The May 2024 Dispatch

The newsletter for Watco

Safety Anniversaries

April 1 - Houston Liquids Terminal (TX) - 11 years

April 1 - Louisville Marine Terminal (KY) - 8 years

April 1 - Mill Creek Mobile Repair (OK) - 7 years

April 7 - Prattville (AL) - 8 years

April 12 - Eagle Specialty Mining Switching (WY) - 1 year

April 15 - St. Charles Switching (LA) - 1 year

April 18- Ringneck and Western Railroad (SD) – 1 year

April 23 - Oshkosh Transload Terminal (WI) - 3 years

Traveling this summer?

Team members can save money with discounts on: Rental cars Hotels across 20 states

Learn more on Watco Insider

Even on Vacation, Teammate Serves Community

For Truck Driver Joe Roberts, there’s always enough time in the day to do good deeds. When he’s not working at Watco’s Middleport Transload Terminal in Ohio, Roberts can be found volunteering his time for community events or working on his family’s two farms.

Roberts and his wife, Tara, both serve on the board of the Meigs County Fair. During the weeklong fair in August, they can be found setting up, coordinating events, and even cleaning at the end of each night.

Thanks to Roberts, in 2023 the Middleport Transload Terminal team got involved in the fair. Terminal Manager Rob Oliva said: “Every child who goes to the fair receives a gift. When Joe asked me if we could donate a bike to the cause, I told him we’d like to donate two.”

The fair may only last a week, but Roberts and fair board members stay busy year-round hosting

other community events. Every October he helps coordinate a Halloween haunted house. Truck and tractor pulls are another fan-favorite that he organizes.

“Every vacation day that Joe took last year was to help at the fair or another community event,” said Oliva. “He’s dedicated to volunteering and wants to strengthen the community where he lives and works.”

When he’s not volunteering, Roberts can be found tending to his family’s farms. According to Oliva, he spends many evenings after work in the summer cutting, bailing, and stacking hay.

Oliva said, “I don’t know how he does it. I joke that Joe’s only free time is between the hours of 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., when he’s sleeping.”

Team Member Retires After 30-Year Railroading Career

Longtime railroader Derrick Davis is preparing to say goodbye to his team at the Austin Western Railroad (AWRR). After spending 10 years as a conductor at the Watco short line and 20 years in the industry, he’s set to retire on June 3.

The team is going to miss Davis, who is the second most experienced conductor on the AWRR. General Manager Anthony Hoyte said: “He’s a wealth of knowledge when it comes to railroading. The team listens to him.”

Davis’ experience makes him an excellent peer trainer. Rather than telling new conductors what to do, he’s known for showing new conductors how to safely do their jobs.

Trainmaster Rhett Summar recounts how Davis trained him when he first joined the AWRR in 2017. He said: “The biggest thing for me personally, I wouldn’t be where I’m at in this industry if it weren’t for him. He took me under his wing and showed me all the ins and outs.”

So, what’s next for Davis? He plans on spending more time with his children, grandchildren, and his parents. Additionally, he plans on spending time outdoors hunting, mountain biking, and ice fishing in Pennsylvania.

Survey Responses Lead to Action

Team member surveys in 2022 and 2023 resulted in rankings of company benefits and feelings about trust, accountability, and more. The surveys also captured comments about what team members liked and what thewould change.

In 2023, Watco worked with survey creator Best Practice Institute to make survey modifications that included adding a few questions to make the answers more actionable.

“We asked team members to offer the state or province where they work and their business segment, so that we could hopefully make the survey data more useful,” said Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer Rachael Peterson. “We wanted to be able to share meaningful feedback with the appropriate leaders so they could act on it.”

before the anticipated major equipment issues such as engine and pump replacements, increasing uptime and reducing maintenance costs,” said Terminal Manager Bryan Turner.

“We wanted to be able to share meaningful feedback with the appropriate leaders so they could act on it.”

- Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer Rachael Peterson

The action plan at the Eastern Idaho Railroad involved addressing three key topics: improving team member workload and quality of life, engaging team members more deeply such as having town halls, and ensuring team member expectations were clear, attainable, and fair. The railroad has made progress in all areas, including staffing up. General Manager Scott Presley said they focused on hiring and training team members who fit the Watco culture and “putting them with the right peer trainer so they would want to stay.” He said since last summer, he’d hired 17 team members for all four departments and had retained all but three.

Last fall, Peterson sent managers the stateand provincial-level data that fell within their responsibility. A snapshot of the results:

In Kentucky, the Ghent Dedicated Terminal action plan focused on updating equipment to meet team member requests. When renewing their customer contract, they were able to accommodate equipment upgrades. Six new loaders, six excavators, four grapples, and two new clamshell buckets for material handlers have arrived. In addition, the team has put in place fresh approaches to equipment leases, maintenance schedules, and replacement schedules for aging trucks. “This allows us to bring in new equipment

At the Dow Industrial Rail switching operation in Freeport, Texas, “One of our main actions was understanding the benefit package that Watco has to offer,” said Ricky Martinez, general manager. He and other managers there worked with Lindsey Alexander in People Services to learn more about benefits and become better equipped to answer team members’ questions. “I believe we were losing young team members in the area to different contractors. If you’d make a dollar more (somewhere else), it sounds good to someone just starting out. But they didn’t understand the full benefits that we offer, how much you gain just from staying with Watco.”

Texas Coastal Cleanup

The Texas Coastal Bend Railroad (TCBR) typically hauls things like grain, cement, and steel, but on February 24, the team decided to move trash.

For the second year in a row, the TCBR’s Team Safety & Improvement Committee (TSIC) organized the team’s participation in the Billy Sandifer Big Shell Beach Cleanup along the Padre Island National Seashore. This year, 2,000 volunteers joined the TCBR team to clean nearly 30 miles of beach and removed nearly 28 tons of trash, or the equivalent of two large dump trucks.

“We were looking for ways to bring the team together after startup,” said Mike Hanna, conductor/engineer and TSIC chair. “We wanted to show Watco’s culture to new team members, the folks who stayed on from the previous operator, and our customers in the port. Volunteering together was a good way to accomplish that.”

The TCBR took over rail operations from another short line company in late-2022, providing rail service at the Port of Corpus Christi. The team wanted to bring people together and engage with the community. It’s been a success. In 2023, four team members came out for the cleanup. This year 13 team members participated, and several brought their families as well.

“It’s been a great way to bring people closer together and build camaraderie,” Hanna said. “And we’re giving back to the community in the process. We plan to do it again next year and we hope to grow it even more by inviting our customers to join.”

Photo names: Sam Garcia, Fabian Garcia, Mike Hanna, Darl Farris, Anthony Schuler, Jesse Luna, Jeremy Evans, Damien Evans, Isaac Martinez, Richard Flowers, and Anthony Luna.

Navigating Life’s Ups and Downs

Life throws curveballs to all of us. Trying to dodge them can result in experiencing stress, grief, anxiety, and even depression.

But there’s help available should you need it. In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, we’re reminding team members of available resources to help them cope.

Team Member Assistance Program (TMAP)

Offered through New Directions, the TMAP offers all team members and their family members eight free in-person or online counseling sessions a year. Crisis support is available at any time by calling (800) 624-5544. Tips and webinars on how to handle stress, grief, and more topics are also available.

To connect with a counselor or learn more, download the New Directions EAP app on the App Store or Google Play or call (800) 624-5544. When prompted, remember to enter or mention the company code Watco.

First Stop Health

Connect with a counselor 24 hours a day, seven days a week by phone or video. This free resource is available for all team members and their family members, regardless whether they’re enrolled in a Watco health plan.

Download the First Stop Health app on the App Store or Google Play. You can also visit First Stop Health’s website or call (888) 691-7867.

