Brig. Gen. William Graham, North Atlantic Division Commander, visited the New England District to meet customers, go on site visits and to get informational briefings from District team members.
The General’s first stop was to West Hill Dam in Uxbridge, Massachusetts on the West River. The project was built as a result of damage caused by Hurricane Diane in August 1955. The storm resulted in 90 lives lost and more than $540 million in damages. Completed in 1961 at a cost of $2.3 million, the West Hill Dam has prevented $96.6 million in flood damages. Dave Margolis, Acting Chief, Operations, Eric Pedersen, Deputy Chief, Operations, Basin Manager Adam Durando and Project Manager Joe Zanca were on hand to brief the General and answer questions.
From West Hill Dam, Brig. Gen. Graham visited the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier in Providence, Rhode Island. Margolis, Sean McDonald, Cape Cod Canal Manager, and John McPherson, Assistant Canal Manager, gave the General a tour of the barrier and provided a briefing on the project.
Fox Point Hurricane Barrier is one of three hurricane barriers owned and operated by the District. Fox Point was built as a result of damages caused by the September 1944 hurricane that had the greatest known energy of any recorded storm along the Atlantic Coast. Fox Point was designed to withstand a storm of the magnitude of that hurricane. The barrier was constructed at a cost of $15 million and was placed into service in 1966. To date, the barrier has prevented over $3 million in damages.
During a working lunch, Larry Oliver and John Kennelly, Planning Division, presented an overview of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management and the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council.
Brig. Gen. Graham spent the rest of his first day with a visit to the Armed Forces Center in Warwick, Rhode Island with Anne Kosel, Chief of Real Estate and Peter Quinn, Recruiting Team Leader.
Leadership Development Program (LDP) review by Stephen Dunbar was followed by a round table discussion with LDP members. Later in the morning, the General traveled to the U.S. Coast Guard in Boston, Massachusetts, before heading to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for an afternoon of meetings and seminars.
On this last day in New England, Brig. Gen. Graham received a briefing by Dan Stenstream on the MIT/Lincoln Labs project and a briefing Cori Rose and Alan Anachecka-Nasemann on the District's Regulatory Program. Brig. Gen. Graham 's final stop before returning to Fort Hamilton, New York, was to meet with the Massachusetts Port Authority (MASSPORT) where he received a Boston Harbor Dredging briefing and an overview presentation and a tour of the Conley Container Terminal.
The LDP members that shadowed the general during his visit were Bob Garrahan, Ben Emery, Mike Boirdi, Kim Russell and Maureen Davi.