Monday, May 1, 2023
When I was just 16 years old, I met two of the most influential people in my professional life; James (Jim) Kearns III and Captain Jeffrey Monroe. It was at the Inland Rivers, Ports, & Terminals 2019 Annual Conference that I met these two accomplished gentlemen. I had always heard my mom, Aimee Andres, talk about how they both helped guide her through the beginning stages of her career, and still to this day act as an advisor. I can see now, through them, the attributes and details that a...
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Posted by
Hope Sears
at
Monday, May 1, 2023
Monday, April 3, 2023
I met Steve Alley a couple of times early in my career as he would venture to Nashville from time to time to meet with customers. Our relationship began in earnest on a cold February morning when I met him in Chicago to attend to a cargo issue. At the time, I had been in Logistics with Ingram Barge Company for a few years and was managing our transportation operations from St Louis to Chicago. Our meeting was brief, and the issue went unresolved. We broke for lunch, and I got to watch him for...
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Posted by
Hope Sears
at
Monday, April 3, 2023
Monday, March 6, 2023
They say that as a parent, you meet your best friends because of your children, that is how I met Mary Waldheim. Mary's son Louis and my son Eric went to school together and became best of friends. It makes sense that Mary and I would soon follow.
For years play dates became chats and laughs. Then we began “our lunches”. Mary and I started a tradition of lunch once, if not twice a month. We shared stories of family, friends, and our passions. Mary would spend a lot of time ...
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Posted by
Hope Sears
at
Monday, March 6, 2023
Monday, February 6, 2023
The concepts needed to transfer institutional knowledge:
As opposed to having a designated mentor, I was hired into a succession program, which brought in 5 individuals in their early 20s and cycled each through various departments with a sponsored graduate school track. Port Authorities are complex organizations, so a mix of institutional knowledge of executive management with practical knowledge of staff, then apply across a range of departments - from operations to legal and from real e...
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at Monday, February 6, 2023
Monday, December 5, 2022
There have been many key people I’ve worked with over my career that shaped the way I see the world, the industry, and other people.
Each phase of my career was influenced by some very special people. I started as a deckhand in the fleets of New Orleans and later in Alabama. I began running smaller boats on the Tombigbee, Intracoastal, Tennessee, and other tributary rivers. I moved from the smaller boats to line haul on the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. In 2005 I...
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Posted by
Hope Sears
at
Monday, December 5, 2022
Monday, November 7, 2022
When I joined the maritime industry in 2009, I did not know what I wanted out of this job. I wasn’t sure if this was a viable career, and I never would have guessed I’d end up as the Director of Safety and Sustainability for AWO.
Like many of us, I ‘fell’ into this line of work. Now, after nearly 15 years of service to the maritime community, I understand how lucky I am to have this opportunity, and I know my success is dependent on the people around me, includi...
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at Monday, November 7, 2022
Monday, September 12, 2022
Almost 5 years ago I came over to Campbell Transportation Company, Inc. from the trucking industry. Being new to the River Industry, I worked my way up from a Logistics Coordinator to Logistics Manager two and a half years ago. My main task is overseeing all of CTC's open-top affreightment business, leading my team to fulfill the needs of our customers and vendors as efficiently as possible. This industry is such a unique business that I've come to learn that hard work, dedication, ex...
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at Monday, September 12, 2022
Monday, August 1, 2022
Allison Baley:
I started my river career on the American Queen a decade ago. I had a license from an academy but hadn't used it. I needed work so I found a job on the river. It didn't take long for me to realize, school teaches the test, not life. You'll never quite know how direct seasoned veterans of the river can be until you're on that first day. I was a 24-year-old blonde girl from up north who knew no one and who had come from college. I was not meeting expectations right off the bat.
...
