b'SPECIALREPORTrecord of past government experience to get more business, a classic chicken or egg dilemma. Fortunately, we found an industry veteran who was ready to retire and bought his business. Seaward Services is a leader in gov-ernment maritime contracting and we have managed dozens of vessels for the US government, literally around the world. After one PVA Convention,I took a cruise on the American Queen. I was blown away.Tell us about your dream of theAmerican Queen. After one PVA Convention, I took a cruise on the American Queen when she was part of the old Delta Queen Steamboat Company. I was blown away; she was the largest steam pad-dlewheel overnight cruise ship ever built with majestic public areas and an amazing voyage experience. Sadly, her owners slid into bankruptcy during the Great Recession and she was mothballed by the U.S. Maritime Administration (Marad). Given our terrific Marad relationship, we had many conversations with them about buying her, but as a contract manage-ment company our financial balance sheet was relatively limited. I became obsessed with bringing her back to life.How did that acquisition becomea reality? I hit the road and visited dozens of banks to learn that banks really want to give you money when you dont need it. Two retained investment bankers promised much but yielded nothing.INTRODUCING THE X SERIESI was able to get a small initial loan, then a Small Business AdministrationFrom the leaders in mixed flow technology comes the nextloan, and some outside travel industrygeneration of waterjet propulsion. Learn more at marinejetpower.cominvestors. The mayor of Memphis, TN had built a new $50M+ cruise ship terminal that had no clients, and he created an innovative funding vehicle for us and importantly introduced us to a Memphis investor group. That group provided the critical last piece to get the APRIL 2019FOGHORN 29'