The board of directors of the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) re-elected on Monday Alec L. Poitevint II of Bainbridge to serve a second term as chairman of the board.

“I am honored to serve the people of Georgia,” Poitevint said through a news release from GPA. “We will continue to generate momentum for the state’s vital economic engine by having the best workforce, unsurpassed infrastructure, room to grow and a sound marketing plan to capitalize on our strengths. The deepening of the Savannah River channel is critically important for Georgia, the Southeast and the entire nation and remains our number-one priority.”

Poitevint was first appointed to the board of directors in July 2007 and previously served as vice chairman and chairman.

He is the chairman and president of Southeastern Minerals Inc. and its affiliated companies headquartered in Bainbridge. He is chairman of American Feed Industry Insurance Company and past chairman of the American Feed Industry Association and National Feed Ingredients Association.

He serves as a director of the Georgia Agribusiness Council and was Federal Commissioner of the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) Water Compact. He was a former mission member of the U.S. Agricultural Trade and Development Mission to Europe in 1990 and U.S. delegate to World Food Summit in 2002.

Other board members elected to one-year offices were Robert S. Jepson Jr. of Savannah as vice chairman and Roy H. Fickling of Macon as secretary and treasurer.

The GPA also announced overall tonnage for the Ports of Savannah and Brunswick reached the second highest monthly volume ever in May with 2,352,302 tons, which was a 16.7 percent increase compared with May 2010.

“While the global economy continues its modest and fragile recovery, the GPA reported increases in all category groups,” said GPA’s Executive Director Curtis J. Foltz. “We anticipate a strong end to the fiscal year, reflecting record volumes and container throughput approaching 12 percent growth.”

Container volume remained strong with container traffic up 10.1 percent in May, handling 143,447 units or 254,329 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units). Loaded exports increased 16.7 percent compared with May 2010.

“Global demand for Georgia’s products has been essential in helping our state weather the economic recession and will be critical in our region’s growth,” said Poitevint. “Our balanced export-to-import ratio promotes efficiency and has helped to drive economic recovery throughout the state of Georgia and the entire Southeast.”

Georgia’s deepwater ports and inland barge terminals support more than 295,000 jobs throughout the state annually and contribute $15.5 billion in income, $61.7 billion in revenue and $2.6 billion in state and local taxes to Georgia’s economy. The Port of Savannah handled 8.6 percent of the U.S. containerized cargo volume and 12.4 percent of all U.S. containerized exports in 2010.