My Health Novel

Use My Health Novel to get matched with an online wellness program that best suits you. Watco team members and dependents ages 18 and older enrolled in a Watco health plan have access to this resource.

Log in to Blue Cross and Blue Shield’s My Health Toolkit to learn more.

988

Text or call 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Center, where anyone can connect with a counselor for free 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Awards Recognize Watco’s Commitment to Hiring Veterans and Transitioning Service Members

Shannon Parker Military & Veteran Recruiter

Kenneth Killingsworth Director - Watco University

Watco’s Military Outreach & Hiring program is getting noticed again (and again)!

Both VETS Indexes and Military Friendly are the latest to honor Watco’s efforts in recruiting and developing military veterans in the workplace. These organizations recognized Watco as a 3 Star Employer, Military & Veteran Recruiter Shannon Parker as a 2024 Veteran Champion of the Year, and Director of Watco University Ken Killingsworth with an Employee Veteran Leadership Award.

This latest recognition comes after the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association presented Watco with the Veterans Engagement Award earlier this spring.

Parker said, “Transitioning service members and veterans have so much to offer. Their values closely align with Watco’s. And ultimately, they make for great fits on our team.”

Gear Up for Independence Day

Celebrate America’s upcoming birthday with Watco’s newest Independence Day T-shirt and hat. Both items are available for purchase now through June 13 on Watco Gear.

Sales from both items benefit Troop2Logistics, a nonprofit dedicated to providing job-sourcing services to veterans, active guards or reservists, and military spouses interested in a career in logistics.

While the Watco creative services team designed this year’s first-ever Independence Day hat, Mill Valley High School students Jules Shumaker, Abby Sommerfield, and Jett January designed the tee.

Shumaker, a senior, designed the flag featured on the front. Sommerfield, also a senior, designed the lettering that appears on the back. And January, a junior, authored the phrase on the back, “carrying the freight of the nation.”

This is the second consecutive year Watco has partnered with the DeSoto School District’s Graphic Design Workplace class at Cedar Trails Exploration Center in Lenexa, Kansas. This course is geared for juniors and seniors interested in design as a career field.

Since establishing this annual fundraiser in 2019, Watco has donated more than $22,000 to veteran and military nonprofits including Honor Flight, USA Cares, and the USO.

Hat: $20

Baby 6M-24M: $12

Youth S-L: $12

Adults XS-XL: $15

Adults XXL-3X: $18

Adults 4X: $20

Order here

Summertime is Beat the Heat Time

Last year was the warmest on record since 1850, when the most detailed global record-keeping began. With that milestone in mind and with summer around the corner, Watco safety leaders are launching a Beat the Heat program for 2024.

The program goal is 100 straight injury-free days at all locations. The dates are May 27 to September 2 and encompass what’s known as the “critical days of summer,” when a tendency toward injury increases. “We’re asking every team member at all locations to make a commitment to keep safety top-of-mind in every activity this summer,” said Brad Walker, vice president of safety. “We’ll have a main weekly topic to be covered at all locations, but beyond that, we want individual locations to tailor the briefings related to any specific location-based activities, hazards, or risks.”

To support team member awareness and motivation, the Beat the Heat program promotes weekly and monthly rewards and recognition such as Cool Cash gift cards. In addition, Beat the Heat-themed shirts, hats, and other items will be available at watcogear.com. And Beat the Heat posters can be ordered at www.watcoprint.com

Safety managers will send program details, including a complete program outline, to leaders at Watco locations.

Beat the Heat replaces the familiar Summer Spike, referencing the common spike in the number of injuries occurring during the summer months.

But Walker said the cautions are the same.

“Even though there can be a jump in incidents,” he said, “our vision is for every team member to come through the summer free of accidents and injuries.”

