Award presented onboard Cunard's flagship Queen Mary 2 while docked in Halifax, NS VALENCIA, Calif. , Sept. 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Eighth Annual Samuel Cunard Prize for Vision, Courage, and Creativity was awarded to Blair McKeil on Wednesday, September 25 , onboard Cunard's flagship Queen Mary 2.
To celebrate this honor, McKeil was joined by local dignitaries, leaders from the maritime community, and officers from Queen Mary 2, which was docked in Halifax , Nova Scotia. The Samuel Cunard Prize was created in 2015 by Cunard, the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, and the Canadian Maritime Heritage Foundation to celebrate Cunard's 175 th Anniversary in the ancestral home of its founder, Sir Samuel Cunard . The award acknowledges an extraordinary individual who demonstrates the qualities exemplified by Cunard throughout his life.
Previous honorees include Jim Irving , John Risley , the Right Honorable Paul Martin, Ken Rowe , Zita Cobb , Scott McCrea and Fred Smithers . Blair McKeil is the Vice Chairman of McKeil Marine Limited, a company his family started over 68 years ago. At a young age, Blair was actively involved in the business and at just 32 was named President.
He served as president from 1992 to 2010; CEO, Chairman from 2002 to 2016; and Vice Chairman from 2016. Under Blair's leadership, McKeil Marine evolved from an owner-operated tug and barge company into one of Canada's leading marine service providers, specializing in marine transportation and delivering comple.