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at Monday, August 1, 2022
Wednesday, July 13, 2022
My career on the River has been shorter than most that have been part of the Mentor Spotlight. But I can say that without a doubt, I would not be where I am today without the guidance and support of the mentors I have encountered over the past several years. I began my work as a biologist on the River 4 years ago as a Student Conservation Association (SCA) intern with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in West Alton, MO. I initially started my position with the hopes of gaining experience in ec...
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at Wednesday, July 13, 2022
Monday, June 6, 2022
My name is Roy Vance, I am a 37-year-old seafarer originally from Baton Rouge, La. My first job on the river came when I was 18 years old unloading pipe and rubber ships at the port of greater Baton Rouge. I would later attend Texas A&M and graduate from its Maritime Academy. My career on the water started as an Able Body Seaman working in the Oil Field, a few years later I worked my way up to Chief Mate. The current position I hold is a River Pilot where I am a member of the Crescent Riv...
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at Monday, June 6, 2022
Monday, April 4, 2022
Hello everyone. I pray all is well as we fight through adversity from difficult times in our lives these past few years.
My name is Kenny Briggs. I have been a New Orleans/Baton Rouge Steamship Pilot (NOBRA) for the past five years. I would not have been able to obtain this opportunity if it were not for my faith and having great people in my life to help me out along the way. However, there is one individual that I would like to shine the spotlight on.
I am under the belief that you have...
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at Monday, April 4, 2022
Monday, March 7, 2022
I have been blessed to have had some really great mentors during my (50) year career in the inland tankbarge industry. The one who really stands out particularly in my first (20) years is Howard Brent of Greenville, MS.
I took over as President of a small barge company known called Ole Man River Towing in 1974 at the age of (24) years old. My dad, Thomas Golding, had started this small barge company in the late 60's but he was doing it more as an investment with a group ...
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at Monday, March 7, 2022
Wednesday, February 9, 2022
As most all mariners, we all have stories to tell and you know the phrase, “this ain’t no s...t,” we all know that begins the lie. However, the following is the truth that honors those that came before us and taught us the things that have been embedded in our minds. All mariners have these stories that are marked down only in our memories. When these events would come to pass, I would look at my fellow crew and touch my finger to my tongue and mark the number one in the air...
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at Wednesday, February 9, 2022
Monday, December 6, 2021
My name is Cris Reeves, and I began my career on the river with Yazoo River Towing in April 2017 as a green deckhand. In four short years, proving hard work, dedication, and determination pays off, I have earned my Steersman license.
“Leading by Example” is a mantra I have come to believe in wholeheartedly in my career at Yazoo River Towing. When I began as a green deckhand, I looked up to and relied on experienced pilots and captains to show me not only the right way to do my jo...
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at Monday, December 6, 2021
Monday, November 1, 2021
My mentorships with Earnest Wagner and Clark “Doc” Hawley came about in 1960 when I was 16 years old. It was that year that I got my first full-time summer job on the river as a cabin boy on the Venerable Sternwheel Excursion boat—the Steamer Avalon. Under the guiding hand of First Mate Clark “Doc” Harley and the watchful eye of the Avalon Master Earnest Wagner, I—along with fellow crew members—learned to make the boat ready for our passengers on dail...
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at Monday, November 1, 2021
Thursday, September 9, 2021
When I reflect on the practice of mentorship and the many people whom have mentored me over my career, one person in particular comes to mind.
I met and worked with Mark D. Wagner while he was the Director of Education at the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium in 2005.
I like to make the joke that I am the person Mark hired the most times over his long and noted career in Environmental and Historical Education.
I first worked with Mark as an intern while in college.
...
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at Thursday, September 9, 2021
Monday, September 6, 2021
I started on the river at BB Riverboats in March of 2015, when I was just 14 years old. I started as a steward tending to the buffet on the River Queen, and it wasn’t until I first started working on the Belle of Cincinnati that I got to meet Alan Bernstein. Capt. Al seemed to take a liking to me, and would always invite me up into the pilot house whenever I was able to be away from the galley downstairs.
