Glenn Wiltshire, Port Everglades Deputy Director, on the history of the port

If you're a history buff this video may surprise you. The video is a bit under 9 minutes and it is very interesting. This is part of a C-SPAN history series. Here is the description C-SPAN provides for this interview with Mr. Glenn Wiltshire:

     Glenn Wiltshire talked about the history of Port Everglades, one of south Florida’s largest economic drivers and a gateway for international trade and cruise vacations. He spoke about how the port began in 1928, how it developed over time, and its impact on Broward Country, Florida.
     C-SPAN’s Local Content Vehicles (LCVs) made a stop in their “2015 LCV Cities Tour” in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, from March 19-22 to feature the history and literary life of the community. Working with the Comcast Cable local affiliate, they visited literary and historic sites where local historians, authors, and civic leaders were interviewed. The history segments air on American History TV (AHTV) on C-SPAN3 and the literary events/non-fiction author segments air on BookTV on C-SPAN2.

Below is the 'voice to text' I presume, of what Mr. Wiltshire said. This is an excerpt and some parts I highlighted :

THE STATE OF FLORIDA ACTUALLY HAS THE MOST NUMBER OF PUBLIC SEA PORTS IN THE COUNTRY. TWO CURRENTLY ARE NOT ACTIVE. ALSO THE LARGEST COASTLINE IN THE UNITED STATES. AT THE BUSIEST CONTAINER PORT IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA, $26 BILLION OF ECONOMIC ACTIVITY THROUGHOUT THE STATE RESULTING FROM THE CONTAINER ACTIVITY HERE AT THE PORT. WE ALSO HAD OVER 6000 JOBS DIRECTLY TIED TO THAT CONTAINER ACTIVITY AS WELL AS OVER 200,000 JOBS THROUGHOUT THE STATE. THE CONTAINERS THAT ARE LEAVING HERE GENERALLY ARE FOODSTUFFS, COMPUTERS, COMPUTER PRINTERS, AUTO PARTS. WE SERVE AS THE GROCERY STORE FOR THE CARIBBEAN. THE CONTAINERS COMING -- PRODUCE . BANANAS BEING THE TOP COMMODITY, MELONS, WE ARE THE TOP PERISHABLE PORT ALSO IN THE STATE OF FLORIDA, BEING A CONSUMER MARKET HERE IN SOUTH FLORIDA, WE ENJOY OUR FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. IN 1930, 1931 WAS THE ORIGINAL ESTABLISHMENT OF PETROLEUM TERMINALS WILL STOP THERE WERE ORIGINALLY THREE PETROLEUM TERMINALS, NOW WE HAVE 13 DIFFERENT PETROLEUM TERMINALS, PRIVATELY OPERATED WITHIN THE PORT, THAT PROVIDE THE FUEL. NOT JUST FOR THE TRANSPORTATION VEHICLES, BUT WE ALSO PROVIDE ALL THE JET FUEL FROM THE THREE INTERNATIONAL MAJOR AIRPORTS IN SOUTH FLORIDA. JET FUEL COMES FROM AS FAR AWAY AS KOREA, INDIA, TAIWAN, AND JAPAN. MOST OF ITS, ABOUT 75% OF THE PETROLEUM PRODUCTS CONSUMED HERE IN SOUTH FLORIDA COMES FROM THE GULF COAST. TO PUT IN A NUMBER THAT PEOPLE MIGHT BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND, 4.7 BILLION GALLONS OF PETROLEUM COME INTO THE PORT EVERY YEAR. 1200 TANK TRUCKS COME IN AND OUT OF THE PORT EVERY DAY. AND THAT FUEL FILLS UP ALL OF THE VEHICLES THAT ARE USED IN THE 12 SOUTHERN FLORIDA COUNTIES. THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE WE HAVE IS BALANCING THE FACILITATION OF COMMERCE AND SECURITY. AS YOU CAN IMAGINE, BEING THE SOLE PROVIDER OF PETROLEUM FOR SOUTH FLORIDA, HAVING SO MANY CRUISE SHIPS, SO MANY CARGO SHIPS IN PORT, WE COULD BE SEEN AS A TEMPTING TARGET TO SOMEONE, BUT WE SPEND A LOT OF TIME, A LOT OF MONEY AND SECURITY TO ENSURE THAT THE PEOPLE THAT COME THROUGH PORT EVERGLADES FEEL SAFE AND SECURE. FOR IMPORT OF OIL, ONE, WE WORK CLOSELY WITH THE UNITED STATES COAST GUARD TO ENSURE THAT OUR TENANTS ARE COMPLYING WITH ALL OF THE LAWS AND REGULATIONS.