantic, Gulf, Southeast and Northeast.

By leveraging its extensive intermodal network built upon strong industry partnerships, CMC-ITI-CCS utilizes its proven industry expertise to facilitate the seamless flow of cargo by consistently providing unmatched reliability and mitigating equipment downtime for its customers.

CMC-ITI-CCS is committed to delivering best-in-class services in a safety-driven environment. Mr. Marino oversees all areas of operations, including labor and customer relations, facility planning, and potential future expansions. 

Mr. Marino lives in Charleston with his wife Pam. He has four children and two grandchildren.

Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient – Emanuel L. Rouvelas

CII’s Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, Emanuel (Manny) Rouvelas, engages in a broad range of law and lobby practices representing leading companies and trade associations in transportation, telecommunications, high technology, hospitality, and manufacturing. As a leading expert in marine law, he has played a key role in building legal and governmental ties for the transportation industry.

Mr. Rouvelas was a founding member of DC’s Preston Gates Ellis & Rouvelas Meeds LLC law firm in 1973 which later merged to create K&L Gates in 2007. He is a founder of both the public policy and maritime law practices of K&L Gates, each consistently ranked nationally as among the best, most effective, and highly regarded in the United States. For over five decades, Mr. Rouvelas has traveled globally to more than 40 countries advising clients and working with U.S. administrations, Congresses, and American and foreign embassies and governments.

“Manny has been a trailblazer focused on government relations and maritime law enhancing transparency and collaboration within the transportation sector. As a founder of one of the longest-running lobbying firms in DC, he has had a hand in strengthening our industry as a whole. In today’s fast-moving legal and business climate, we are all better supported as a result of his unflinching dedication to building trust, visibility, and partnership throughout the sector,” said Mr. Blust.

CII, founded in 1960, has been presenting the Connie Award since 1972 and it has become the most coveted honor in the field of containerization and its ancillary industries. Among some 70 people and organizations have been honored to date, among the recipients are Gene Seroka, Malcom McLean, James McKenna, Robert McEllrath, Ed DeNike, John Wolfe, Bruce Fenimore, Helen Bentley, Captain S.Y. Kuo, Matthew Cox, Bill Shea, Mike Wilson, Bob Sappio and Ken Kellaway.

At the event, CII will carry out its industry education mission by presenting scholarships to students studying logistics as well as the institutions that are educating our future leaders. Under its auspices, CII has awarded more than $1 million toward scholarships. Companies have the opportunity to support ongoing industry education by purchasing scholarships through CII, starting at $1,000. To learn more about funding a 2023 named scholarship for your organization, please call CII Executive Director, Lisa Aurichio at 917-476-8366 or email info@containerization.org.

The 2023 CII Connie Awards luncheon is $300 per ticket and seating is limited. Sponsorships for the event and tickets are available here. For more information, you can contact June Chin, at (732) 817-0400 or june@bsya.com, or the CII team at info@containerization.org.

About CII

Containerization & Intermodal Institute (CII), a non-profit organization, promotes industry awareness, preserves the history of intermodalism, and engages scholarly interest in the field by organizing educational conferences and seminars, serving as an information resource, providing networking opportunities, offering career guidance, arranging internships, and facilitating scholarships. For more information, visit www.containerization.org.