Very quickly I became inquisitive, and would often ask many questions, to which...
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at Monday, September 6, 2021
Sunday, July 18, 2021
I started in the industry just over six years ago. I was an intern in the HR department for Associated Terminals and knew very little about the maritime world. After a few weeks, I met Thomas Cagle, while taking a Basic Safety class that he was instructing. He offered to take me out on the river to gain a better understanding of the operations of our business. While I was terrified attempting to climb gangways for the first time, Tommy explained everything from the types of cargoes we move to...
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at Sunday, July 18, 2021
Wednesday, June 16, 2021
Mentoring is one of the oldest traditions on the river that still shapes the culture of today—when a more experienced crewmember guides a less experienced crewmember in a meaningful way, it both preserves needed knowledge and also forges a better future. Today’s feature is written by Jonathan Rodola, regarding his mentor Capt. David Jacobs.
I think of Dave like a Swiss Army knife. He’sa man with many talents, one of which is operating a towing vessel. I’ll go into mor...
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at Wednesday, June 16, 2021
Saturday, May 15, 2021
Mentoring is one of the oldest traditions on the river that still shapes the culture of today—when a more experienced crewmember guides a less experienced crewmember in a meaningful way, it both preserves needed knowledge and also forges a better future.
This month’s story comes to us from comes from Chief Engineer Ricky Lee Boswell of Amherst Madison's M/V ALAN P. HALL. His mentor Tommy Spencer, Chief Engineer on Amherst Madison’s M/V CHARLES T. JONES.
Ricky Lee was h...
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at Saturday, May 15, 2021
Monday, April 19, 2021
I started in the Maritime Industry in January of 2008. My dad, James Salinas, who has now passed away, was a Captain, and that’s what I wanted to do since I was a kid. I started on the river with Eckstein Marine where I worked for six months as a deckhand. I then worked, as a deckhand, for three years at American Commercial Barge Lines before making it to Steersman, Pilot, and Captain for another six years. I started a business creating training and instructional videos about eight year...
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at Monday, April 19, 2021
Thursday, March 11, 2021
“I started in the marine business in June of 1981. I had no idea what the marine industry was about, but I answered a job ad with The Ohio River Company for a crew dispatcher that included tuition assistance. I was going to get my MBA and then find a real job. Never dreamed 39 years later I would have the most wonderful journey anyone could have ever hoped for in the maritime business. I was blessed with a number of mentors over my career.
I was on the job during my first week when a g...
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at Thursday, March 11, 2021
Monday, February 1, 2021
Having spent nearly 60 years working on the Mississippi River and its tributaries, I can honestly say that almost everyone that I have worked with or for has provided mentoring moments. In life, it makes no difference from whom the nuggets of wisdom come from, it only matters that they were offered and that they provided insights.
The river rat journey started early, my first responsibility being to provide nails to the repair gang fitting oak planks in the cargo hold of hopper barges. This ...
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at Monday, February 1, 2021
Monday, January 4, 2021
Traditions make up the culture of the river, and one of the most treasured is that of the mentor. While the exact process or definition of a mentorship can be elusive, that time honored tradition of a more experienced crew member helping to guide a less experienced crew member over time lives on today, and is still being passed on to our next generation of river folk.
Today’s Mentor Monday features a kaleidoscope of those who inspired Bill Barr!
“What role does a mentor play i...
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Posted by
Andra Olney-Larson
at
Monday, January 4, 2021
Monday, December 7, 2020
Traditions make up the culture of the river, and one of the most treasured is that of the mentor. While the exact process or definition of a mentorship can be elusive, that time honored tradition of a more experienced crew member helping to guide a less experienced crew member over time lives on today, and is still being passed on to our next generation of river folk!
Growing up in Louisiana, I never imagined that I would work in the Maritime Industry. Although my family has a long history...