Spreading the Word about Watco

Railcar Revenue Specialist Joely Gath, Director of Rail Infrastructure Cameron Ginther, and South Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad Roadmaster Mike Mulnix attended Southeast Elementary School’s Career Day in Weir, Kansas, in March. It was a great opportunity for our team to educate the nearly 170 students about the types of products the railroad carries, safety, and all the different people and jobs it takes to keep everything moving. Our team brought safety gear and track components so the kids could dress up as railroaders and get hands-on experience with how trains run.

“It was such a rewarding and fun experience,” Gath said. “Mike and I are past students of the school, so it was special to be able to talk with past teachers and even children of my former classmates about the railroad and rail safety. Some kids already knew a ton about the railroad, which really impressed us. Hopefully we spoke with some future railroaders!”

Watco Advances Its Role at Two Dow Sites in Canada

The turnover of industrial rail functions from third-party contractors to Watco teams has continued at Dow plants, as Watco has taken on some operations at two plants in Canada.

The track maintenance agreements with outside contractors at the Dow plants in Alberta ended April 30. Effective May 1, Watco took over track maintenance in Prentiss and Fort Saskatchewan. The nine people working in track maintenance at both locations have become Watco team members.

“When we took over the operations, we honored existing agreements that were in place with the third-party service providers,” said Glen Jackson, director of Alberta Operations for Division 5. “The third-party contractors were performing the track maintenance work and did a great job, but after evaluating the situation, we decided it would be best for our Watco teams to perform this service directly.” After acquiring the six North American sites from Dow in 2020, Watco made similar transitions at four of the sites located in the Gulf Coast.

Steve Bosse, director of project operations for Alberta, highlighted the customer benefits. “We are optimistic that this will also be to the advantage of our customers. I think the biggest change they’ll see is they’ll have a single point of contact. It’ll streamline communications, and it’ll also help support our efficiencies on-site.”

New Arrivals

Cayden Jeramiah Teeters

Charles E. and Katelyn Teeters announce the birth of their son, Cayden Jeramiah Teeters, born on April 5, 2024. Cayden weighed 8 pounds, 9 ounces, and was 20 inches long. Charles is a locomotive mechanic at the Birmingham Terminal Railway in Alabama. Grandpa Charles L. Teeters is manager of training development at the Safe Performance Center in Fairfield, Alabama.

Team Member Anniversaries

Congratulations to the following team members celebrating May anniversaries:

1 Year:

Oscar Ahumada, Donald Aiello, Carlos Aizpurua, David Aleman, Joshua Allen, Paul Arney, Philip Bailey, Angela Banegas Rivera, Brytan Bartels, Matthew Best, Kortney Bevins, Wyatt Bruesch, Lori Bruhn, Quander Cade, Christopher Carter, Penni Chaney, Hunter Clayton, Stevon Cockran, Jaye Collier, Albert Converso, Katelyn Coomes, Julio Davila Garza, Etienne Favroth, Ricardo Flores, Ashley Freemantle, Gordon Gao, Liza Garcia, Morgan Gilchrist, James Gleeson, Raphael Goodie, Warren Hagan, Colton Hall, Kendell Harris, Christopher Harvey, Adam Hatcher, Jeffery Hoagland, Joshua Hollender, Sam Hopwood, Matthew Ignowski, Melissa Ivanetz, James Jacquin, Michael Jarrett, Tinondre Jenkins, Dustin Jesseph, Erik Johnson, Kenneth Johnson, Telvin Johnson, Sarah Jones, Dalton Kelley, Peter Kenzler, Cara Kubler, Daniela Lakic, Johnni Lawrence, Benjamin Le Blanc, Jessica Lynn, Diamond McElwee, Jeremy Mcintyre, Lane Mears, Noah Mitchem, Paul Newton, Brant Nielsen, Deyne Noblet, Malia Orender, Ramiro Pacheco, Amanda Redding, Chantz Reed-Dopudja, Clifford Robinson, Frank Rockwell, Pablo Rodriguez, Isak Rosales, Trevor Sellers, Nathan Skawinski, Taran Snider, Dominic Sorteberg, Connor Spearing, Benjamin Staal, Darryl Thomas, Mason Thompson, Shane Tomlin, Ernestine Trujillo, Hector Valenzuela, Jason Walker, Michele Waymire, Arnold Westling, Kendrick Wilson, Enrique Yescas

