Captain Marcus Woodring (Woody) served in the maritime industry for over 41 years – 28 years in the U.S. Coast Guard, culminating as Captain of the Port for Houston-Galveston, before transitioning to the Port of Houston Authority as the Chief of Port Security and Emergency Operations for 13 years.

Marcus joined the HISC Board in 2006 and has been dedicated to the mission of helping and administering to seafarers ever since, especially seafarer access to shore leave. His elevator speech summarizes the HISC mission as “advocating for the seafarer by showing the love of Christ”. In addition to serving as HISC Board President he represented the greater Houston maritime community on the Houston-Galveston Area Maritime Security Committee Executive Steering Group, the Texas Southern University Maritime Advisory Board, the Texas Private Sector Advisory Council as appointed by the Governor, and as Chairman of the National Maritime Security Advisory Committee as appointed by the DHS Secretary.

He and his wonderful wife Kim retired in 2024 and recently relocated to Florida to be closer to family after a year-long battle to overcome colon cancer. Kim and Woody will be celebrating 40 years of blessed marriage this fall, and have three sons, three incredible daughters-in-law, and seven crazy grandchildren. He is a bogey golfer, decent gun range shooter, and avid lacrosse player/fan.

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