Schreiber did his part by joining the first class of the Peace Corps, moving to eastern Africa, where he learned to speak Swahili. A photograph of Kennedy shaking his hand now hangs in Schreiber's office at the World Trade Center in New Orleans. The picture will soon come down, though, after Schreiber retires this year as the World Trade Center's managing director. "It changed my life," Schreiber said, explaining how Kennedy's international volunteer organization launched his career in the foreign service and ultimately brought him to New Orleans. Schreiber was working as a diplomat in Guatemala in 1978, when he received an assignment to accompany that nation's president to New Orleans. The trade mission included a stop at the International Trade Mart, the organization that later became the World Trade Center. The group's president, an influential businessman named James Coleman, was so impressed by Schreiber that he called to recruit him to run International Trade Mart. Schreiber demured at first, enjoying his time traveling the globe and working abroad. But with a young family that had been a long time away from the United States, Schreiber decided New Orleans was worth a shot. "I probably wouldn't have done it for any other city but New Orleans," said Schreiber, describing his attraction to the "international flavor" of the Crescent City. "Who knew I'd be here 30 years later?"
Tanzania RPCV Eugene Schreiber to retire as director of New Orleans' World Trade Center
World Trade Center director Eugene Schreiber to retire after 30 years
By Kim Quillen
September 18, 2009, 6:34PM
Gene Schreiber
At 23, St. Louis native Eugene Schreiber had never set foot outside the United States or studied a foreign language.
But anything seemed possible after the election of John F. Kennedy, whose inaugural address urged Americans to serve their country. Schreiber did his part by joining the first class of the Peace Corps, moving to eastern Africa, where he learned to speak Swahili.
A photograph of Kennedy shaking his hand now hangs in Schreiber's office at the World Trade Center in New Orleans. The picture will soon come down, though, after Schreiber retires this year as the World Trade Center's managing director.
"It changed my life," Schreiber said, explaining how Kennedy's international volunteer organization launched his career in the foreign service and ultimately brought him to New Orleans.
Schreiber was working as a diplomat in Guatemala in 1978, when he received an assignment to accompany that nation's president to New Orleans. The trade mission included a stop at the International Trade Mart, the organization that later became the World Trade Center. The group's president, an influential businessman named James Coleman, was so impressed by Schreiber that he called to recruit him to run International Trade Mart.
Schreiber demured at first, enjoying his time traveling the globe and working abroad. But with a young family that had been a long time away from the United States, Schreiber decided New Orleans was worth a shot.
"I probably wouldn't have done it for any other city but New Orleans," said Schreiber, describing his attraction to the "international flavor" of the Crescent City. "Who knew I'd be here 30 years later?"
Schreiber described his early years in New Orleans as the city's "heyday." New Orleans was a major shipping hub, and the men who ran the International Trade Mart -- which became the World Trade Center in 1985 -- were "real titans of industry."
New Orleans is still an important trade destination, but it has shrunk in significance compared with hubs such as Houston, Los Angeles and New York. The rise of containerized shipping and mechanical cargo terminals have hampered New Orleans, which does not have a large population to generate consumer demand. The city is also 100 miles up the serpentine Mississippi River, and shippers tend to favor ports closer to open water.
"But trade here is still important," said Schreiber, a self-described workaholic who said he is just as busy today as ever.
Schreiber's job is a hybrid of social butterfly and lobbyist. The World Trade Center represents about 1,700 members, with whom Schreiber is constantly in touch. He also hosts foreign dignitaries, organizes trade missions to and from New Orleans and plans cultural events. The World Trade Center is also a sounding board for public policy affecting the maritime industry or general trade.
Recent bills that passed through the Legislature offering tax credits for companies that invest in state ports, for example, had the backing of the World Trade Center, Schreiber said.
Gary LaGrange, president and CEO of the Port of New Orleans, described Schreiber as a benefactor of the shipping industry.
"In his 30 years of service, Eugene Schreiber has had a huge impact on trade and commerce in the City of New Orleans," LaGrange wrote in an e-mail. "The passion and dedication that he brings to his job is unrivaled, and he's a walking encyclopedia on just about any issue related to trade and diplomacy."
Indeed, Schreiber's office looks like a cross between a library and trophy room. Tables, shelves and even boxes on the floor are overflowing with history books and technical texts. Other surfaces are covered with maps, globes and an array of plaques and keepsakes Schreiber has collected during his countless trips abroad.
George Fowler, an international lawyer and a board member for the World Trade Center, said he would miss Schreiber, who he considers to be "a dear friend."
"There is no one who has done more for our city and our state as far as international trade," Fowler said.
He credited Schreiber with facilitating cultural dialogue that others may have tried to avoid. Fowler recalled one example when Schreiber allowed him to install an exhibit on the first-floor of the World Trade Center building in downtown New Orleans to educate visitors about Cuba, including the plight of refugees and the prison system, which some say allows torture.
"He's never shied away from controversial issues," Fowler said.
Schreiber, 71, expects to stay at the World Trade Center through the end of the year or until the group's board finds a replacement, although Schreiber could not offer any clues about who his successor might be.
As for Schreiber's future plans, he has flirted with the idea of teaching or some other task to keep him busy.
"I'm not a golfer. I'm not a fisherman," Schreiber said. "I'll stay involved in trade. But in what capacity? I don't know yet."
Jen DeGregorio can be reached at 504.826.3495 or jdegregorio@timespicayune.com.
