Paul C. LaMarre III

Paul C. LaMarre III is the Director of the Port of Monroe, and is responsible for the oversight of Michigan’s only Seaport on Lake Erie.

Prior to that, he served as a deck officer on multiple Great Lakes vessels.

He assumed his position in July 2012, after serving as the Manager of Maritime Affairs for the Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority since 2007. During his tenure in Toledo, Mr. LaMarre was responsible for maritime operations throughout the port, oversight of the Toledo Shipyard, and operation of the S.S. Col James M. Schoonmaker Museum Ship.

A graduate of the California Maritime Academy, Mr. LaMarre holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Transportation with minors in logistics and naval science, as well as his USCG License 3rd Mates License for unlimited tonnage vessels. He has also served as pilot in the United States Navy, having logged the majority of his flight hours in the F/A-18 Hornet.

In 2013, Mr. LaMarre was appointed to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) National Freight Advisory Committee by Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood where he served as the sole representative of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System and State of Michigan.

In 2016, Mr. LaMarre was appointed to the USDOT’s Port Performance Freight statistics working group by Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx where he once again is the sole representative of the Great Lakes port community. He was also appointed by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder as Chairman of the State’s first Port Authority Advisory Committee and sits as a maritime advisor to the State of Michigan Commission for Logistics & Supply Chain Collaboration. In 2018, he was appointed to the USDOT’s Marine Transportation System National Advisory Committee (MTSNAC) by Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao.

Mr. LaMarre is also the Secretary/Treasurer of the American Great Lakes Ports Association, a member of the International Shipmasters’ Association, a board member of the Great Lakes Historical Society, Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society, Marine Historical Society of Detroit, the Great Lakes Maritime Academy, and Pro Medica Monroe Regional Hospital.

In 2009, he was the youngest person ever to receive the Association of Great Lakes Maritime History’s Annual Award for Historic Preservation for his work aboard the Schoonmaker Museum Ship. In 2018, he was named the Marine Historical Society of Detroit’s “Historian of the Year” for his continued efforts. The vessel is the centerpiece of the National Museum of the Great Lakes which he also conceptualized and developed with the Great Lakes Historical Society.