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FOGHORN
I want to stress the relationship with the Coast Guard. 
I use a line with my crew all the time. It’s a little corny, 
but I said if there’s a blue suit coming down the pier, if 
you have your house in order, all you should worry about 
is, is the coffee fresh. You have to nurture those relation-
ships. Even at City Cruises, when I was there, we had a 
lot of ports, and I made it a point twice a year to try and 
visit the Coast Guard office. I’d try and get to the high-
est-ranking person possible. I said, “I just want to stop 
by, put a face on the name, and get your read on how our 
operation is going.” 
You need to know your Coast Guard team. If there’s a 
problem, you want to make sure that if you have to talk 
to them at 10 o’clock on a Saturday night that you don’t 
spend 15 minutes explaining who you are and what your 
operation is. When I was working for Terry in St. Louis, I 
got to the point where the Coast Guard would call me. We 
were a resource for them in many ways and those are the 
kind of relationships you want to build. 
Eric [Christensen] always said, if you have a problem, 
don’t be afraid to challenge the Coast Guard, work your 
way up the chain of command. I agree 100 percent. The 
only advice I give is make sure you’re right. If you’re upset 
about something, walk around the block before you make 
that call. 
Lake: What’s a cautionary tale for somebody getting 
started in this business? Either a positive piece of ad‑
vice or I made this mistake along the way, and I wish 
I’d have done something different. 
Wirginis: Never get ticked off too much in front of 
your OCMI about him. Like Gary said, walk around the 
block. One time, I suffered for it a lot. His commander 
was in charge of our zone, and we got in an argument. I 
thought he was dead wrong. I still believe he was wrong, 
but I challenged him inappropriately. I paid for that one 
for a long time. 
Borgstrom: I regret not embracing and being more in-
volved with the Coast Guard early on. I think it was also 
a generational thing from my grandfather to my father. 
It was always the Coast Guard was the enemy. There was 
very little preparation for a Coast Guard inspection. The 
Coast Guard showing up, that was the inspection. You 
guys find it. 
I eventually changed that mindset, got more active, and 
got to know the inspectors. For anybody newer to the 
business, you got to have those relationships. I developed 
those over the years and then Mike McElroy has taken it 
to another level. 
We have relationships with the Coast Guard all over the 
country now. We talk about our harbor safety commit-
tee. Mike can get on the phone and call somebody. The 
Coast Guard calls Mike and asks him things now. I only 
regret the fact that we didn’t do that sooner because 
that has definitely improved how we approach things. 
We look at ourselves as trying to set the standard for 
the industry. 
Frommelt: When I went from New Orleans to St. Louis, 
Terry said we want you to be director of marine operations. 
I’m sort of young, all pumped up. In St. Louis, they were 
just wrapping up a repower on a boat. I can’t remember 
FOGHORN FOCUS
“You need to know  
your Coast Guard team.  
If there’s a problem,  
you want to make sure  
that if you have to talk to 
them at 10 o’clock on a  
Saturday night that you 
don’t spend 15 minutes  
explaining who you are and 
what your operation is.” 
GARY FROMMELT, 
MANTHEY HOSPITALITY

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