2 Years:

Brigitte Ackerman, Ricardo Amaro, Matthew Andrade, Ben Angel, Aaron Beggs, Gavin Bignell, Parker Carlin, Fermin Charqueno, Cooper Cleland, Richard Collins, Brandon Davis, Jasmine Davis, Salvatore DiCamillo, Phillip Ewing, Brett Freeman, Robert Gerwitz, Austin Gilley, Cassandra Hawkinson, Joshua Hernandez, Brayden Hesford, Kiely Hodgkinson, Michael Huff, Colten Hunt, Garrett Hyde, Jaylen Jones, Bryan Killpack, Benjamin Klanica, John Knight, Cody Larson, Adam Lunsford, Michael Lutz, Sione Marshall-Teputepu, Drew Martin, Hunter McClelland, Davi Melquiades, Coit Merritt, Leonie Nankiville, Stephen Neville, Logan O’Connell, Fidel Perez Almanza, Victor Perez Vazquez, Michael Pichler, Patrick Pilbeam, Alan Reeder, Joseph Reeves, Joseph Rios, Isai Sanchez, DAsia Scranton, Stewart Seibold, Zachary Shoemaker, Tristan Sinisi, George Smith, Donald Sorge, George Spencer Jr, Levi Stacey, Dakota Strader, Matthew Thompson, Amanda Treadway, Joel Trouchet, Ashley Vazquez, Angel Villanueva, Chris Warren, Kason Watson, Jerrick Webb, Sam Wegge, Donovan White, Gerald Witmer

3 Years:

Zarion Anderson, Leonel Benitez, Kevin Brackney, Eric Bushong, Romaine Cambridge, Calvin Chastain, Jarius Coleman, Devin Comeaux, Marcelino Concepcion, Jose Correa, Michael Cunningham, Otto De Jong, Billy Dees, Florentino Duarte Ibarra, Craig Dutenhafer, Luke Eather, Lynn Eckmann, Robert Fry, Raul

Gonzalez, Hunter Gordon, Nathan Henry, John Hernandez, Jose Hernandez, Wendall Hoffman, Brian Howell, Justin Hurt, Logan James, John Logan, Christian Mejia, Efrain Molina, Gustavo Montes Barrientos, Aaron Naber, Miguel A Neri, Alan Packham, Philip Pierce, Nellie Rice, Anthony Rodarte, Rodney Samuel, Dorrien Sanders, Joshua Stewart, Wade Tatro, Cory Thrash, Erin Tyler, Brady Whipple, Wiremu Wikaira, Emerson Zentz

4 Years:

Hunter Anderson, Jimmy Caceres, Shiuan-je Chen, Adam Hulse, Trysten Lewis, Christopher Senst, Jvaris Steele, Lyntrell Thomas, Zachary Tipton

5 Years:

Raul Aguirre, Elliot Bercier, Kenneth Berg, Gregory Carley, Jesse De Soto, Connor Ferguson, Juan Garcia Perez, Kim Gardner, Angelica Godinez, Tex Grantham, Dana Hartleib, Charles Hernandez, Daniel Hindmarch, Tevin Hooper, Larry Huff, Christian IversonSorrells, Rudy Lopez, Michael Maddux, McKenna Mitchell, Ronnie Mooney, Tony Perkins, Armando Reyes, Victor Reyes, Jacob Wasserman

6 Years:

Brooks Backes, Richard Burns, Willard Burwell, Jose Carrizales, Richard Cooper, Nicholas Desjarlais, Perla Diaz, Alton Durham, Joshua Fetzer, Justen Gardner, Andrew Gossett, Robert Green, Jimmy Guyton, Paul Hamersley, Abraham Hamilton, Dionicio Hernandez, Jessica James, Danny Kelley, Zachary

