BJ Stelly began volunteering at the Port Arthur International Seafarers’ Center in the mid 90’s. He was a recovering alcoholic and addict who truly wanted to give back to society and to help others who had addictions. He found that it was difficult to hang out with friends, as many wanted to go to bars, and he knew that he needed to stay away from those places. So, when he discovered the Seafarers’ Center, he fell in love with the work. He made himself available to drive seafarers at any time of the day and was content to smoke and drink coffee at the Center between drives.

If a seafarer seemed to have a little too much enjoyment of alcohol, he was happy to share the AA Program with him. In fact, he established some AA Meetings at the Seafarers’ Center.

He assisted us with the first Bike Blessing in 1995. Sadly, he was in a motorcycle accident one evening on the way to New Orleans. After two years of volunteering at the Seafarers’ Center, we determined that the Bike Blessing should be renamed in his honor.