June 1-7 Focuses on Lifesaving

National CPR & AED awareness week in the United States is June 1-7. Training in how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or use an automated external defibrillator (AED) can be critical in helping someone survive cardiac arrest, heart attack, or near-drowning. Few people at Watco could be as aware of the importance of this training than Chuck Teeters. Not only does Teeters, manager of learning development, teach CPR-First Aid to Watco team members, but he’s also been on the receiving end of this lifesaving procedure.

Teeters is based at Watco’s Safe Performance Center (SPC) in Alabama. In April of 2017, while visiting a field location in North Dakota, Teeters had a heart attack. A former team member who had been a student in Teeters’ class at the SPC just two weeks prior recognized the emergency and made sure Teeters received the care he needed, saving his life. “You can imagine how thankful my family and I are that he took the CPR class,” Teeters said.

A Watco team member in Michigan can relate. Eric Kipp, chief mechanical officer for Watco’s Grand Elk Railroad (GDLK), experienced a heart attack in September 2022. Fortunately, Locomotive Mechanic Nick Burnham and Locomotive Supervisor Kevin Martin were not only nearby, but they were trained to help. Seven months earlier, both had been in a CPR-First Aid class for GDLK team members. Burnham and Martin were later presented with Citizens Valor Awards from the Grand Rapids Fire Department. Kipp reports that he is “back at work. I am doing well and taking things slow.”

Watco CPR-First Aid instructors are certified through the National Safety Council. Their certifications are good for two years.

Teeters says that in the last 12 months, 328 people at Watco have taken CPR-First Aid. In addition, all Watco terminals located on the water have a water rescue program that requires initial and refresher training. These marine locations also conduct annual man-overboard training drills.