Team Member Anniversaries

Landrum, Tuscan Larsen, Sheldon Mashburn, Mercedes Medina, Detayvious Merrill, Ronald Owens, Shannon Parker, Jose Perez, Walter Punteney, Donald Ryan, David Sanchez Gonzalez, Joshua Schultz, Bielka Valles, Dalton Want, Lynae Womble

7 Years:

Shane Bauer, Alexander Blum, Joshua Briseno, Isaac Coomes, Keith Cornett, Tony Garcia, Jennifer Lollar, Christopher McGee, Kenneth Morgan, James Ortiz, Luis Oyervides, Olin Pegues, Ray Price, Kylie Robinson, Erick Wagoner

8 Years:

Keith Abele, Jorge Castaneda, Christian Daniels, Joshua Golightley, Tori Herman, Matthew Magee, Tyler Sessions, Amanda Thomas, Scott Young

9 Years:

John Bickle, Dustin Brant, Miguel Cantu, Miguel Cantu, Gardner Cole, Shanna Damesworth, Zachary Hilton, Garrett Hoover, Pedro Luna, Paul Martin, Omar Reyes, Michael Robert, Matthew Sprayberry, Daniel Tumbleson

10 Years:

David Alvarado, Pamela Cannon, Travis Chamberlain, Derrick Davis, Caleb Dellasega, Michael Holland, Brandon Lockley, Matthew Lumm, John McRae, Christopher Nunnelley, John Ray, Jacob Short, Dwayne Smith

11 Years:

Jordan Brown, Shawn Delaney, Kris Hemby, Jeffrey Huser, Cole Schulz, Lawrence Shinavar, Jessica Swafford

12 Years:

Israel Nathan Austin, Terry Bell, Melchior Biser, Timothy Boyd, Trinity Campbell, John Davis, Daniel Farr, Tashata Jackson, Raul Lazo, Jerry Lowe, Robert Mansell, William Patterson, Daniel Perez, Christopher Thomas, Christopher Thyer, Mem Webb

13 Years:

David Castagno, Anthony

Hampton, Michael Hayes, Christopher Miller, Kenneth Powell, James Richards, Robby Rodriguez, Samuel Rodriguez, Jeffrey Sandoval, Jack Scott, Terence Snell, Jeremy Stegner

14 Years:

Mario Bretado, Kristopher Colley, Adam Hall, Joshua Holt

15 Years: Kevin Anselmi

16 Years:

Thadius Hawkins, Nakia Jenkins

17 Years:

Danyale Norman, Jeffrey Raker, Matthew Smith, Chris Spear

18 Years:

Jason Danz, Matthew Koser, Hugh Peo, Keith Schlotman, Nicholas Zerebiny

19 Years:

Aaron Coester, John Gaither, Evan Groth, Timothy Groth, John McFadden, Jason Noll, Charles Wagner, Ron Willman

20 Years: Melissa Ross, Bradley Walker

21 Years: Matthew Fetzer, Horace Gore

22 Years:

John Banks, George O’Connor

23 Years:

Enrique Castillo, Christopher Hamill, Allen Kellar, Richard Kelly, Duane Spurrier

24 Years: Chuck Shaffer

25 Years:

Robert Cronch, Terrance Redd, Casey Thrall

26 Years:

Howard Belgrod, Stanley Bryant, Thomas Lipp, Douglas Marshall

27 Years: Scott Davis, Jason Jeane

28 Years: John Snow

29 Years: Barbara Cody

32 Years: Walter Tisler

34 Years: Terry Schiska

35 Years: Michael Brown, William Gray

36 Years:

Randall McPherson, Todd Mulrooney

37 Years: Terry Market

38 Years: Mark McClellan, Jay Prawucki

39 Years:

Daniel Barrington, Patrick Ray