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Posted by
Andra Olney-Larson
at
Monday, December 7, 2020
Monday, October 5, 2020
Traditions make up the culture of the river, and one of the most treasured is that of the mentor. While the exact process or definition of a mentorship can be elusive, that time honored tradition of a more experienced crew member helping to guide a less experienced crew member over time lives on today, and is still being passed on to our next generation of river folk!
Today, Carrie Stier, Owner of the Riverboat Twilight - Mississippi River Cruise, shares with us the legacy of Captain Denni...
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Posted by
Andra Olney-Larson
at
Monday, October 5, 2020
Monday, September 7, 2020
Traditions make up the culture of the river, and one of the most treasured is that of the mentor. While the exact process or definition of a mentorship can be elusive, that time honored tradition of a more experienced crew member helping to guide a less experienced crew member over time lives on today, and is still being passed on to our next generation of river folk!
Today’s Mentor Monday features Jerry Enzler sharing the legacy of his mentor, Wayne Norman!
"“You never c...
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Posted by
Andra Olney-Larson
at
Monday, September 7, 2020
Monday, August 3, 2020
Traditions make up the culture of the river, and one of the most treasured is that of the mentor. While the exact process or definition of a mentorship can be elusive, that time honored tradition of a more experienced crew member helping to guide a less experienced crew member over time lives on today, and is still being passed on to our next generation of river folk!
Today’s Mentor Monday features Jeremy “Shot” Tardy reflecting on lessons learned and experiences earned w...
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Posted by
Andra Olney-Larson
at
Monday, August 3, 2020
Monday, June 1, 2020
Traditions make up the culture of the river, and one of the most treasured is that of the mentor. While the exact process or definition of a mentorship can be elusive, that time honored tradition of a more experienced crew member helping to guide a less experienced crew member over time lives on today, and is still being passed on to our next generation of river folk!
Today’s Mentor Monday features the reflections of Tom Rhoades, Maritime Chaplain for The Seamen's Church Ins...
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Posted by
Andra Olney-Larson
at
Monday, June 1, 2020
Monday, May 4, 2020
Life on the river boasts many traditions, and one of the most treasured is that of the mentor. While the exact process or definition of a mentorship can be elusive, that time honored tradition of a more experienced crew member helping to guide a less experienced crew member over time lives on today, and is still being passed on to our next generation of river folk!
Today’s Mentor Monday features the reflections of Trip Captain & Pilot Brandon Phillips, sharing with us the story o...
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Posted by
Andra Olney-Larson
at
Monday, May 4, 2020
Monday, April 6, 2020
Mentoring is a longstanding tradition of the river. It is best defined as the relationship between one experienced and one inexperienced crew member; to teach, train, and share knowledge of a specific skill.
This month, Captain Brent Willits shares with us his experiences of his mentor, Captain Walter A. 'Hoolie' Bowermaster!
“In 1976, at 17 years of age, I went to the Clinton airport and boarded an Ozark Airlines flight to St. Paul where I joined the M/V Luke Gladders, a ...
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at Monday, April 6, 2020
Monday, March 16, 2020
Life on the river boasts many traditions, and one of the most treasured is that of the mentor. While the exact process or definition of a mentorship can be elusive, that time honored tradition of a more experienced crew member helping to guide a less experienced crew member over time.
Today’s Mentor Monday features Captain Michael Conklin sharing with us about his mentor, Captain Buddy Compton.
“Buddy Compton and I started working together in the late 1970’s. Buddy was...
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at Monday, March 16, 2020
Monday, February 3, 2020
Mentoring is a longstanding tradition of the river. It is best defined as the relationship between one experienced and one inexperienced crew member; to teach, train, and share knowledge of a specific skill. Twenty-one-year-old Sam Clemens found a mentor in Captain Horace Bixby, albeit Clemens paid Capt. Bixby $500 for his mentorship in taking on the young cub pilot. This special relationship is not limited to the pilothouse. Engineers, mates, and shore-based employees all find their &ldquo...
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at Monday, February 3, 2020